The Steel Guitar Forum

I bought a MSA D12, my first PSG! I love my laps, but there are some things that laps just dont do well.
Can't wait to start pedaling!
And I apologize in advance for all the newbie/stoopid/boring questions that I'll be bugging y'all with....
..but this place knows it all, so I figure I'll ask where the experts hang out!
-andy-
(BTW, Bill Hatcher is a heck of a great guy!)
Thanks again Bill!

Andy...most of us started with the lap steel, and let me tell you that you are going to have a great time with pedal steel. I have always said that the pedal steel guitar is the most rewarding instrument to play. Welcome to the forum, you will be in touch with hundreds of new friends and they will help you with any and all questions that you may have...and what's more, they enjoy doing it. The fraternity of SG players is an unusual bond to say the least.

Leon Eneboe, Williams Sl2, ShoBud LDG, Peavey amps plus a lot of "stuff".

From a lap-steel...to a D12??? That's a pretty big jump! Lucky you, there'll always be someone here who can help you. (We didn't have that luxury before the internet and good ol' b0b!)

Donny,
Your are so right. I started playing about a year and a half ago after playing six string for forty years and it has been a blast. It is a very hard instrument to get a grip on but what a great sound. The forum has been a tremendous source of information for everyone and especially for me considering in my area there are no teachers within 150 miles.
I think this forum is unique from the standpoint that everyone wants the others to improve no matter what their level of play.

Good Luck Andy!

Terry Hickey

Congrats, the MSA is a great steel. <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 05 October 2004 at 08:22 PM.]</p></FONT>

Thanks for the words of encouragement! I've actually been hanging around the forum here for about 4-5 years, ever since I started playing Reso. I've been playing 6 string regular guitar since I was 7. (man..38 years ago..) With my Dad on Lapsteel. Bass, Banjo, Piano, Drums, Sax, Trombone, at one time or another, but 6 sting was always the main.
Once I heard Buddy and my hero, Danny Gatton, on the Redneck Jazz Explosion recordings, I resolved to learn Danny's technique. That was 3 years ago. But while I was learning Danny's stuff, I kept being drawn into Buddys playing. The more I listened, the more blown away I became! What a pair of killer players! So, The Dobro led to 6 string Lap, to 8 string Lap, to a D8, a T8, a B-bender on two of my Tele's, and now, finally, the big Kahuna!
I'm a little apprehensive, with all the mechanics and such, but learning a new instrument isn't as tough as it used to be. I have LOTS more patience than I used to, and the background in theory and multiple instruments helps a lot.
It's my wife I worry about.
You KNOW where I'm going to set up that Steel....the coffee table is going to need to find an interim home... and She's going to have to listen to all the clams...
-andy-

And she'll be gone,gone,gone!!do you knows how to cook??? ha ha

Andy,

Welcome to the MSA D-12 club. These are fine guitars. I’ve had mine since 1978.

The forum is a great place to ask and learn about pedal steels. There are a lot of people here giving us the help we need to succeed. Thanks bOb and all.

Tom

MSA D-12
Peavey Vintage 212
Treasurer, Georgia Steel Guitar Association

Well, it's here! I spent last night getting acquainted with it. (till 2AM...)The E9 neck is pretty straight forward. The C6th is way cool, but it'll take a bit longer.
I have one (of a long future list) question:
Is that MSA pickup a hum-bucker?
It has lots of beef, but it's a little dark for me. I tend to lean toward a sparkley sound. Possible to tap one of the coils?
Suggestion for a drop-in alternative?
Thanks in advance! Having a ball!
-andy-
BTW, this thing is built like a TANK! I LOVE that kind on engineering! =D

Sounds like your steel has one of the SuperSustain pickups, does it say that on it? The way I heard it (sure someone else can correct me if I'm wrong) is that the Super Sustain I and II pickups, while they look and sound like humbuckers, they are actually not. The older MSA's (like mine) had narrow pickups that look like the Sho Bud pickups, are usually brighter than the later ones. My '74 MSA D-12 has these and it's plenty bright... on the other hand, if you do any David Lindley style stuff using distortion, a slightly darker guitar will give the tone more guts, like a humbucker in the bridge of a Strat does over the single coil...but whatever you've got, you can get replacements for it that will brighten it up if you feel it needs it. George L's are pretty popular for replacing MSA pickups.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 08 October 2004 at 10:23 AM.]</p></FONT>

