The Steel Guitar Forum

In this article ,JEFF NEWMAN,says it’s all in the right hand,if that is so,why does everyone want the old ,push-pulls,just curious,thanks
Larry

Uh oh.

Oh,this'll be good...

Uh,Might be opening a big can of worms,
Lh

The Family pack can of worms.

“Don’t Start None—Won’t. Be None”. 😳😉

I believe what Jeff was referring to is your right hand brings out the inherent TONE of the instrument, it doesn't create the tone. The left hand and the weight of the bar are equal to the right hand as far as I am concerned. If you are left handed..its all opposite ! (Duhhh)

Jeff caught some flack about poking the hornets nest with statements about push-pulls. It wasn’t meant as a detriment to them, just that the instrument itself wasn’t the answer to tone.

Everyone should own multiple Steels, including an Emmons Push Pull, maybe an old Sho-Bud, and something new that can do all kinds of cool stuff.

It's everything combined, even how the people in the room are dressed & time of year.

A similar question is although the tone of the instrument, however you define that, may be incredibly important to the player, does it make any difference to the listener? Do even professional steel players enjoy listening to an Emmons push pull versus a Carter Starter (I heard Johnny Cox did a demo using a Carter Starter at the Texas show).

Friends, I know of players who have bought a high dollar steel just because, “That steel gets a great tone.” And when they plug it into a substandard amp with ‘curly cords’ they wonder where the tone went. I came to the conclusion that EVERYTHING constitutes a good tone; from a quality steel, amp, cords, pedal, picks etc. and yes proper hand placement. If you have a $5,000 steel and plug it into an amp that you bought from Wal-Mart (Act One), don’t expect a sit up and notice tone. Rich Upright’s comment is spot on.

someone on here has a taline that says "everything effects everything". nowhere is that more true than when we're talking about tone.

I own multiple brands of pedal steels and amps. Some sound way better than others, depending on what additional equipment I use with them. For me it's finding the right combination of amp vs steel plus effects to achieve my desired goal. Every steel sounds different on the the same amp using the same cables, volume pedal and effects. I have my favorites but all are capable of getting a good tone. The longer I spend with one the more dialed in I become. I know the pros have multiple rigs and never fail to deliver a spectacular performance.

Lets not forget the Horse shoe lucky ring

I thought it all depends on what color the instrument is.

Ever watch the South American high school orchestra that uses instruments they build from a garbage dump? They sound great!

I believe the right hand definitely comes into play along with other things like the left hand vibrato and the volume pedal. To me, less is best, which means that I don't need a ton of gear to make me sound good. To me the basics sound great to me. As I have said before, the only effects I use is the Reverb on my NV112. I am a firm believer in the Steel Guitar Black Box with my solid state Peavey. My Amp settings, to me are crucial. Especially the "Shift" setting. To me that is the make or break when it comes to tone on a Peavey.

I got to know Herbie Wallace just a little. He'd talk to anyone about steel guitar and he was more than happy to that. At one of the steel guitar shows in FLorida, I was chatting a bit with him about his "Sound". Doug Jernigan was playing a Nashville Double neck, Doug's got his own great sound not to mention outrageous Technique. Herbie explained to me it really isn't so much the geer as it is your touch. He made his point by playing Doug's Steel once Doug's set was over. He made no adjustment to the amp or guitar. He just wanted his own finger picks. WHen He started playing, it was like he was on his own rig. He sounded completely different than Doug J. Not Better, not worse, he sounded the way you'd expect Herbie Wallace to sound. He made a believer out of me that day. Your sound comes from your technique and what your shooting for in your mind. I suppose we all have our personal equipment preferences, which would include Herbie as far as what a comfortable guitar and what amplifier we like using, But to me he was right about a any steel player's sound coming down to the person and not the so much the equipment. Even though he ended up Playing his signature model Mullen in the years before he passed away, I have seen him playing many different guitar. He did admit that he felt "Emmons" had that certain edge he liked, he didn't make any distinction as to whether or not it was Push Pull or All Pull. Dang that's been a long time ago.