The Steel Guitar Forum

Hey Folks,

I'm pretty new at pedal steel although I've been playing music for a while. Coming from a regular electric 6 string guitar the extended E9th tuning sounds appealing to me. I am having a hard time finding any clips of what it actually sounds like online though. Anyone have any links to share? I'm sure I must be just looking in the wrong place.

The only clips I can find on youtube are of Doug Livingston playing Schubert - which are great but are a very specific type of pedal steel playing (really impressive though!). Thanks in advance.

-Ian

Here is a video I made about 12 string Universal E9th/B6th

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlJcb9mYelM

Thanks Ken! That's a great and informative video about U12. I have to admit Universal 12 string seems a little intimidating to me. Your video helped explain a couple concepts about it though. I still would love to hear some extended e9th. I have a basic knowledge of 10 string E9th and the idea of being able to build off of that into Extended E9th sounds great and having that low e on there sounds like I would enjoy that. I'm just curious if those low notes on extended E9th are in a weird frequency where they just don't fit in with lots of types modern music - just getting in the way of other instruments. There must be a reason why it's not more popular - it's two extra strings from what most people already know, right? Seems like a no brainer. I guess I've read a little about people's opinions on it - I would just love to hear it some. Thanks again for making and sharing your video!

Ian Stynes wrote:I'm just curious if those low notes on extended E9th are in a weird frequency where they just don't fit in with lots of types modern music - just getting in the way of other instruments. There must be a reason why it's not more popular

The idea of having a low E sounds good to a guitar player as a reference point but the reality is as you suspected.. not that useful in a bar band type setting.

The 6th type stuff on Universal is only good if you have a little interest in it.

A single neck 10 string E9th will be more than sufficient to keep you baffled for some time.

A single neck 10 string E9th will be more than sufficient to keep you baffled for some time.

Ha ha! That is true... thanks Ken.

-Ian

My theory is only modify your tunings if:
A: you have a CONCRETE idea of how to use it and its lack is bugging you.
B: you have a teacher or friend who'll show you how to use it.

If you want to change things because "something is missing," you'll be disappointed. What's missing is between your ears.

Ian,

If you feel like playing some 12 string, I have a couple out in Queens.... Judging from a look at your studio page, a Uni might be interesting for you in the sound design, scoring world. Bar gigs.... S-10 is probably plenty. The 10 string E9 is a really deep and amazing tuning, after you finally get your head around it.

Lane - I get what you are saying. I do think E9 is great - I just also think extended E9 sounds like a really cool idea but am having a hard time actually hearing what it sounds like. I have a Fender 400 now and am thinking about getting something with more strings (although I love the sound). As I think about making this next step I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out by not exploring the extended E9th tuning as an option. I definitely think the 10 string E9 would keep me busy for a while for sure though (probably forever really).

And thanks Mike - that's a very generous offer. I'll send you a PM - I would love to check out some 12 strings! I live actually in Queens myself. And I do a lot of sound design - so maybe I should think again about a uni 12.

-Ian

Hi Ian,

I have a 10 string but I took the 9 th string out( d) and put that on a knee lever and moved up my b string to the 9 string and added a low e. I love it, I play in classic rock bands and I like having those power chords. Plus you can do blues rhythm stuff really nice.

Listen to some sneaky Pete clips and you'll hear him use some low string. The sound is a little boomier ( not sure that's a word) than a 6 string, but you can eq it to work nicely.
I would take off your 10 string and just try a low e on their 52 to 56 gauge and see how it sounds.

Good luck
Cory

Here's an MP3 of my Zum Uni in action. I treat my Uni like a REALLY extended E9 most of the time.

Everything but the beats are multitracked PSG, including the "signature" baritone twang, The low "whale song" moans, and the chime-y stuffs.

http://dvanet.net/audio/2peaksmix2.mp3

Dave - that is a great rendition of twin peaks - i love that song and it really lends itself to pedal steel nicely. thanks for sharing.

Cory - that is interesting. I have an 8 string fender now and I'm pretty much forced to choose to loose either the 1st and 2nd strings or the 7th and 9th. I tried both and I think it makes more sense to not have the 7th and 9th. I enjoy that you can strum bigger chords now and again. I would like to have those strings back though. I could see a low E being nice too - that's why the extended E9th sounds cool - you can have your cake and eat it too. Keep the standard E9th and just add some extra strings. Maybe in the real world it's not that useful. Truthfully I also have kind of dismissed a Uni 12 - maybe I should give it a closer look. I really am just getting going - I've only had my Fender for less than a year. It wouldn't be that hard to get used to a Universal tuning if I liked the sound. Or I could just go standard 10 string E9th and make my life easier...

Thanks for the input guys.

-Ian

I use a U-12, with the E9 extended all the way down to low A.

This rock tune shows what the tuning can do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkSnoeTWR4I

These songs were all done on Extended E9th:
http://b0blee.bandcamp.com/album/quasar-steel-guitar

Not E9/B6. The first 10 strings were E9th, and the bottom two were low G# and E. My C pedal lowered the low E to D (in addition to the standard changes), and my F lever lowered the 12th string E to C#.

You can hear the some low string rhythm parts behind the sax solo and the guitar solo in "Sagebrush Shuffle". Other than that, I don't think I used them much as I was playing lead parts. I used the low strings a lot for rhythm parts on gigs, and even the 8-string I play today includes that low E chord.

great clips!

b0b - i love that tune. and it's great to hear the rhythm stuff as well. really nice tone! your desert rose 8 string copedent looks really great too. the "wine country swing" clip gives a nice example of what that 8 string copedent sounds like as well. classic sounding.

mike - that's got some growl to it. a very cool sound for the steel. you really make it wail in that video.

great playing on both tracks - really interesting - thanks for sharing guys. I'm getting a better idea of how the 12 strings sound now.

-Ian

Bobby, the 8 String Desert Rose sounds really nice. I fail to understand though, why you chose to have 8 strings instead of 10 or 12. (My fantasy guitar is a 13 string with a 3rd chromatic string tuned to B, that would lower to Bb on the E-F knee lever.)

What kind of amp are you using?

Ian, I used 2 different effects on that tune. An Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, and an MXR 6 band equalizer, I didn't EQ the basic signal from the steel, I EQ'd the distortion.

I like to play blues-rock like this. It would drive me nuts to do it full time, but it can be a lot of fun once in a while. The guitar player's name is Steve Howden. We've been friends and occasional bandmates for over 30 years. BTW, the drummer is Steve Duncan from the Desert Rose Band. He likes to do this sort of thing once in a whole too.

Very cool sound - thanks for sharing Mike. I love EH pedals - lots of twisted sounds for when you need that kind of thing.

-ian