The Steel Guitar Forum

Having trouble with my left foot and ankle anybody got any ideas about a shoe or boot that might help.
I've worn a tennis type shoe most of my playing days.

A well broken in cowboy boot with a pointed toe has worked well for me. The elevated heel is the trick to pedal mashing!

There's just one problem (actually more than one, but let's leave them aside) with pointy cowboy boots: Human feet aren't shaped that way.

I wear dress shoes...wide, flat on the bottom, and very comfortable. YMMV...of course it depends on your feet, and the pedals on your guitar.

I don't like playing in cowboy boots...I need a much wider toe for pedal mashing. I can't comfortably play both pedals with the pointed toe, and my foot tends to slip off them. I also don't like the raised heel on the volume pedal.

I wear soft soled moccasins They provide all the flexibility of playing barefoot, but have enough cousin to take away any discomfort.

Per Berner wrote:There's just one problem (actually more than one, but let's leave them aside) with pointy cowboy boots: Human feet aren't shaped that way.

Actually,if you take the "point" off a cowboy boot, it is shaped like the human foot. I find them very comfortable to wear but not to play in, I go the moccasin route too.

I can't keep them "pointy" toes away from the rods, so I settled into "crocs".
Rick

I think this is an important question John. As a beginning player, I have trouble feeling the pedals. I've tried out all of my shoes I wear, even my work boots. My cowboy boots are all very comfortable but just don't feel right on the pedals. I've settled on boat shoes but I think I'll buy a pair of moccasins to try. It seems to me that the pedals are like your fingers on a regular six string guitar. To truly emote you must feel the strings changing. I think the moccasins will be much more tactile than the shoes I've been wearing. I'm much too modest to go barefoot!

One more for the moccasin camp.

I used to wear cowboy boots, but I never could find any with soft enough uppers to not reduce the ease of ankle movement. Now I wear Asics running shoes (my everyday shoes), or dress shoes with a wide toe design and rubber soles, depending on the dress code for the gig.

Moccasins are good, but I wouldn't enjoy wearing them all the time, and I'd rather not have to change into and out of "playing shoes".

You need the ankle flexibility that a moccasin type shoe provides.
This is what I wear:

I like to wear high dollar loafers…Price…$150
Custom fit Wrangler jeans…Price…$65
Alpaca handmade socks…Price…. $45
Persian rug made to exact size…..Price…. $195
Looking better than I play……….Priceless

Brint Hannay wrote: I'd rather not have to change into and out of "playing shoes".

That's exactly what I do. I even take the moccasins off between sets.

The best mocs for playing are the soft sole kind that have only a single piece of leather on the sole. These used to be easily available (Remember Kinney Shoes? They use to carry them.)

Unfortunately, now everybody wants reinforced soles with double linings or rubber soles glued on. These are better for walking, but are not good for steel playing, and the single lined ones that we need are no longer being manufactured. You can still get them but they have to be custom made. (Look up "handmade moccasins" om Google.) I bought a custom made set a couple of years ago. They cost $90. (which is why I only wear them when I'm playing. I don't want to wear them out.)

I find these very comfortable.

I've never worn those, but sometimes I feel as though I am (or should be).

If you are comfortable in sneakers stick with them. They work fine. Nothing better really. If your ankle hurts then you might want to look at how you use it and see if you are straining or bending in a way that hurts you. Maybe try bracing up your ankle with an ace bandage or shifting your self over a scootch at the steel to put your ankle pivot point in another place.

I wear sneakers or cowboy boots and it doesn't make much difference. I don't like playing in those big Timberland snow boots I used to wear on the east coast sometimes though !

I play 99% of the time with my rubber soled Ariat Roper Cowboy Boots. The higher heel makes me feel more comfortable with the pedals

Brandon

Of all my pairs of boots, I have 3 pair of DAN POST that are glove leather soft.No pinching or binding in ankle area . And the soles are soft & flexible allowing excellent feel of pedals.As near a bare foot feel as possible with shoes still on.

and the only thing I have to worry about "stinking" is my playing .... not my feet !

****Bob V****

I have a closet full of cowboy boots that I only wear if I really have to, for show. Even the more rounded toe CB boots get tangled in the pedal rods, and they all restrict my ankle motion. I do like the raised heel.

Right now my favorite shoes/boots to play in are a $15 pair of clearance sale hiking boots from Big 5. The toe box is more rounded than any of my cowboy boots so I don't get hung up in the pedal rods, and the top of the boot is enough lower that my left ankle moves freely. The heel height is very similar to my CB boots. Also the soles are an aggressive rubbery pattern so my boot doesn't slip on the floor pedals, like on the leather sole CB boots.

Everyone is different. What works for me probably would not work for you.

These:

http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_1010 ... ockType=G2

these (the red and black checkered pair):

http://shop.vans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/ ... ariation-2


or these:

http://www.converse.com/?CSID=44_kwid/# ... ylor/1J794

Rick

Per Berner wrote:There's just one problem (actually more than one, but let's leave them aside) with pointy cowboy boots: Human feet aren't shaped that way.

Per
You are describing boots that don't fit -- period.

Get a pair of boots made by someone who does every single step of the work, personally measures your feet and creates the last (mold) for each foot; takes the time to remove all the stretch out of the leather; uses the correct leather for each individual application; and takes the time to forge a proper shank matched to each foot. My boots fit like socks, and even with heels ranging from 2 1/4 to 3 inches they are easy to wear all day.

Those "boots" pictured in Patrick's post, by the way, are made on shoe lasts, not boot lasts. They are essentially shoes with high tops.

Call Janne Melkersson
Harabyvag 35
830 23 Hackås,

Phone: +46-(0)70-552 19 70

He will explain all to you.

Okay. No more joke about clown shoes! These boots are my steelin' footwear. Delightfully supple. Bought them off the shelf over 30 years ago. They've been resoled 5 times. The most comfortable things I've ever stuck my feet in! They need to be resoled again. I have no memory of what brand they are, as the labels are long worn away.

I don't like playing in cowboy boots...I need a much wider toe for pedal mashing. I can't comfortably play both pedals with the pointed toe, and my foot tends to slip off them. I also don't like the raised heel on the volume pedal. [/i]

Its like my 6-string teacher said 20 yrs ago when I questioned him if it was "improper" to let my left thumb wrap around to the fingerboard. "Do what's most comfortable for you", he said. As it turned out, I found about 5 years later I could use my thumb as a 6th finger for making chords. Who knew?? He obviously did.

The lower the heel on my right foot, the more comfortable I am.

Thanks to everyone who posted on this subject. I think I might try boots again. I've been wearing the sports shoes for a bunch of years I did ok with ropers years ago and the heel help.