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Topic: Speedy West stutter button |
Dale Kath
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 12 Oct 2012 5:52 am |
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I have read that Speedy West utilized a stutter button. Has anyone spotted a video of him in action, using a stutter button? I have been searching but have come up empty so far.
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Carter SD10
Steel Guitar Black Box
Heritage h535
Epiphone viola bass |
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Eddie Cunningham
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 12 Oct 2012 7:44 am Bar crash ??
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| I believe that Speedy used a fast left hand "bar crash" to get that stutter sound. I once saw Jody Carver use that technique and it was quite effective . I don't think Speedy used a button !! I don't recall ever seeing him use a "button" , but I could be wrong !! His "boo-wah" tone control is a different animal !! Eddie "C" |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Bobby Bowman
From:
Cypress, Texas, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 12 Oct 2012 8:48 am Speedy
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Both Eddie and Jimbeaux are spot on. IMO, the button never captured the real effect.
BB
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If you play 'em, play 'em good!
If you build 'em, build 'em good!
http://www.bobbybowman.com |
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Billy Tonnesen
From:
R.I.P., Buena Park, California
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Posted 12 Oct 2012 12:44 pm
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Speedy did it all with his hands with no buttons that I ever saw. As a side note: Alvino Rey did all of Speddy's effects first as seen from old films from the early 40's now seen on U-Tubes.
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Sacramento Western Swing Society Hall of Fame, 1992 |
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Olaf van Roggen
From:
The Netherlands
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Posted 12 Oct 2012 12:57 pm
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| Cindy Cashdollar does some effect's that remind me of Speedy's sound... |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064
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Posted 13 Oct 2012 11:43 am
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| Olaf van Roggen wrote: |
| Cindy Cashdollar does some effect's that remind me of Speedy's sound... |
I've seen Cindy do that move a lot. Of course she could comment here herself, but it looks to me like she does a muted bar slam with the left hand, and then quickly and immediately "spanks" the strings with the palm of her right hand. But I speak from memory only.
I saw Speedy do it years ago by slapping the strings with a towel. That's my technique also, but I have to be in a really crazy mood to do it. 
Cindy also is quite adept at using the volume and tone knobs to get the "wah" effect. Another Speedy trademark.
_________________
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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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 13 Oct 2012 4:38 pm A tragedy..........for sure!
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In September, I visited the CMHF in Nashville and there I saw Speedy Wests' famous BIGSBY triple neck steel guitar.
It was a terrible sight to see. It was in terrible condition. Was it in the Nashville flood?
Does anyone know? |
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Joerg Hennig
From:
Bavaria, Germany
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Posted 15 Oct 2012 11:52 am
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| I have been trying to learn some Speedy tunes myself lately. My guess is he must have done that "stuttering" thing by rapidly bouncing the tip of the bar on the strings while simultaneously moving towards the right (upwards in pitch), at the same time damping with the right hand. It gets kind of strenous with an ordinary bar after a while. Somewhere I've read that Speedy used a "Black Rajah" bar which was basically plastic on the outside with a metal core, maybe that would have been easier to handle. I would love to hear some ideas on this. |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 15 Oct 2012 1:34 pm
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| Actual buttons have gotten somewhat common on electric guitars. It's easy to set up a two-pickup, four-knob guitar to do with the selector switch, then the momentary buttons got added to guitars with other configurations. You could build a little box for $10 or so - box, two jacks, switch, 4" of wire.... velcro, paint, sequins, glitter.... |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 15 Oct 2012 3:37 pm Hey PETE!
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As a courtesy to your fellow SGF friends.........
why not explain to them exactly HOW Speedy West did
his 'stutter' affect on his many instrumentals for Capital Records?
Or, they can watch Alvino Ray and Speedy doing it live on You Tube.........eh? |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 15 Oct 2012 4:04 pm Re: Hey PETE!
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| Ray Montee wrote: |
As a courtesy to your fellow SGF friends.........
why not explain to them exactly HOW Speedy West did
his 'stutter' affect on his many instrumentals for Capital Records?
