The Steel Guitar Forum

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I used to, but had to quit fiddle/violin several years ago due to a cervical spinal (neck) problem.

In my opinion, there are a lot of similarities shared by the two instruments including: a singing tone, lots of two-part harmony, vibrato unencumbered by frets, volume swells, and sustain.

When I was a kid in the Rio Grande Valley, I remember seeing Norman Newton playing at different dances and was excellent on both steel and fiddle. He kept his fiddle next to his steel and laid the bow in between the necks of his D-10. Played both the steel and fiddle breaks. Not sure where he is now but for where we were then, he was awesome. The whole Newton Brothers band was Nashville material i thought.

I can name two - Carmen Acciaioli from near Amarillo, and Gene "Sandy" Watson from my area. They both do quite well on both instruments!

I know Henry Matthews from Texarkana plays both. He runs an Opry and plays steel at the show and I bet he might even do a little fiddle work there as well.

Bobby Flores. And you.

Thanks Paul for the plug. I do double on fiddle and steel. I was a fiddle player long before I played steel. I used to follow the fiddling contest all over the four states area. I still play some fiddle and on our opry, I play usually what ever instrument s most dominant in the song we are doing. If its a show that requires a lot of fiddle like a western swing show we had a while back, I usually call Robbie Primm to play steel and I stay on fiddle. We had a blast that weekend of the western swing, Robbie is an awesome picker. I find it very difficult to swap instruments during a song and at my age, it's hard just getting out from under steel, lol.

Grady Lindler. Grady ordered a Bigsby, was told there was a three year wait, so while he was waiting,
Grady turned into a great fiddler. His hero was Stephane Grapelli. I got lucky--Their group, the old codgers, needed a guitar player to fill in, so I got the call. Grady played fiddle, and Vern Hester played pedal steel. That band swung!

Fooch Fishetti from Woodstock,NY plays both and is a, regular at the PSGA Show in Ct. He plays both very well!

Rick Campbell is an excellent fiddler and steeler also.

Connecticut's (by way of Canada)Terry Sutton is equally adept in both. Plus I heard Smiley Roberts fiddles around. LOL

In my mind. I noodle with it a lot for my own amazement(?). I always said if I could find a band that was bad enough to tolerate me for six months, I could become fairly adept. One band asked me to bring it one night and sit in. Now they won't tell me where their gigs are.

I usually end up wanting to shoot the fiddle player! Good thing I don't have to commit suicide!

I used to but it kept me from my Steel too much so I sold it off

Doug Stock.

There was a guy who played steel with Gretchen Wilson-her first steel player-he played a Zumsteel and also played fiddle. Bobby Flores also plays both fiddle and steel

James Pennebaker plays both very well.

I double on fiddle and steel (Thank you, John for your kind words). It has helped me make things work as a full time player from my base in Woodstock, NY and has given me the opportunity to play steel with some of my favorite fiddle players and vise versa. Certainly, playing fiddle in the back up band at the PSGA show in Norwalk, CT for many years, has been a wonderful opportunity to play with some superb steel players as well as some of the true Masters of the steel guitar!

edited to remove double post.

Fooch!
It's just that the fiddle players I've had the bad luck to play with were buttheads! Stepped all over everyone else. Couldn't play any rhythm, but felt they had to play all the time. I'd play a fill and play a Bluesy flatted third, and they'd be noodlin' around, during my fill or, worse yet, during my solo, and they'd play a major third. Those two notes don't sound too good together! One was a great fiddle player, but just couldn't stop playing for more than a second or two. I mean that he felt he had to play fills to my fills and my solos! Argh! And they'd do the same thing to the lead guitarist and the keyboard player! They felt they were the center of attention, the only reason people came to the club! No sharing the spotlight with them!
Just my bad luck to play with guys that were great players, but very inconsiderate of the rest of the band. Part of being a good player is knowing when to step back and not play! And their imbibing didn't help either! We unplugged one's mic once, at a New Years gig, and he never was aware of it!
As I said, they were just my bad luck ,,,,,,,,,....... just my bad luck!

There is also Scott Walls in Texas.

I do that when it's a Cajun gig.

John Billings wrote:Fooch!
It's just that the fiddle players I've had the bad luck to play with were buttheads! Stepped all over everyone else. Couldn't play any rhythm, but felt they had to play all the time. I'd play a fill and play a Bluesy flatted third, and they'd be noodlin' around, during my fill or, worse yet, during my solo, and they'd play a major third. Those two notes don't sound too good together! One was a great fiddle player, but just couldn't stop playing for more than a second or two. I mean that he felt he had to play fills to my fills and my solos! Argh! And they'd do the same thing to the lead guitarist and the keyboard player! They felt they were the center of attention, the only reason people came to the club! No sharing the spotlight with them!
Just my bad luck to play with guys that were great players, but very inconsiderate of the rest of the band. Part of being a good player is knowing when to step back and not play! And their imbibing didn't help either! We unplugged one's mic once, at a New Years gig, and he never was aware of it!
As I said, they were just my bad luck ,,,,,,,,,....... just my bad luck!

I know just what you mean John. Why can't musicians that are good on their instrument realize that you aren't supposed to play all the durn time. When I play fiddle or steel, I just quit playing when it's not my time to play. There are several good guitar players and one good fiddler in this area that play 95 percent of the time. Why can't they hear that, makes me mad just thinking about it, durn!

Hey Jim, I know Scott Walls and have seen him many times in the Austin area and he is a great steel player but I never saw him play fiddle. Not to say he is not, just not aware of it. He plays a lot of gigs with a great fiddle player by the name of Howard Kalish. Back in the day of Don Walser (rip)they were quite a pair on stage. J.R.

I do