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Topic: Copedent, What's The Mystery?? |
Roger Shackelton
From:
MINNESOTA (deceased)
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 8:43 am |
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Copedent
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Copedent is a table used to describe the tuning and pedal arrangement on a pedal steel guitar. The term was coined by Tom Bradshaw in an early 1970s article in Guitar Player Magazine. It is short for "ChOrd PEDal arrangemENT". According to Bradshaw, the term is pronounced "co-PEE-dent". A complete copedent includes string gauges, and whether a string is plain or wound. A complete copedent also indicates the degree to which a string is altered, using "+" to indicate a half-step raise, and "-" to indicate a half-step lower. |
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Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 9:21 am
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| Nice succinct explanation! |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 9:39 am
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It doesn't explain why in Winnie Winston's famous book it's spelled "copedant".
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 9:44 am
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| Ian Rae wrote: |
| It doesn't explain why in Winnie Winston's famous book it's spelled "copedant". |
Ian, that's one of those things man was not meant to know.  |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 9:53 am
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| It is Tom Bradshaw's creation, so we have to go with his explanation and spelling, don't we? |
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Jeff Harbour
From:
Western Ohio, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 10:04 am
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| It could have also been "ChOrd PEDal ArrangemeNT"... Maybe that's what Winnie assumed??? |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 10:14 am
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| copedent works fine. get over it! |
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Henry Matthews
From:
Texarkana, Ark USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 10:32 am
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It doesn't explain why the word setup won't work. It's less letters to type, easier to spell and everyone knows what you mean 
_________________
Henry Matthews
D-10 Magnum, 8 &5, dark rose color
D-10 1974 Emmons cut tail, fat back,rosewood, 8&5
Nashville 112 amp, Fishman Loudbox Performer amp, Hilton pedal, Goodrich pedal,BJS bar, Kyser picks, Live steel Strings. No effects, doodads or stomp boxes. |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 10:45 am
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Vote Matthews.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 10:51 am
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Setup is a word that can also mean a few other things.
I've no problem with copedent, and Denise grabbed the concept quickly (she went googling me when we started dating).
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Fred Justice
From:
Mesa, Arizona
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 11:17 am
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Pedal set up works real good too.
_________________
Email: azpedalman@gmail.com
Phone: 480-235-8797 |
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Jon Light (deceased)
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 11:38 am
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| Go to Tom Bradshaw's page. I have found three different places where he spells it copedant. |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 2:06 pm
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| time for erv to post the dead horse. |
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Henry Matthews
From:
Texarkana, Ark USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 2:11 pm
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| chris ivey wrote: |
| time for erv to post the dead horse. |
_________________
Henry Matthews
D-10 Magnum, 8 &5, dark rose color
D-10 1974 Emmons cut tail, fat back,rosewood, 8&5
Nashville 112 amp, Fishman Loudbox Performer amp, Hilton pedal, Goodrich pedal,BJS bar, Kyser picks, Live steel Strings. No effects, doodads or stomp boxes. |
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Henry Matthews
From:
Texarkana, Ark USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 2:15 pm
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| Lane Gray wrote: |
Setup is a word that can also mean a few other things.
I've no problem with copedent, and Denise grabbed the concept quickly (she went googling me when we started dating). |
If you talking setup and steel guitars, it can only mean two things, pedal arrangement or your amplification gear. Fred hit the nail on the head. Dang, I used two big words
_________________
Henry Matthews
D-10 Magnum, 8 &5, dark rose color
D-10 1974 Emmons cut tail, fat back,rosewood, 8&5
Nashville 112 amp, Fishman Loudbox Performer amp, Hilton pedal, Goodrich pedal,BJS bar, Kyser picks, Live steel Strings. No effects, doodads or stomp boxes. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 6:39 pm
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| Lane Gray wrote: |
Setup is a word that can also mean a few other things.
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As does "tone", as does "pick", as does "string", as does "tuner", as does "bar", etc., etc., etc.
Plenty of words have multiple meanings and connotations, no need to invent replacement words for them, either.  |
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Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2016 8:10 pm
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| Donny Hinson wrote: |
| Plenty of words have multiple meanings and connotations, no need to invent replacement words for them, either. |
Quite so.
| Henry Matthews wrote: |
| If you talking setup and steel guitars, it can only mean two things, pedal arrangement or your amplification gear. |
I agree. And context would make it pretty clear which applies.
With all due respect ( a LOT of respect) to Tom Bradshaw, "copedent" seems to me not the best idea.
The last syllable is the last syllable of "arrangement", which is "-ment", with its first letter removed? By what morphological logic?
"Chord" as the source for the first syllable? Then where's the "h"? And anyway the pedals and levers aren't always used for chords; all changes are partially, and some changes are meant primarily, for melodic movements, or "licks". And the prefix "co-" has wide application in English words, meaning "shared" or "mutual" or "integrated" (e.g. cohabitation, cooperation, coherence, copilot), meanings not intended by "copedent".
But hey, many in our little steel guitar world have been using it for decades now (me too sometimes, under protest), and there's been no noticeable harm to anyone. |
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 12:52 am
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It is very common in any specialised area (guitars, trucks, football, fishing, computers, knitting etc.) to have words that mean nothing to people outside of that field of interest and even if they did know what it meant, they wouldn't be interested anyway.
Copedent is useful because when someone asks for one, you know exactly what to expect - a grid in a standard format that is pretty logical and easy to understand.
I doubt that anyone new to pedal steel would remain baffled by the word for long. |
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William Polka
From:
Chicago, Illinois
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 9:18 pm
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| As legendary broadcaster Harry Caray would say, Copedent spelled backwards is Tnedepoc. |
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Ken Pippus
From:
Langford, BC, Canada
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 9:47 pm
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| Is that the word for the setup on an ojnaB? |
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Slim Laurence
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 10:10 pm
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| I cast one vote for the term "impedent". |
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Ken Pippus
From:
Langford, BC, Canada
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 10:14 pm
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| For me, it must be an impediment. |
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Slim Laurence
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 10:21 pm
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| A feet impediment? I can relate... |
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Jeff Harbour
From:
Western Ohio, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2016 3:57 am
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| Quote: |
As does "tone", as does "pick", as does "string", as does "tuner", as does "bar", etc., etc., etc.
Plenty of words have multiple meanings and connotations, no need to invent replacement words for them, either. |
Perhaps... But, in conversation between steel guitarists you will likely get a direct answer if you ask someone about their pick, bar, or tuner. On the other hand, if you ask "What's your setup", the answer will probably be "What do you mean by setup?". That creates the need for Bradshaw's unambiguous term... Even "Pedal Setup" could be mistaken to mean Effect Pedals. |
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Dustin Rigsby
From:
Parts Unknown, Ohio
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Posted 15 Apr 2016 4:46 am
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maybe we can call it "electric Hawaiian guitar"... 
_________________
D.S. Rigsby |
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