The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi everyone. I bought some fuzzy slippers with soles from Keen and discovered by accident that they work real well for pedal steel (for me, anyway). Actually they work better than my standard steel footwear (Vans). Being slippers, they're extremely comfortable, obviously. Here they are if you're curious: http://www.zappos.com/keen-howser-black~2

I'm curious what kind of footwear y'all use...?

Those shoes look VERY comfortable AND make a great fashion statement... the moccasins too! I'll have to try some moccasins some time.

Mocassins for me.
Genuine moose hide.
Sarah Palin shot the moose from a helicopter!

Sarah Palin shot the moose from a helicopter!

With a rocket propelled grenade... Oh, and a Bazooka!

....and there was still enough of the moose left to make those?

What's a Woose?
I bought a pair of sketcher slip ons that work great for me. Gotta be thin soled and flexible.

Next to the swim fins...

I find the double nitrus set up to be the most effective.


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I think you'll find that as you get better, it matters less.
My first few years, it HAD to be boots.
Then, I could add my hush puppies (I guess I never was meant for glitter rock and roll).
Now I can play in anything but barefeet or river sandals

This subject pops up from time to time and my standard response has always been; wear the same footwear when playing as you would normally wear on a daily basis. I have read posts from players that stated that the pointed toes of Western boots have become caught up in the pedal rods. If you regularly wear and practice in round toe shoes and then attempt to be a weekend cowboy, that can very well occur. I wear boots on a daily basis and find no problem in that area whatsoever. Having also observed on occasion persons playing in thick soled tennis shoes or stocking feet(a tip of the hat to the Howington brothers), I am certain that I could do neither with any degree of proficiency. Long story short: simply wear whatever feels natural to you...JMOYMMV.

I wear thin-soled loafers.

I see some people wearing heavy shoes accidentally activating pedals and playing out of tune. They keep retuning their guitars, thinking that's the problem. They can't feel the pedal with their foot.

To me, a thin sole is essential for pedal steel footwear.

I like what both Lane Grey and b0b have to say here. I would also say that in addition to soles being thin for good pedal feel they should also not be super rubbery and "grippy". I have a pair of driving shoes with thin soles that just have so much grip that they actually want to stick to the pedal which makes sliding off one pedal to go to another anoyingly difficult. I will play in almost any shoe that I own and sometimes practice in stocking feet only. I can adapt to almost any scenerio but I am looking forward to trying out a pair of soft sole moccasins I have on order.

I looked for some loafers here a while back and nobody seemed to have them. Any recommendations where to find them? Jack

Barefoot Is the Only way for me

Erv, nice minnetonka moccasin made right here close to our back yards......boots w/leather soles for me. Moccs for home use!

About the only thing I can't play in is bare feet - although I haven't tried my Jandels yet (flip flops)

Kevin,
Yes, they sure are!
Sarah provided the moose hide.

You can't beat a pair of Chuck's. They are very easy to adjust tightness where you need it, and flexible enough to feel half pedal moves with ease. Plus they look cool.

I'm hoping Mr. Barnhart is a (relative) young'un here, because I'm pretty certain that 50-and-60-year old men do not look "cool" in Converse All-Stars, at least to those people who are now in charge of such things.

(hint: it ain't us no 'mo )

Pretty much any shoes are okay. When we wear ABUs, (Airman Battle Uniform), I can't play in the combat boots. I tried for years and finally just gave up. We usually don't perform in that uniform, so it's seldom a worry. On deployment I had to change shoes often as we played in that a lot. I can't bend my foot at the ankle at all, which makes it really hard to rock my foot from side to side.

-Jeff

Thin soles for sure, plus these soles are "flat". Some shoes have soles that "round up" quite a bit at the toe, which makes it harder to get the pedals engaged all the way.

Best part? Only $6
Worst part? My 16-yr old son has forbidden me to wear them out of the house!

Kung Fu shoes for me. They are cheap and lightweight. The all cotton construction means that you can throw a pair in your case without fear of damaging anything or taking up much space.....
Another big plus is being ready to go when a bar fight breaks out.