The Steel Guitar Forum

Hello everyone

I'm a newbie to the pedal steel world and a brand new member of the Steel Guitar Forum.

My wife and I bought a Multi-Kord pedal steel for ourselves for Christmas. It has 6 strings and 6 pedals and no knee levers.

Can anyone recommend a good beginners book or video for a 6 string pedal steel? It would be helpful if it explained how to set the copendences for the pedals.

Is there a preferred 6 string tuning? Preferred strings? The guitar was tuned to G by the previous owner.

Should we buy a volume pedal right away or get a little more acquainted with the guitar first?

Thanks for any help,

John Sharp
Lafayette, Louisiana

There are few courses for 6 string steel guitar, and none for 6 strings with pedals. The standard pedal steel has had 10 strings for the past 40 years or so.

That said, I'll go ahead and recommend a 6 pedal version of the C6th lap steel tuning: <font face="monospace" size="3"><pre> P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6
E +F
C +D -B
A +B +B
G -F#
E -Eb
C +C#</pre></font>

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<font size="1"><img align=right src="http://b0b.com/Hotb0b.gif" width="96 height="96">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra SD-12 (Ext E9), Williams D-12 Crossover, Sierra S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, C6, A6)</font><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bobby Lee on 19 January 2005 at 05:03 PM.]</p></FONT>

Since I'm way older than Bobby Lee......I have to stick in my 2 cents. I started pedals with a 6 string 4 pedal 2nd hand MultiKord about 1954 & gave my home made Epiphone (parts) triple neck (8 string necks) to Bobbe Seymour. He had already played a Keisel S8 lap I'd given him before that & mastered Steel Guitar Rag.......didn't everybody?!!! I traded the 4 pedal job for a 6 pedal model & at the time couldn't think of what to do with the 6th pedal so I took it off & put in a spacer. I was a Jerry Byrd fan--atic and had a good start on the C6th tuning......it was & still is my favorite tuning. I'm afraid to try making a chart, so I'll just spell out my version of a MulitiKord C6th! P1=Cs to C#, P2
G lower to F# (as b0b sugested) P3=Es to F(1st str) & Eb (5th) P4=C & A to D & B same as b0b's thoughts. I sat sideways in order to use both feet and gave up my volume pedal. I wonder if maybe I didn't learn to block as a side benefit of giving up the volume pedal? Seems like someone suggested that once? The first pedal and the second pedal together give you an A6th chord which is a usable move on that tuning. I used D & Bb on pedal 5, but I'd guess there are better ideas around the forum gang than that one......remember this was my first pedal attempt......and I was just a kid! more or less.......I certainly hadn't heard Curly Chalker or any of the great pedal C6th players in 1954!<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Doug Seymour on 19 January 2005 at 03:47 PM.]</p></FONT>

I forgot the 1st string raise on the 3rd pedal. I've edited my post to include it. Thanks for pointing it out, Doug.

Hi John,
I taught as a student teacher for Harlin Bros. the inventor of the Multi-Kord in the mid 50's.
Here is their set up for a 6 string 6 pedal Multi-Kord Hawaiian steel guitar.
( A tuning on the open strings )

1st .016---plain---E
2nd. .017---plain---C#
3rd. .022---plain---A
4th. .030---wound---E
5th. .038---wound---A
6th. .050---wound---E
============================================
Names of pedals--
Starting with the shortest to the longest pedal. 1=A6th---2=D7th added 9th
3=C6th---4=Emi.---5=E7th---6=C#mi.7th
Note-- the 4 pedal Multi-Kords left out the 3rd & 4th pedals. ( C6th & Emi.)
===========================================
PEDAL TUNINGS

A6th---raise the 4th string to F#
------------------------------------------
D7th added 9th lower 2nd string to C raise 4th string to F#--lower 6th string to D
--------------------------------------------
C6th--- Lower 2nd string to C--raise 4th string to G
--------------------------------------------
Emi.--- Lower 2nd string to B---Lower third string to G---raise 5th string to B
--------------------------------------------
E7th--Lower 2nd string to B---Lower 3rd string to G#---raise 5th string to B
-----------------------------------------------
C#mi.7th--- Lower 3rd string to G#--raise 5th string to B
-------------------------------------------
These guitars came with a deep socket/screwdriver combination so while tuning the changer with the screwdriver you could lock and unlock lock nuts to hold tuning.
<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by b0b on 26 January 2005 at 02:21 PM.]</p></FONT><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Danny James on 27 January 2005 at 07:20 AM.]</p></FONT>

HELLOOOooo JOHN
Iam like Doug i baught a MULTI-KORD in the early 50th an yes Danny ie right on the string an tuning an the pedals.i have some music thst is wrote MULTI-KORD. it is in note an numbers. i have a D+8+4 MULTI-KORD SEND ME A EMAIL AN I WILL TRY TO EMAIL YOU SOME OF THE MUSIC Armon Childers

Fender 400 4 pedals ZB 10+3+2 Fender an Gibson amp.