Andy-Congratulations on the new Pedal steel. That D12 MSA is a model that I played for many years. It wont let you down and stays in tune....good luck....al

------------------
My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/

I just started playing PSG three years ago after 30+ years of standard electric and slide, and I can say this:
1) efficient picking and blocking are extremely important, you need to be able to start and stop notes within licks seamlessly while picking across strings, including licks that skip strings. The self-muting action of lifting your left hand fingers slightly off a standard guitar neck can't help you now - search this site for "pick blocking", "palm blocking", "left hand blocking" etc.;
2) figuring out what YOU want to do with the bugger is a great step forward in figuring out what to practice;
3) I wouldn't worry too much now about whether you have the right guitar, pickups, bench to sit on, etc. There'll be plenty of time* for that later on, when you can pick major and minor scales in every position in every key, using all the pedal combinations, harmonize licks in 4ths, 5ths, and 3rds, and whatever else you might come up with to test yourself. I WOULD advocate fidgeting with different bars, picks and amp settings.

*(and hopefully, plenty of money too. HA HA HA)

HEY ANDY,just wondering how things are going? have u been threw out of the house yet? ha ha, just teasing i put my wife thru
the mill for 35yrs. they gotta be tough to take it!!!!!farris

Farris, you are a stitch!
My wife hasn't blown a gasket, (yet) and I have the D12 in parts, in the living room on a utility table. I watch TV with her, while disassembling, and cleaning parts, and stay up late buffing.
Last night she looked over at me and said "is all that really neccesary?" .
I looked back, thought about it, and said "Do you want the long winded, technical explanation of why, or just a yes or no?"
She said "yes or no"
I said "well then, yes, it is"
She paused for a few seconds and said "I dont beleive you..."

Barb is great, no doubt about it. She's put up with me for 20 years now, and there's no end in sight!

(wait till I start building the Leslie that I've been planning...)

Thanks for the checkup Farris!<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Andy Zynda on 13 October 2004 at 11:14 AM.]</p></FONT>

Andy,
Just forget about the Leslie and save the marriage! Instead, try a H & K Rotosphere.
Erv

HEY ERV,the marriage is over anyway!!he just don't know it yet!TAMMIES song said DIVORCE,after he gets it going,then trouble really starts. Those girls start jumping all over him!!more than any man can stand!yep gotta keep and update on this one!!!
farris

Andy,
Congrats on the new steel and welcome to the most adictive past time except for...UH...well you know! Pedal steel....
The Most Fun you can have with your cloths on!Ha! And what the others have said is true! Women will throw themselves at you
from now on!....My wife just throws things!
Good Luck!

------------------
Sho-Bud ProII, Pro III,
Nash 400,Hilton pedal,
RV-5."There's been an awful murder, down on music row"

D-12, that means... 24 strings? Wow, I ain't got enough fingers... Must look as big as a piano soundboard My compliments.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Ray Minich on 13 October 2004 at 02:46 PM.]</p></FONT>

Well, the rebuild is getting close to completion. The best thing about this complete teardown/cleanup/reassemble is that now I UNDERSTAND the workings of this animal!
There's no book in the world that could have explained what I learned in this rebuild process.
The E9 neck is re-rodded, and adjusted, and the strings have settled in and stopped stretching. I can see now why MSA players love their guitars. This thing is rock-solid in tune once it's properly adjusted!
The C6 neck should be finished tonight. Cant wait to bang on it!
(Once my fingers recover from "buffers cramp", and my sinuses have expelled all the buffing rouge dust...)
-andy-

Andy said:

<SMALL>I have the D12 in parts, in the living room on a utility table.</SMALL>

Many years ago a buddy of mine rebuilt his VW bug engine on the dining room table. His wife wasn't too happy, but it was football season.



------------------
Lee, from South Texas
Down On The Rio Grande

my wifes been wearing ear muffs since i started learning to play i thought for a long time her ears were cold

hello Andy,sure hope you didn't do all that buffing in the house??,yea,i have a friend who built a roadster in his living room too, and he now lives alone!!ha ha Keep up the good work Andy!!!!

I get it now....
Why the PSG is held in such reverence to those that play them.
This is the coolest instrument I have ever taken up playing. Even better than Banjo! (heh heh)
The more I play it, the more I want to play it!! Only the Telecaster has ever made me feel that way.
And I am really impressed with the engineering of this old MSA. What a piece of hardware!
If this is fun, I'm havin' it!!
-andy-