The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi - I've visited SGF many times over the years and finally became a member as this is such a great forum. I'm a lefty dobro player who's wanting to get into playing some psg. Finally found someone who makes lefty steels. Roy Thomas makes a steel called the Pedalmaster. Does anyone out there have any experience with these? Any other lefty steel suggestions? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks! - Dave

David, EVERYBODY makes fine instruments these days, and Pedalmaster is no exception. I know one person who sold a Millennium because he preferred the Pedalmaster.

I have no personal experience with this brand, but I've never heard a single complaint about them.

The pedalmaster is an outstanding steel guitar . Roy Thomas is a master builder.

a friend of mine plays a d-10 pedalmaster and i think it is a beautiful well made guitar, works mechanically perfectly and looks and sounds as good as you can pick it!!

David, I have been sponsored by Pedalmaster for many years and they are real nice guitars. Roy Thomas is a master builder and you can look in the dictionary under Honest, and there is a picture of Roy Thomas. They are mechanically perfect and have great tone and playability. You can't go wrong with Pedalmaster. Jody.

David, I have owned two of the PedalMaster guitars, a D-10 and a U-12. They are super guitars and Roy Thomas can't be beat. If you buy one of his guitars
you will get a great instrument. Get in touch with PeeWee Whitewing; I have some recordings of his playing a PedalMaster. He could make a guitar made out of foam rubber sound good.

Thanks for the great help. I figured they were probably nice steels as they do look very nice. I'd just never heard of them before. Roy has been real helpful. He makes a lot of lefty guitars and no upcharge. As a lefty, that's pretty rare to find. Thanks again for all the advice. I'll let you know what happens. - Dave

I JUST PURCHASED A D-8 FROM ROY LAST MONTH.IT IS
MY FIRST PEDAL STEEL AND I LOVE IT. WOULD NOT TAKE
DOUBLE THE MONEY.ROY IS A GENTLEMAN ,SO BUY IT.

PETE

One of the best Swing Players I know, Mr. Chuck Hayes from Muskogee Oklahoma plays a Keyless Pedalmaster, one of the best sounding steels I have ever heard. It is also one of the best looking lacquer guitars I have seen. Of course It's being played by one of Great Masters of Western Swing on Pedal Steel. "Chuck is in The Western Swing Hall Of Fame" Alan

Thanks all! I really appreciate the help. I'm interested in getting one of Roy's SD10's. Lefty of course! His guitars look really nice and clean and the works underneath do too. Roy sounds like he's been perfecting his steels for a while now. Thanks again! - Dave

SGHOF Member Pee Wee Whitewing plays one-Roy Thomas is a genuinely nice guy

I love mine:

I have an SD-10 Pedalmaster and I love it. Quick action and stays in tune. Roy Thomas is a great builder and a very honest man. Good luck!

Bob that is one beautiful sight! I noticed from Roy's web site that some of his bodies are made of some gorgeous flame maple. Looks like that's what you got there in blue. Purty! Thanks for sharing. - Dave

David, I feel your pain. My main instrument is bass which I play a left handed bass strung right handed. Being left handed I searched for a left handed steel for many years. I came very close to buying a new Pedalmaster, I was just too cheep to buy a brand new unit. Everything I heard about them indicated they are a great steel. I did find a Sho Bud Pro I S-10 a few months ago and have been loving it. So from one lefty to another, enjoy, its a great instrument.

David,
I own a beautiful left-handed single neck-10 and 5 that Roy Thomas made for me a couple of years ago. You've heard all the praise for the man and all I can do is echo that and more. I went to his shop in Maurice,LA to pick the steel up and I got the tour, the demo; he went the extra mile to make sure I was happy with my purchase. Mr. Thomas has been in touch with me from time to time when I would write him and even called me when I screwed up putting strings on one time.

He builds a wonderful and well-crafted instrument. Mine has a maple body with a specially wound pickup, powder coated end pieces and peg head. All these little touches and more were Mr. Thomas' and he stayed in touch with me by phone and mail the whole time he was building it. He's the best and you won't go wrong with a Pedalmaster. Next year I'm going to have him build a lefty doubleneck. Go for it.

Thanks Alan and Robert. I really appreciate the encouragement. Alan, I played guitar and dobro on righty strung instruments for 25 years and switched my dobros over to lefty strung 6 years ago. Then about 3 years ago I bought a lefty strung lefty acoustic guitar and have been learning to play that way. So I now play some regular guitar both ways and still play bottleneck exclusively on righty strung guitars, but my lap style dobros are all lefty strung. Yeah, it's that crazy! So tell me, do you play your psg lefty or righty strung? Thanks, guys. - Dave

Like you, I tried doing the flipped over guitar method until I was about 12 or so and got a look at McCartney. I switched the strings around then and from the late 60's have been exclusively in left-handed instruments. Mandolins, dobros, pedal steel, whatever..it's made left-handed. Lots of folks said not to try steel left-handed, but frankly it was Mr. Thomas who said, "It shouldn't matter if you're left or right-handed as long as you want to learn the instrument." I've enjoyed the "oddity" of being left-handed and getting questions like "Can you really play it that way?" It also got a lot of girls back in the day...less so now.

David - Us leftys always seem to be an oddity. I have come to believe there are hard core rightys and leftys meaning they can't do things, only left or right. I also feel others that lean in one direction or another and are capable of switching. People who are right leaning go unnoticed but left leaning are constantly shown as examples that all left handed people can be taught right handed such as Green and Chalker. I had this example thrown up at me by a steel manufacturer that these guys were such great players because they were left handed but played right handed. My comment was too bad the big 'E' didn't learn left handed, just think how much better he could be.

I grew up around music and tried very hard to play right handed in my early years and could not get the coordination to pick with my right hand.

I play 6 string guitar completely left handed. I played drums years ago completely left handed. I played a little piano but was difficult to get my right hand to move properly for melody lines (I have never seen a left handed piano). I have a left handed bass strung right handed. I play pretty well but wish I had learned strung left handed. I can always tell the musician in the room. They are the ones pointing with their heads cocked sideways. I have been told my bass is the "Day" setup.

My steel is completely left handed including volume pedal on the left and the other pedals on the right. I have been playing since November so I haven't taken it out. I play at different steel shows and jams as a bass player and someday may take it out to show it off but playing it in front of people is a long way off.

I have see one left handed steel player. I thing his name was Monty and played for Neil McCoy. If I remember correctly he played a Pedalmaster.

I love mine!! You can hear the tone at www.bobstrum.com

Robert that's funny you should mention Paul McCartney as I've always blamed him for why I play lefty. See, I'm actually right-handed at everything else. But it just always felt more natural for me to hold a guitar lefty. Can't explain it but that I was a huge Beatles fan when I was a kid (and still). And Alan I have been told countless times that I should just learn to play righty. Not gonna happen! My guitar teachers have always been cool about it. In the 70's I took some dobro lessons from Cal Hand (incredible player!) and he just helped me figure it out lefty playing righty strung. These days I have restrung all my dobros and would obviously get a lefty strung psg. As you say, there's no difference from a lefty playing a lefty guitar and a righty playing a righty guitar. Strings are in the same place for each. One last interesting factoid, my hero Mike Auldridge (and original reason for playing dobro) is a natural lefty (playing righty).

Thanks guys! - Dave