| To Pedal or not to Pedal is the question |
| Never pedaled never will... |
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12% |
[ 7 ] |
| I play both non-pedal and pedal steel |
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52% |
[ 29 ] |
| Started with no pedals then with now back to no pedals |
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18% |
[ 10 ] |
| I play pedal steel all the time- "Just visiting here" |
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5% |
[ 3 ] |
| I just starting out on lapsteel, I may get a pedal steel |
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10% |
[ 6 ] |
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| Total Votes : 55 |
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| Author |
Topic: From no Pedals to Pedals and back... |
Dom Franco
From:
Beaverton, OR, 97007
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Posted 28 Aug 2012 10:00 pm |
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I am interested in how many of you started out on lap steel or non-pedal then started playing pedal steel, and now have returned to your first love?
I Have recently read some posts that mirror my own experience of coming back to non-pedal steel later in life.
Just pick the answer that most closely describes you.
Dom
_________________
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYG9cvwCPKuXpGofziPNieA/feed?activity_view=3 |
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Thiel Hatt
From:
Utah, USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2012 5:37 am
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| Started out on Lap Steel, then to a triple neck,and onto a Fender 1000. I learned the C6th and later the E9th tunings. Graduated to a Double Ten pedal steel. Later acquired also a 12 String which I set up on the E9th Universal. I love them all, and own and continue to play all three types , triple eight non-pedal,D10 pedal and 12 String universal pedal. I have eight guitars, including an eight string Dobro. |
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Hal Braun
From:
Eustis, Florida, USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2012 5:58 am
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You need another option 
Started and tried both.. gave up on pedal and decided on lap steel.. |
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Dom Franco
From:
Beaverton, OR, 97007
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Posted 29 Aug 2012 10:14 am
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Yes I could have made a few more options...
I had hoped that most of us would present our individual stories in a response.
So here are my reasons:
1. Portability, The lap steel is so much easier to transport, set up, play on the couch in the living room, take on a plane, leave in the car as a backup etc... etc...
2. Sound, while I know it is possible to play pedal steel in all kinds of music, it generally sounds "country" every time you mash the pedals.
3. Sustain, my lap steels seem to have a deeper richer tone, that the changer and other stuff detracts from.
4. Standing versus sitting is a possibility on non-pedal.
NOTE:
I still play pedal steel, when needed, but 90% of the time it's lap steel.
Dom 
_________________
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYG9cvwCPKuXpGofziPNieA/feed?activity_view=3 |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2012 2:19 pm
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| I must be a majority of one, having come here from slide guitar, beating my brains out to make it do... what it can't. |
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Hal Braun
From:
Eustis, Florida, USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2012 6:54 pm
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I chose straight steel for a couple of reasons..
Weight, ease of portability and set up
Less mechanical.. and when you play at bedroom levels, the click and clack of the mechanism just did not feel as "organic" to me
Vintage straight steels sound good, but tend not to have all the problems older pedal steels have
Tone
Cost was not a deciding factor, but it is a nice side benefit.. laps are definitely cheaper
A broader range of usable tunings to get greatly different sounds.. from blues rock to swing to country to jazz..
I cant chew gum and walk at the same time.. so only having to concentrate on my hands, keeping my feet and knees out of it is a benefit
Coming from guitar, it is nice to be able to stand up |
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G Strout
From:
Carabelle, Florida
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Posted 29 Aug 2012 7:11 pm
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Started on "lap." Went to pedal. Now back to "non" pedal. May seem odd but I feel more in control on a straight (non pedal)_ guitar...
gary |
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Roman Sonnleitner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Posted 30 Aug 2012 12:26 am
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Started on lap steel; use it live with my bands all the time; same with Dobro; also got a pedal steel, but I'm still in the learning stages, it will be quite a while before I dare to play PSG on stage...
Those two instruments are more different than you'd think, the excel at different sounds and styles of music, but I love thme both equally well!
Last edited by Roman Sonnleitner on 10 Sep 2012 1:03 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Edward Meisse
From:
Santa Rosa, California, USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2012 7:03 pm
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Given my style of play and the fact that I play only C6, I found that in addition to all the added weight and the frustrations of dealing with the mechanical aspects of psg, the pedals just didn't add that much to what I was doing.
_________________
Amor vincit omnia |
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Frank James Pracher
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2012 7:59 pm
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I started on lap/non-pedal/straight steel and have no interest in going to pedal. Nothing against it, it's just not my thing.
I like the simplicity of the lap steel. Pedal steels look like a mechanical nightmare to me. Plus they are large and expensive.
