The Steel Guitar Forum

After years of playing D-10 guitars & lots of country & swing music I moved to Hawaii.... which created the need for a different guitar. It became my "Islander" model.

It had to meet these criteria:
1. Under 50 lbs in the case
2. Have all of my C6 changes
3. Capable of playing country, jazz, blues, Hawaiian, reggae & swing
4. And it had to be a 10 string so I could transition between my D-10 guitars & the new guitar.








Gary Rittenberry just finished it and I am amazed! It meets all my criteria perfectly - plays great, sounds fantastic, and looks KILLER! I can transition from C neck styles to straight country instantly.

I couldn't be more pleased - thanks again Gary - you made a dream come true.

Jim

Gary is the bestest!! Tell him what you want, how you want it and presto, there is is!
The man is a monster steel maker!!!
Your steel is a beauty!

Can you post up the copedent on the new steel?

Hi Alan,
My copedant is for 7 pedals & 5 knees - C6 tuning with a D on the top.

P1 - raises the G string to A (equals "A" pedal on E9)
P2 raises the E's to F ( "B" pedal on E9)
P3 raises the F string (9) to A natural, A (8) to C natural, and C (7) to D natural
P4 thru 7 are standard C6 setup

LKL raises the C's to C# (standard C6 change but also serves as the "F" lever on E9

LKV is the standard C6 "Reverse pedal 6"

LKR lowers the A's to G#

RKL lowers both C's to B natural Standard C6 - also equals the E to Eb change on E9

RKR - raises both A's to B natural with half stop at A#

This setup allows me to get all the A, B, C, pedal & E & F lever changes of the E9 but pitched in the key of C.


I had Gary install a Wallace Truetone with a coil tap so I can get lapsteel/slide guitar tones as well as modern steel sounds.

The front apron is a blue burst lacquer finish with black mica elsewhere.

The guitar sounds really really good & has virtually no cabinet drop.

It enables me to get ALL of the C6 sounds & about 90% of the country stuff. I spose if I get a gig where they want 100% country stuff I can bring my Ritt D-10. But over here I tend to alternate between country, ragtime, blues, jazz & Stevie Wonder R & B.

It is a great guitar!

Jim

Hi Jim,

sounds interesting. Is it based on a C6 tuning or an E9 with all the options you mentioned?

Can we hear what it can do?

I'm interested in the 10 string shortened universal.

Thanks

Stuart.

Hi Jim,

sounds interesting. Is it based on a C6 tuning or an E9 with all the options you mentioned?

Can we hear what it can do?

I'm interested in the 10 string shortened universal.

Thanks

Stuart.

Hey Jim, good looking guitar my man. Ours are almost twins!

Jim, that's a beauty for sure. Gary sure is a master
when it comes to making a custom steel to fit your
own needs and desires. I'm sure you will love yours
as much as I do mine. Enjoy it for many years.
Carl "Lucky" Kilmer

I like this. It's sort of a Uni type tuning, but based on C6th instead of off of E9th. If I ever did something like this, I'd be tempted to pitch it all up a full step to D6th like what b0b did with his S-8 Desert Rose. Just to brighten it up a bit. Great guitar!

Hi Tom,
bOb and I discussed that and I may eventually do it, but I prefer to leave it in C because of it's similarity to my D-10's. Besides - it sound like a very full E9 guitar as it is.

Yep Roger, they are almost twinds .... I had Gary make mine a little lighter & less sunburst on the edges.

Stuart, it is fully universal but C6 based as opposed a 12 string E9 uni that requires you engage a lever to "change tunings". You just select the "country" pedals or the "6th" pedals as you feel.

Jim

And yes, Gary builds fantastic guitars!
!

Welcome to the club Jim, Great looking axe and yes Gary is the best.

LKV is the standard C6 "Reverse pedal 6"

Jim, what's the "Reverse pedal 6"?

Lowers the 2nd string to D# and raises the 6th string to F - the exact opposite pulls as pedal 6.

Jim

I wonder if you'd given thought to takin C6, add a lever to raise both Es to F, and have the A pedal raise the Cs and the B pedal raise the Cs.
That way you get the E9 scale stuff of having the 2 of the G string, let off the F lever gives you the analog of the D# lever, the C-B lever is like lowering the Bs. The only thing you miss is the "F"lever.

Hi Lane,
I am not sure I follow you... the way it's setup right now I have the equivalent of the A, B, C pedals & E to F & E to Eb levers. Using the usual C6 pulls I can duplicate the D# second string notes too.

Jim

Think of it as raising the Es to make F9, I guess. An awful lot of my E9 playing and thinking uses that 7th string as a melodic device as well as a chord tone, so my habits influence my thinking.

My Pedal 3 on the "Islander" has the Paul Franklin change that raises F (9) to A, A (8) to C, and C (7) to D - it gives me an A minor/C major pentatonic scale with whole tones just like the bottom notes of the E9 neck. And my pedal 2 (B pedal) does raise both E's to F giving me an F major chord.

Similar thinking - trying to get as much E9 stuff on a 6th tuning as I can.

Jim

Just beautiful.

Thanks! And she sounds flat out AMAZING!
Jim