The Steel Guitar Forum

Don't get me wrong, I like playing pedal steel but physical limitations don't allow me to work the pedals and levers as I use to do. Case in point, I was an avid six string guitar player many years ago and had hand surgery and that's what made me concentrate on the pedal steel.

Now, lower extremity problems have directed me toward lap and straight steel. I never thought I would say this but non pedal steel has captivated me and I find my bar control is much better and I enjoy the portability of the instrument.

Your thoughts?

Hi Len, I went down that road some time ago, not for any health or dexterity reasons, but just because I liked the Non Pedal Guitar better, and also I can build my own as I like them to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skZ_DJRp ... NucwrELY8A

James.

Years ago I made my living on the road Playing Pedal steel in country and Gospel bands.

I still play my pedal steel at church on Sundays, but now I mostly play lap steel (non-pedal) For solo gigs and with local groups.

The lack of pedals makes it more fun and challenging to play the chords I love to hear. And I like the sound better without the mechanical bends.

Dom

...non pedal steel has captivated me and I find my bar control is much better and I enjoy the portability of the instrument.

I know exactly how you feel, Len! I took the same path... guitar to pedal steel to non-pedal. I still play pedal steel on gigs because that's what the bands I work with expect to hear, but I'm far more fascinated with non-pedal, the different tunings, the simplicity of the instrument, the portability, the challenge of playing steel music without pedals and levers, no cumbersome hardware, no detuning issues...

like most of you, started on lap steel, went to pedal and back to lap steel. I love the sound of the PSG, but at my age just got tired of hauling it around, setting it up and taking it down, Went back to Lap steel, got me an 8 string and am happy.

Non pedal steel also has me thinking quite a bit where to move the bar to find notes and chords. Now
I am not going to get the same voicing's as my U-12 but my bar accuracy is getting sharper and lifting the bar on my pedal steel was seldom but now it has an entirely different feel.

I also love the pedal steel but carrying it and the gear that goes with it is out of the question. However, I can see myself sitting in with some bands after the first of the year with a small amp and a lap steel. You know that think about lemons and lemonade? It's true

I bought my first dobro in 1978, and got my first pedal steel in 79. I mostly played psg over the years, but fell in love with dobro more than ever about 4 years ago, and barely touched the psg. I'm playing in a western swing band nowadays and multi-task between piano and steel, so I bought an 8 string and put it on the 2nd tier of my keyboard stand. Since you can't put a pedal guitar there, I determined to learn to do it like Herb, Leon and the boys with a non-pedaler.

I really think that my understanding of pedal guitar theory has helped me get up to speed quickly on the non pedal. I'm having a blast with it. I never realized how versatile a C6 8 stringer with no pedals can be, but there are very few songs where I even think about wanting an E9 psg now. And the ability to go between pounding out honky tonk piano to steel in the same song is more fun than I should be allowed to have. No one even seems to notice that I don't have pedals.

Hey Len,
Just before. Reece Anderson passed on, he convinced me to buy a Super Slide 12 String with his C6 tuning. I find myself playing the lap over my U-12 most of the time. I am getting a roland BA-330 so I can just head out the door and go play. The other side it is much easier to secure when you are out. The copedant is here under links, I think you will really like it after playing a Uni.

Hi Niels:

I have a D-12 MSA SS and the one neck is set up to Reese's 12 C6 tuning. I use 4 picks and the voicing's are beautiful. I also like the 12th string for low boomy tones.

Well looks to me you are set, time to sell the pedal steel or just leave her home.

I mostly play lap steel and square neck. Every time I think about buying a pedal steel, I talk with Herb Remington and a few others and I say to heck with it and stick with the non pedal steels. I have found several ways to emulate pedal bends with bar slants. And, portability is always nice.

As a beginner I recently started on the non pedal, then decided to try pedal steel. I have decided to concentrate on the non pedal, at least for the immediate future. I just find it more enjoyable, and as many have said the portability is also a factor. I can grab a lap steel, plug it in and be playing in 5 minutes. In my case I don't have a place I can leave the pedal ready to play, so it makes it much harder to lug it out and set everything up. I also like to play some Hawaiian music, which I like the sound of better on the lap in C6. Other thing is I like the C6 tuning better than E9 personally.

My slide into lap steel came with my desire to play Hawaiian. I started in 1974 with a Dobro and a Fender Champion 6, but by '75 I had my ShoBod Pro I. I played professionally in country bands until 2004, then started on non-pedal with a Fender Pro 8, then a D8 Stringmaster, etc. etc. - Jack

Doug Beaumier wrote:

...non pedal steel has captivated me and I find my bar control is much better and I enjoy the portability of the instrument.

I know exactly how you feel, Len! I took the same path... guitar to pedal steel to non-pedal. I still play pedal steel on gigs because that's what the bands I work with expect to hear, but I'm far more fascinated with non-pedal, the different tunings, the simplicity of the instrument, the portability, the challenge of playing steel music without pedals and levers, no cumbersome hardware, no detuning issues...

Doug ,you are responsible for my transition to lap-steel,posting your addictive u-tube clips I found ghost-riders by chance and that was it dang' you.But something must be done to stop you collecting all the lap-steels in the world
is there one you don't have

I have "drifted" to non-pedal almost exclusively after starting out on non-pedal, then going to pedals. I find that my playing is MUCH more expressive on non-pedal. When I mentioned this to Herb Remington when I ordered my D-8 Steelmaster, he said "the hand is connected to the heart."

