The Steel Guitar Forum

Hey everyone, newbie question here. How does don helms get that wah wah sound for example at around 30 seconds on honky Tonkin’ would love to know how to get that sound on my e9 royal precision. Thank you!!!

Pretty sure Jerry Byrd, not Helms, is on steel there. It was probably a Rickenbacker guitar. The sound is made just with the tone control and, usually, the pinky finger rolling it. There are lots of ideas about which tone pot, resistor and amp setting optimize this effect. Most modern pedal steels don’t have those controls so something like a Fender tone/volume pedal could give you that sound. Volume is up and down, tone is a sideways movement.

Yes, Jerry Byrd, yes, finger on tone control, and yes, the Fender Volume/Tone pedal for a practical work-around for a steel without a tone control. There are a couple of other collectible V/T pedals but the Fender is the one you will be able to find at a reasonable price.
Definitely a skill to be learned--not a simple trick, using the pedal.

As everyone said, (and in the spirit of “Clue”) it was Jerry Byrd on the Rickenbacher with a finger on the tone control. I love my Fender Vol/Tone though they require some semi regular maintenance. Just don’t put your buffer before the pedal, as it will null the effect, but it allows some very cool effects