Or, they can watch Alvino Ray and Speedy doing it live on You Tube.........eh? |
Hi Ray,
I thought this thread was about Stutter buttons so I posted a link to some Stutter buttons.
I've never had any Stutter bar training and have rarely if ever used the Stutter thing as part of my schtick.
Surely some other players are more qualified to show how it's done.
I did see Lloyd Green do it at a convention once, and he put his right hand (pushing upwards) under his left arm (pushing downwards), and then walked the "stuttering" bar up the neck.
I do recall you showing me how to do the Speedy West thing where you block the strings with your left hand and slam the bar down fast on the strings and then pick it up to stop. I thought that was called "Quake-ing", though.
I'm sure alot of guys would like to hear how it was done from those who learned it directly from Speedy.
Who first showed that technique to Speedy? |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 15 Oct 2012 4:33 pm Thanks Pete........
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On YOU TUBE.........
under SPEEDY WEST..........
Give a listen to: "Caffeine Patrol" and "Railroadin"
Is this what you're inquiring about?
WHERE have you seen reference to Speedy using a
"STUTTER BUTTON?" I'd be most interested in reading more about this technique. |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 15 Oct 2012 7:41 pm
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Clearly, OP Mr. Kath has been treacherously deceived with silky, silver-toned lies; we need to track down the perp and apprehend him. Once we detain him, Ray, shall we mail him to you?  |
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Dale Kath
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 16 Oct 2012 6:03 am Speedy West and the stutter button
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I received a lot of information on "stuttering" from an earlier post
see:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=232450&highlight=
I was informed that the button on my Pedalmaster was a "stutter button" to "SIMULATE" the Speedy West effect.
Now I am educated that Speedy never had such a button on his PSG, so I can search from Kingdom Come but will not ever find a video of him using a stutter button. So, once again, thankS to the friendly folks on the forum - Question answered! Life is good!
_________________
Carter SD10
Steel Guitar Black Box
Heritage h535
Epiphone viola bass |
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Roger Shackelton
From:
MINNESOTA (deceased)
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Posted 16 Oct 2012 10:52 am
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WESLEY WEBB WEST (aka Speedy West) From Strafford, Mo. Never Used Any Gimmicks To Play His Style Of Steel Guitar. He Was Very Inventive & Developed His Style Of Steel Guitar Playing "His Own Self" 
Roger |
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Skip Edwards
From:
LA,CA
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Posted 16 Oct 2012 12:35 pm
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| I don't know about a stutter button, but I had heard a long time ago that Speedy replaced the tone pot on his gtr with a doorbell switch. |
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Miguel e Smith
From:
Phoenix, AZ
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Posted 16 Oct 2012 12:50 pm
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I never heard it called a stutter button (it's kinda cool though) but, I still have my first axe...a Gibson Electraharp and it has what many folks told me was a "crash button". Same thing I'm sure and I've told the story about it often (although I never really used it).
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Mike S.
"Mike & T's House Of Steel" (band)
www.houseofsteelband.com |
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Gary Walker
From:
Morro Bay, CA
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Posted 21 Oct 2012 3:29 pm
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| I was a Speedy West fan in the fifties and got to play rhythm for him in 1959 at a trade shot when Roy Lanham stepped away for a break in the Fender room. Speddy's so-called stutter was just his uncanny ability to rapidly bounce the bar while ascending up the fret board. It was a fast choo-choo before the doo-wah thing with the tone control. He was the Master of pyrotechnics and tone for that era |
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Cliff Kane
From:
the late great golden state
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Posted 21 Oct 2012 3:55 pm
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| It's not bar slamming, but part of the fun and design perks of the vintage guitars is that they have tone and volume controls where one can easily reach and manipulate them while playing. The Emmons has a reachable control, but it's not as pliable as something like the controls on a Fender, the nice tall knurled knobs just in front and left of your picking hand. You can do a pseudo faux stutter with the neck selector switch, but the handy controls and low-output pickups of vintage guitars give you a dynamic and expressive instrument. I wonder if the omission of easy-to-reach controls on modern steel guitars was a conscious design break from playing styles of the past to the contemporary style. |
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