My E9th pedal steel licks sound pretty much like many other pedal steel players but the non-pedal steel, as Jerry Byrd would agree, is more like a fingerprint, with no two players sounding exactly alike because the individual touch of each player is more apparent on the non-pedal steel. I believe this is so because of the complete reliance on the bar to express even the simplest of single note melodies.

There's a reason why "Sleepwalk" by Santo & Johnny remains the most famous and often used recording of a steel guitar instrumental. I believe it's the beautiful expression of a simple and soulful melody which is something I wish I could achieve in all my playing.

Robert Burgess wrote: Doug ,you are responsible for my transition to lap-steel, posting your addictive u-tube clips

That's great, Robert! I'm glad you made the transition.

Frank Welsh wrote:

...my playing is MUCH more expressive on non-pedal.
...My E9th pedal steel licks sound pretty much like many other pedal steel players
...the non-pedal steel...is more like a fingerprint, with no two players sounding exactly alike because the individual touch of each player is more apparent on the non-pedal steel. I believe this is so because of the complete reliance on the bar to express even the simplest of single note melodies.

Very well said, Frank! I think you've captured the essence of it... non-pedal players tend to play with MORE EXPRESSION due to the smaller, "faster" bar and the player's total reliance on the bar... a lightweight bar, for slants, hammer-ons, moving quickly from fret to fret. Unlike the heavier PSG bar, and using pedals and levers to make chord changes on the same fret. Yes, most pedal steel players sound alike due to the mechanisms in the instrument. A steel player's personality and individual touch come through much more on non-pedal steel than on pedal steel guitar IMO. Cheers

One other thing I forgot in my last post: For the last 5 years I've been taking lessons from Alan Akaka, who was one of Jerry Byrd's primo students, and he's been teaching me Jerry's method of left and right hand movement and control. As a result, the tonality and overall sound has improved on my pedal steel playing. I have been known to employ bar slants on pedal steel. That's how I learned Tom Brumley's solo on "Together Again" from Jeff Newman back in the 70's. - Jack (NOT John).

One other thing I forgot in my last post: For the last 5 years I've been taking lessons from Alan Akaka, who was one of Jerry Byrd's primo students, and he's been teaching me Jerry's method of left and right hand movement and control. As a result, the tonality and overall sound has improved on my pedal steel playing. I have been known to employ bar slants on pedal steel. That's how I learned Tom Brumley's solo on "Together Again" from Jeff Newman back in the 70's. - Jack (NOT John).

Hey Jack, If you watch Franklin you can see he likes his bar slants most notably on the Bakersfield album. I think they present a unique tonal quality for pedal steel. Reece used to use them all the time, no matter what he was playing. I can feel what Jerry Byrd said about the connection from the hands to the heart, once or twice I actually experienced it.

I started out in the early 70's playing on a SB Maverick in a country-rock band in the SoCal area. My contemporaries were JB Crabtree, Art Sanchez etc.
I played for about 3 years then sat out of music for a long-long stretch (ex-wife didn't like the competition).

Fast forward to a few years ago when I picked up a ZB on Craigslist and started plunking again. The ZB gave way to a S-10 BMI which is my current horn.

Left wrist issues have currently moved me away from 6 string guitar to steel, but crappy, stiff football ankles get in the way of effective left foot pedaling. So, I moved to an 8 string Melobar lap playing the E13 (McAuliffe) tuning.

I was having a blast this way when one weekend I got the idea to pull down the BMI again, and run it without pedals. The end result is that I still use my Melobar for practice and fun jams, but I take the PS to band jams and praise-team gigs.

I have 4 KL's and I use them mostly to change chords. But have to say, this setup is very versatile for me, and the setup time is about 1/2 of what it used to be with the pedals.

With the E13 tuning and KL's only, I still keep a lot of my slants and I feel like this setup aids me in developing a unique style (more-non trad).

That's my story and I'm stuck with it.

I agree that playing non-pedal steel improves and changes a players approach to his pedal steel guitar. It did for me. I do a lot more slanting on PSG nowadays, more riffs without using the pedals, and playing in a less cluttered way... fewer cliche' PSG licks that don't relate to the particular song I'm playing. In other words, instead of stuffing 10 standard pedal steel licks into every song, regardless of what the song is, I try to play the song itself, the music, on the pedal steel. I think playing non-pedal has helped me to take this approach.

Well put Doug. I hope something similar happens to me. My pedal steel life has taken a hiatus in favor of C6 lap steel these days but I'd eventually like to circle back to E9 and reapproach the 10 string C6 on the other neck.

It ain't the guitar, the gear, or the licks.

Play what fits, and what you feel.

I drifted from non-pedal to pedal then back to non-pedal. I still play pedal from time to time.

Maybe it's my shape, but I've never found a comfortable position with the knee levers, and I have several pedal steels. My favorite pedal steel is my Sho-Bud Crossover, which only has one knee lever.

Again, it may be laziness or just creeping old age, but I can sit comfortably in an armchair and play lap steel. I can't do that with pedal.

I have some of those same comfort issues on the PSG. And BTW, Doug bears some responsibility for my having got one. And I'm glad I got it. As Reece used to say, playing PSG teaches you things about the lap steel and vice versa. Since I only play C6, the main advantage for me with the psg is versatility. A lot more really can be done on it. But still, I find that with my style, the pedals seldom come into play. But they make a huge difference when they do. I'm squarely and decisively on the fence when it comes to a preference.