The Steel Guitar Forum

Curious if lap steelers (or weissenborners) use a volume pedal while playing. I found an ancient D’armond volume pedal in my boxes...

Just curious
Mark

That's the same volume pedal I used when playing lap steel.
Erv

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Yes, I use a Lehle Mono 90 pedal.
I had a Boss pedal for a while until it went kaplooey. (that's a technical term):)
The Lehle is an amazing pedal. I love it.

No VP. I only use a volume pedal for pedal steel.

My lap steels, dual pro and slide guitars all have volume controls and I approach these different than pedal steel.

Different strokes though you know. Since you already have it, you might as well try it and see how you like it.

I'm also a no VP guy. On the rare occasions that I swell into a line I use the volume knob, and my Lollar Grande Console pickup has delicious sustain all by itself. I still have a pedal around, but darned if I know where I put it.

I still have the DeArmond volume pedal I bought in 1950. Didn't use it much for Hawaiian music & haven't used in in a long time.. It also ate volume pots !

By various opines, I’m thinking Weiss/non pedal lap steel - no volume pedal

For Country and Western Swing I use the Volume pedal a lot on my Lap steels. Not as much for Hawaiian music.

I rarely ever use a volume pedal for lap steel, but when I do, the SHO-BUD pedal is my favorite.

C. E. Jackson

C. E. Jackson wrote:I rarely ever use a volume pedal for lap steel, but when I do, the SHO-BUD pedal is my favorite.

Likewise.

My usual rig is two lap steels on a Deluxe34 stand with custom double brackets. The instruments both plug into a Morley ABY box, then into a Sho-Bud volume pedal, and from there into the amp.

Although I seldom use the volume pedal for its intended purpose, it's helpful for setting the overall volume level, and for switching/unplugging/plugging back in a variety of instruments in different tunings.

Ahhhh... lap steel on a stand
Hmmm... perhaps I’ll try playing my weissenborn on a stand of some sort, freeing up my ‘knees’ to move

Jack Hanson wrote:

C. E. Jackson wrote:I rarely ever use a volume pedal for lap steel, but when I do, the SHO-BUD pedal is my favorite.

Likewise.

My usual rig is two lap steels on a Deluxe34 stand with custom double brackets. The instruments both plug into a Morley ABY box, then into a Sho-Bud volume pedal, and from there into the amp.

Although I seldom use the volume pedal for its intended purpose, it's helpful for setting the overall volume level, and for switching/unplugging/plugging back in a variety of instruments in different tunings.

Mark Evans wrote:Ahhhh... lap steel on a stand
Hmmm... perhaps I’ll try playing my weissenborn on a stand of some sort, freeing up my ‘knees’ to move

I would recommend giving it a try. I have another Deluxe34 that does triple-duty as a stand for my Dobro, my Tricone, and my Weissenborn. Works great for me.

Yes I use VP. It's a tool, seemingly available to electric steel players since very early on, and like anything it can be overdone. I typically use a low profile Goodrich pedal, although I have a vintage Fender "boo-wah" pedal that I toy with occasionally.

I do think a lap or console steel player should be able to do without one though.

Depending on which or if I use a pedal board I use one of several VP's. My favorite is a '70's DeArmond that I loaned to the pedal steel player in my band and he likes it so much he hasn't given it back yet.

Two of my pedalboards have VP's. One is an old Ernie Ball that I had modified to have a tuner out jack. The other is an Ibanez VP-10 that was used when I got it almost 30 years ago. That thing has never let me down or made a bad noise.

The volume pot in my National New Yorker doesn't work so well, so I use a VP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL0Ne1J7TzM

This is fellow member Kevin Glandon showcasing his newly acquired Rickenbacker. Guitar sounds great but Kevins use of the volume pedal is so lovely!

Mike

I was about to ask the same question as I have been listening to Jerry Byrd this week. His sound is lush and seamless. From what I have read he used a volume pedal. I primarily play Hawaiian songs and have noticed most traditional players are not using volume pedals. I had initially felt that Jerry's playing style was too "perfect" for what I was going for. But lately, I'm starting to really have an appreciation for his sound and choice of notes which are at such a high level of experience.

Ahhhh... lap steel on a stand
Hmmm... perhaps I’ll try playing my weissenborn on a stand of some sort, freeing up my ‘knees’ to move

For some reason I prefer the weissenborn sound on my lap to the way it sounds on a stand.

I love the Deluxe34 stand and play my electric laps on it.

Have not used a volume pedal.

Like any effect, a Volume pedal can be overused, but at the end of a song I love to swell the volume to allow the last chord to sustain if needed. I also love to punch it up during an instrumental solo or licks behind the vocal and then back down to sit properly in the mix during verses. I know that this can usually be done just with dynamic picking or the steel's volume control, but the pedal makes it much easier.

There's also the - standing vs. sitting - choice. I play standing up at gigs (love my Deluxe 34 stand), and that makes it less convenient to use a volume pedal - for me anyhow. Also, coming from Dobro to steel, I guess I was already used to adjusting volume with my picks.

This thread has reminded me that back in the day when I played some PSG (poorly), I found the volume pedal absolutely vital for the E9 neck, but when I played on the C6 neck (straight - no pedals), I didn't use the VP at all. Set it and forget it.

It would be hard to argue with anything Jerry Byrd did. I've seen him play in St. Louis a few times. I remember he used a VP with the stand-up Sho-Bud console, but I don't know if it didn't have a vol. control. I cannot recall if he used a VP with the fry pan.

If you are including no pedal console steels in this topic, consider Kayton Roberts who placed his volume pedal on the outside of the right leg with his Dual Pro.
Some wonderful stuff from him.

When Jerry Byrd used a foot volume control he used his left foot and he had it wired backwards.
He pushed it down to shut it off.
Erv

I watched Cindy Cashdollar closely... she plays the instruments in her lap, of course. Her technique is to put the pedal out in front of her... not under her knee, but further out. That way her knee is not bouncing up and down when she moves the pedal.