The Steel Guitar Forum

(Greetings World)

I'm planning on learning c6 in the near future and was wondering if anyone makes/made a c6 starter/student model. Not sure if I want to dive into a D10 just yet. Any info helps.
Thanks

Just my observation of my journey...

I started steel guitar with a C6 - 6 string lap steel. I "graduated" to a Marlen D-10, and found C6 was easier to play, because a lot of the bar slants you have to do on non-pedal are accomplished by the pedals and knees. That said, you can still do the bar slants if you wish, while you learn the pedal and knees.

I now play E9 only, because (1) a D10 was too heavy for my arthritic shoulders and (2) leg dexterity kept me from playing the pedals right.

I still do have the C6 lap steel, and pull it out form time to time and play some licks!

Here is a comparison chart I did when I was learning...

I love the Buddy Emmons C6 copedent. You can find it in the information section here on the forum. I find it downright excellent for the jazz and pop styles of the 1920's through the late 40's to early 50's as well as the pop and swing played even up till now. I have heard some excellent 50's and beyond jazz played on it. But I'm not there yet. I suspect though that as with lap steel tunings, what will suit you best depends a little on what you are interested in playing.

Not sure if the current student / low cost models let you change the tuning around, but you could check with the builders to see if they can build one for you. I have never seen a C6th single neck offered on any builder's websites or any other advertising means in the 42 years I have been playing. Not saying nobody did, I just have never seen it. Most any builder would build a pro model S10 or SD10 with a c6th setup, but that would be the expensive pro guitars.

Another option is to buy a used S10 or SD10 and convert it. A 3 pedal 4 knee lever guitar would work, but 5 knee levers would be better. Just put 2 of the pedals on knee levers. Of course, that would limit some of the "extra" changes people put on the Cth. Several people have put pedal 5 on a knee lever as well as pedals 6 and 7. I myself have both pedals 7 & 8 on knee levers. You would probably have to get some bellcranks and pull rods for whatever guitar you get. Most levers on an E9 guitar only pull 2 strings, so if you plan to move pedal 5 or 8 to a lever, they each have 3 pulls and you would need parts. But if you put pedal 6, 7 or 4 (if you plan to put that change on your guitar, a lot have dumped that pedal), they could go on levers with only 2 pulls. Also, you can put the pedal 4 change on a lever with a half stop to give you the A to Bb lever. It's like having 2 levers in one. I do that on my 4th string, but not the 8th string. And I will admit, I almost never use the full step raise and actually have the lever tuned right now to only raise to Bb. I like the solid stop at Bb better. If I need the maj7 chord, I can get it with the pedal 7 changes (on string 4).

EDIT: Actually, I was just thinking. A used guitar would still need the bellcranks and pull rods for the pedals 5 & 8 because most pedals on E9 only pulled 2 strings too.

Here is a link to the Emmons copedent.
http://www.buddyemmons.com/ttchart.htm

(Greetings Thomas Heath)

I don't know of any "starter" guitars with the hardware for all the C6 pulls. Most builders would happily make a pro single neck.

There were factory C6 guitars from ShoBud and Emmons; fairly rare, mostly 5P 1K and some were dismantled into E9 machines. An old Fender cable guitar would likely do well, except for the knee.

Just my opinions:

It seems like there are used D-10's for less than a new, custom single neck could be ordered.

Learning to play that neck on a modified E9 guitar may interfere with moving to any other D-10 with the standard arrangement.

Another question is , do you ever plan on playing E9 too? If so, jump into a D10 right from the start, or maybe even think of going with a universal 12 string.

Sorry if I was not clear. I have been playing E9 for about a year and a half now. c6 is something I will learn eventually, just not sure if I want to dive into a d10 now. (lb,$)

You can get most of the changes of the C6 on an old fender cable guitar. A 400 with 4 pedals can be had for a pretty reasonable price still... An 800 would be even better...