Recently I have been thinking about getting a new pedal steel guitar, and I’ve looked in all the usual places for companies currently making them, for used guitars on Reverb, eBay and on this forum, and for information about what all these guitars sound like. And then there’s the question: which sound do I like, anyway? So permit me to share my story (and I apologize if you think it’s boring

I’ve been a guitar player since my teenage years, long ago. Even though I’m originally Dutch, I’ve always preferred country music, and the best thing about country music, as we all know, is pedal steel, duh. So when I got to the US in 1980, I started looking for a pedal steel. I eventually bought a Dekley student model from Marc Freed’s Music World in San Carlos in I think 1981, but traded it in for a Dekley S12 5/4 soon after, since the student model basically was, well, the less said the better… So I hooked up the S12 (a pre-slimline all-pakkawood model) to my then amp (a Peavey Classic 212) and learned a few things on it, but could never find that sound that we all have in our heads (and I know, we all have a different sound in our heads). So after a few years of that the guitar went back in its case and languished.
A few years ago I set up a band at the place I work for my day job (I’m a particle physicist turned into homeland security scientist, you can find me on LinkedIn if you’re into more boredom). I casually mentioned to my band members I also had a pedal steel, and they told me to bring it on in! Oh, they did not know what havoc they were causing right there! Because now, I first had to do something about that sound that I always wanted. So I changed the single-coil pickup (that was always buzzing) to an Alumitone – and what a lot of work that was! I had to dremel some corners out, and I can tell you pakkawood is … tough! Since the Alumitone can be hooked up two ways I put in a switch so I could have either tone. The higher volume tone is mellower, and the lower volume tone is brighter. Either way, that took care of the buzz. I then bought a Peavey Nashville 112, a Telonics volume pedal, a Peterson strobe tuner, and a Strymon Big-Sky for reverb, since I didn’t like the spring reverb all that much. All of this improved the sound a lot!
But it’s still not the sound in my head.
So I brought the guitar into work and am using it occasionally in the band. I’ve got a little better on it lately, but I’m afraid I’m still a lousy steel player. Sure, my band members say I’m okay, but what do they know? They even think the sound of it is just fine, what am I complaining about?
Still, the quest continues. I have listened to countless YouTube videos, but videos that directly compare two steels with the same setup are rare (although there are some!). These videos have left me more confused than ever! Now I ask myself, what, again, IS that sound that I have in my head? Did I forget what it was??
I decided on a different approach recently: I listen to country music on XM radio and whenever I hear a good song with a great pedal steel track, I try to remember the song and the artist and look up (usually on this forum) who played the pedal steel on that song. Then I go back and try to find out what pedal steel it was played on. To give an example, yesterday I listened to “Livin on Love†by Alan Jackson. And I thought, now that’s a nice sound! The pedal steel I mean.

I know, I should go to a store and try out a bunch of steels and see which one I like. Problem: no stores near here. And even the few music stores that have pedal steels that still exist around the country don’t have many to choose from. So perhaps I should go to a pedal steel convention, and I know there’s one in Dallas next weekend. But I have a day job and can’t justify making the trip, at least not this time.
So the question is, for those of you not asleep by now: Does any of this sound familiar? Am I just whining and should I suck it up?

Thanks for listening…
Willy.