Steel Pedal Guitars??

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 13 Jun 2007 9:47 pm

Well, we've all heard our uninitiated friends refer to our beloved instrument as a "Steel Pedal" Guitar, and I usually correct them gently but firmly ("Uh, you mean 'Pedal Steel' Guitar").

Well! NOW, I find out that even LEO FENDER called it a "Steel Pedal" Guitar! Check out these two PATENTS!!!

http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT3136198

http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT3352188

What are we to make of this unwelcome news?!

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 13 Jun 2007 9:55 pm

Well, we could make like ostriches and simply refuse to accept its existence. I don't think this would be a big stretch.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 13 Jun 2007 9:57 pm

My plan exactly!

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 13 Jun 2007 11:26 pm

Jim,I just did some Steel Pedal session work for a bunch of young guys in their mid-twenties and all of them,and their engineer referred to it as Cool Lap Steel or just Lap.

Brett Day · Post by **Brett Day** » 14 Jun 2007 12:15 am

Boxcar Willie was doin' a show in Branson one time and he called it a Hawaiian pedal electric steel guitar.

Brett

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 14 Jun 2007 3:43 am

I say these documents are forgeries, placed there by members of the international banjo conspiracy (who stole the originals which were of course, correct,) in an effort to demoralize and destroy us.

THIS IS WAR!!!

I say we retaliate by changing the letter j to a g. From now on, their instrument is spelled BANGO.

It is the duty of every pedal steel guitarist not just to use this new spelling at all times, but to retroactively change all existing written references to that instrument.

Mike Wheeler · Post by **Mike Wheeler** » 14 Jun 2007 4:01 am

Howard Tate · Post by **Howard Tate** » 14 Jun 2007 5:00 am

And all the times Jennings called it a "banger" I thought he was misspelling it. Guess he's just smarter then me.

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 14 Jun 2007 5:05 am

Hear hear! BANGO is much more descriptive of the sound it makes when properly weilded.

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 14 Jun 2007 5:25 am

Hehe - like "perfect pitch" is hitting the dumpster with the "bango" on the first throw...

Duane Reese · Post by **Duane Reese** » 14 Jun 2007 7:03 am

"Steel Pedal" Guitar, eh? Hmm... Eh, oh well.

Frankly I don't even like talking about my instrument with the general public. It always feels like opening a can of worms that becomes too confusing and time consuming for their liking or mine.

Clyde Mattocks · Post by **Clyde Mattocks** » 14 Jun 2007 7:12 am

When you play for spite, a bango is the ultimate weapon! How can you tell which steel players also
play bango? We're the ones who are working!

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 14 Jun 2007 7:12 am

Would anyone know where the term [AXE]referring to an instrument come from? Could it have anything to do with [chops]?

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 14 Jun 2007 7:19 am

I wanna be like Mike..
I hear Bangers repel skeeters real good!

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 14 Jun 2007 7:44 am

Charles, there actually was a thread on the previous Forum server about the term "axe". You could try a search on that.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 14 Jun 2007 9:10 am

I'm with Duane ......

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 14 Jun 2007 9:18 am

Well! NOW, I find out that even LEO FENDER called it a "Steel Pedal" Guitar!

That's not hard to understand, as the pedals on the original Fender 1000 and 400 were made of (die-stamped) steel!

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 14 Jun 2007 9:47 am

B@njo players have no sense of humor? Last week at our local Farmer's Market I walked out to the parking lot to watch the bluegrass jams and saw a group with a B@njo in it. I said to my wife in a loud voice "Look Maw, he's playin' a snare drum with a neck on it" to which I got a very cold and icy stare from him but a lot of laughs from the others, Oh well........JH in Va.

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 14 Jun 2007 10:41 am

I have had Horn men say to me "Bring your Axe" to the jam session. As Jim says.
Or some called it "Harp". ..Oh Yeah, "Long ago and far away".al.

:)

Tim Marcus · Post by **Tim Marcus** » 14 Jun 2007 10:48 am

at least "Steel Pedal" is a step in the right direction - what really drives me nuts is when people call it "Slide"

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 14 Jun 2007 11:35 am

I always thought "chops" was a horn players' term that comes from the fact that they play with their mouths or "choppers."

Rainer Hackstaette · Post by **Rainer Hackstaette** » 14 Jun 2007 11:53 am

Jim Cohen wrote:... LEO FENDER called it a "Steel Pedal" Guitar!

It doesn't really surprise me, considering the fact that he also had the vibrato/tremolo thing backwards.

Leo was undoubtably a genious in many fields. Musical terminology wasn't one of them. So what?

VERY respectfully,
Rainer

Stephen Dorocke · Post by **Stephen Dorocke** » 14 Jun 2007 8:34 pm

I'm talking to a guy in a music store, he says, "Waddya Play?"-- I say, "a few things, Pedal Steel, etc..." he says, "I love lap slide!"

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 14 Jun 2007 8:45 pm

Yeah, well I love 'lap slide' too, but only when I'm not busy playing music...

Stephen Dorocke · Post by **Stephen Dorocke** » 14 Jun 2007 8:50 pm

I was gonna say something like that, but I figured I'd toss it out and let someone else say it.............

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