The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi everybody,

I'm new to this forum and very new to this instrument.

I just bought my first lap steel a week ago - and I like it very much - the sound of country.

I've been playing guitar for 30 years - mostly folk and bluegrass. Recently, while listening to Blue Bayou - I love the sound of the pedal steel guitar.

I don't know where to start. I hope you can help me guys. For this instrument, I just love to play it as backup instrument - to fill the gaps of the song and things like that. Just like this style:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fSdCVuELhQ

For just background playing, what's the best tuning should I be using? I don't want to sound like Hawaiian - I just want it more country.

Thanks a lot - i'm so new to this.

Rafael

The person in that YouTube video you linked is using open E tuning. Here are the strings from treble (1) to bass (6):

1. E
2. B
3. G#
4. E
5. B
6. E

This is the tuning I used when I started out, and it works well for both country and rock. Many players prefer the sound of open G tuning (as used on the Dobro® or resophonic guitar):

1. D
2. B
3. G
4. D
5. B
6. G

There are many other instructional videos available on YouTube. Look for "Lessons with Troy" or "Rick Alexander" to see some very good quality videos that will help you get started.

Check my web site for some links to additional learning material. Where in California are you?

Hi Rafael,
Welcome to the wonderful world of non pedal steel guitar. We have similar backgrounds. I started playing lap steel two years ago after about 40 years of standard guitar. I wish I had made the change years earlier.
When I want to sound like real country and I mean like Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb. and others of that era. I use the E13 tuning. From high to low it is G#,E,C#,B,G#,E. if you have an 8 string lap steel tune the two low strings to D and B.
The sound you get will be without a doubt, the sound of the honkey tonk era of the 1950's.Play strings 1,2 and 4 to get a major cord at any fret and you will see what I mean.
you wiil alo have a relative minor cord on strings 2,3 and 5.
Don Helms used this tuning on all of his recordings with Hank Sr. His backup licks were simple but very effective. You can get a transcription of Don's lead and backup to 10 of Hank's songs. You can order it from the Forum or from Scotty's Music in St Louis.
Best of luck to you .

Hey Rafael,

I'm a newbie to lap steel too. Just joined the forum yesterday.

I've played alot of dobro since '05 and am proficient in G and D tunings.

A friend loaned me his lap steel many months ago and I hadn't done much with it. Two days ago, I strung it up for C6 tuning
G E C A G E
10 14 18 24 26 34 . I absolutely love this and am having so much fun.

This tuning is and the string gauges are from www.cindycashdollar.com. She has alot of tunings there for just about anything you'd want to play slide.

Best of luck to you and welcome to the forum!

Pat

Rafael,
The post below yours "She wears my Ring" song is played on the C6 tuning Pat talks about from Cindy Cashdollar so that will give you an idea what it sounds like. G E C A G E

James.

Brad Bechtel wrote: Check my web site for some links to additional learning material. Where in California are you?

I am from Newark California (close to Fremont).

I heard the Goodrich L-120 is the one to have. Unfortunately, it is quite expensive for a new beginner like me.

I'm looking into this pedal - is this a good one?
Ernie Ball 6180 VP Jr. Passive Volume Pedal ($89) or ($79 at Ebay)

Or can you recommend volume pedal less $100 which just as good as the Goodrich?

Hey, rafael - Welcome to the forum and the lap steel. I started playing steel a few years back, having been a banjo player (*gasp*) for years. I also wanted to just do background fills, and now I play about 70% steel in our band.

I started out using open G tuning (like a Dobro player), since I was familiar with it. Open D or E will also be familiar to a guitarist. Brad gave the tunings in his post, and as he said, there are lots of instructional materials on the Web. FWIW, I don't use a volume pedal, but a lot of great players do.

Keep letting us know about your progress.

Hey Peter, I watched your youtube videos and wow you got a dobro-body steel guitar there. Very nice.

I tried an open G at first and also like it but I'm thinking of getting a Duesenber Multibender someday so I want to get use to the open E so I can use the multibender with that tuning.

Hey, Rafael - in the YouTube vids, I'm playing a Melobar lap steel with an "Outrigger", which is something Melobar produced in small numbers to let you play standing up like a Dobro. Now I'm playing something custom-made to let me do the same thing (but that's another thread I need to start...)

Open E makes sense for what you are planning. My problem with E is that everything I do sounds like "Dust My Broom", but there's a lot of people who can make that tuning really sing (David Lindley especially - he will work out of the Open D or E intervals for most of his steel work, even if he is tuned to A or C).