The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm fooling around with lowering my E9 10th string 1/2 step with the C pedal. It gives me a root for a #9 chord along with strings 9, 6 and 5, sort of an E9 "Boo-wah". Does anyone else do this? Is there a drawback to this change I'm overlooking?

Peter I lower my 5 & 10 on C pedal
http://www.fredjusticemusic.com/id14.html

I wasn't clear that I'm adding the 10th string lower to the standard C pedal changes.

I used to use the C pedal for lowering 5. It had some cool uses, but I've found some things I like to use it for raising 4 and 5. I have the 5th string lower on a VKL, but it's awkward for me so I don't use it much. At some point I'm going to ask Jim Palenscar to modify the lever to make it more ergonomically comfortable.

OK. I'm figuring out why nobody else uses that change. I remembered something I can't do with the C pedal lowering string 10. So I've restored P3 to standard and put the string 10 1/2 step lower on P4. Now P3 and P4 together give me a #9 chord ala P8 on C6. I'll report as soon as I figure out why nobody seems to do that. It's a good thing I'm not trying this stuff on a p/p. It'd take all day instead of just minutes.

Peter, I used to lower 10 to Bb on my C pedal along with the normal C pedal change. I've been thinking about adding it to the guitar I have now.

Tony

It's a cool change on the C pedal but I think putting the 10th string lower on P4 is going to be better for me. There is some string 4 & 6 B & C pedal stuff that I work against the 10th string where I don't want it lowered.

Double post, sorry

My "RKLF" lowers the low B to A. Here a page of sounds using it:


http://gregcutshaw.com/Tab/Split%20Fran ... 20Tab.html



Greg

I lower it on my C pedal B - A

Hi Pete,
I too lower my 10 string to A with my C pedal. It's useful for all sorts of stuff, but probably not what you're after if your thinking of B>Bb. On your EMCI you could use the feel-stop finger to go B>Bb>A. That would be cool to have. How's the old EMCI doing? Let me know when you're tired of it.

Cliff, I'm afraid the EMCI is a keeper. Others do turn up for sale fairly often though. I haven't heard of a bad sounding welded frame (E)MCI yet.

Wow you freakin' learn something new every day. I have NEVER thought of that...I immediately see a bazzillion things I would like to do with lowering the 10th string B to A...on the C pedal(I don't want anymore knees that the 4 I have)and keeping 4 and 5 raising whole tone standard....
I'm going out NOW and do that...>thank you for raising the thought....awesome.
(only prob. I can think of is a pretty good amount of added tension on a pedal that you want to move pretty quick...>but on my barrel tuners behind two-hole pullers LDG....NOT A PROB...smoothest steel I've ever played)
Ricky

The extra tension is why I got away from raising string 10 on the C pedal (I lower 10 a whole step on my A pedal). It also caused some detuning, I assume because it was nearer to the middle of the body (I know some will argue there is no such thing as cabinet drop, it's all at the changer, etc.) I love and wouldn't give up that change on A, but I really
missed the big fat I-IV change on 10-8-6 or 10-6-4, so I just gave in and but the whole change (10 up a whole, 6 up a half) on my "x" pedal, to the left of pedal A.

Dan

I have lowered 5&10 1/2 tone to Bb for years on LKV. It's easy to get used to and I couldn't live without it.

Ive scoured over different copedents and dont know if Ive seen it posted. If it was I must have missed it. Like Ricky, I am gonna try this out real soon too! I use the LKV with BC, but usually just strings 3,4,5,6. If you lower 5 and 10 already with a vertical to Bb, can both be combined to lower 10 to Ab?

Clete

What I was looking for was a bit different. A 1/2 step lower on 10 along with a full step raise on 5 to get a #9 chord with the root, on 10, 9, 6 and 5. Used often on a VI7 chord (Boo-wah), but also interesting on a II7, III7, bII7, anywhere you would use an altered dominant 7chord. Or to play "Foxy Lady".

The poor man's version of that chord on E9 (or do we now call it the 99%-ers version ) is to play 9-6-5 with the A pedal down, one fret below the A+B position version of the chord. So, for the E#9, play 9-6-5 with A pedal at fret 6 (=G#-D-G [or F##, to be more technically accurate]), grabbing the root separately "off the beat," so to speak. I have toyed with a way to get string 10 down a half step to give the root of the chord, which is what Peter's C pedal idea accomplishes. I'm gonna give it a try!

Dan

Jimmie Crawford had a 5th whole tone raise and 10th string half tone lower on P9, I believe. I get the #9 lowering string 7 a half and lowering 9 a half on 4,5,7 and 9. It's nice to get the full chord though by striking strings 9 and 10 with your thumb with Peter's option.