_________________
"Don't be mad honey, but I bought another one" |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 1 Sep 2012 11:15 pm
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I realize n is small, but I'm part of the strong plurality here (50% right now) who like to play both. I lean more to pedal steel, but I also enjoy nonpedal and there are situations where that is the right choice.
In a sense, if you're used to pedal steel, there's nothing stopping you from using the PSG as a straight steel. In fact, I think pedal steel players sometimes over-obsess about trying to get every single move on a pedal and lever, avoiding playing the top of the neck. That's not for me - playing the top of the neck is a big part of the beauty of a steel guitar, whether it has pedals or not. But if I'm not using pedals, I usually prefer my '52 Dual Professional for classic country stuff and a National Totem Pole inlay D8 if I wanna try to get somewhere in the David Lindley vicinity. |
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Nate Hofer
From:
Overland Park, Kansas
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Posted 2 Sep 2012 6:53 am
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I started with pedal and Dobro and played/recorded with both for 15 years. More to do with my love of old 1960s and 70s country and bluegrass. I dabbled with lap steel but Never loved it until about three years ago I joined up with a band that really got me going on the 1940s and 50s Nashville and western swing material. Today I play lap steel 90% of the time now. (10% pedal.)
I love the old sound most of all. And the versatility of playing either my big t8 Stringmaster or my little S6 1950s student model. |
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Tony Lombardo
From:
Alabama, USA
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Posted 2 Sep 2012 3:42 pm
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I'm strictly a nonpedal guy, and this is true for several reasons: First, I've always lived in small apartments where a big ol' pedal steel wouldn't fit. Also, I'm not at all mechanically inclined. I don't think I have the know how to keep all of those levers and pedals in working order. Last, I love the feel of the steel in my lap.
There is so much great pedal steel music out there, and I'll always listen to it, but I started out on nonpedal 8-string lap steel, and I'm not going to change.
Sincerely
Tony L. |
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Helmut Gragger
From:
Austria
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Posted 10 Sep 2012 7:26 am
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| Tony Lombardo wrote: |
| (...)I've always lived in small apartments where a big ol' pedal steel wouldn't fit. |
Yes and there is the hauling... As somebody was putting it, a pedal steel of type "superhernia 2000". On the other hand, before you notice you play several tunings and you find yourself running around with several guitars. Don´t know which is better.
I frequently swap, and the pedal steel has some unique quality to it. But again, some guys from times bygone were playing a style where you would not know what instrument they were playing, pedals or not.
If you are into that country thang, those E9 changes can´t be beaten...
On the pedal steel, you have pedals which can be used, but this comes out as a must to make sense. Also, there is more strings to tame, and, as somebody said in this forum in another thread, 6 strings will keep you entertained for a long, long time.
-helmut
_________________
feel at home at: http://me.aquataur.guru |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064
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Posted 10 Sep 2012 4:19 pm
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Started on dobro, went to non-pedal electric, then to pedal steel.
_________________
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.
Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? |
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Len Amaral
From:
Rehoboth,MA 02769
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Posted 10 Sep 2012 7:09 pm
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Playing
more non pedal these days and waitin on a new D-12 MSA SuperSlide. |
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Mike Ihde
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 10 Sep 2012 8:24 pm
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| Started on pedal steel because of the cover band I was in and I needed those recorded licks. Went to lap steel because of Bill Leavitt's tuning. Still play both about equal between recording sessions and steel shows. |
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Les Anderson
From:
The Great White North
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Posted 11 Sep 2012 10:49 am
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| Dom Franco wrote: |
Yes I could have made a few more options...
I had hoped that most of us would present our individual stories in a response.
So here are my reasons:
1. Portability, The lap steel is so much easier to transport, set up, play on the couch in the living room, take on a plane, leave in the car as a backup etc... etc...
3. Sustain, my lap steels seem to have a deeper richer tone, that the changer and other stuff detracts from. If I was forced to to drop one for the other, I'd opt to keep the Remington D10 and give up the pedals.
I can play pedal steel, when needed, but 90% of the time it's lap steel.
Dom |
My D10 Remington is about 15% lighter than my friend's pedal Sho-bud and I don't have the hassle of adjusting pedals when the mechanics of them mess up. I have always sat when playing my steels, (D8 & D10) The big thing was, I could set up & pack up in about ten minutes with the consul steel but with pedals, need I say more?
My big advantage is that I have my Remington non-pedal tuned to E9th so switching back and forth does not give me a nightmare. |
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Jack Aldrich
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 12 Sep 2012 12:36 pm
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| I started on Dobro in 1975 with the objective to play pedal steel. I kept playing the Dobro while I played pedal steel (1975 - 2005). Then I fell in with some Hawaiians, and began playing non-pedal steel. I get a pedal steel gig occasionally and try my best to keep my chops up. - Jack |
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