The Steel Guitar Forum

G'day all.

New to PSG and b0b said I should introduce myself here.

Bought a pedal steel a month ago with the help of a couple of friends from Carter Vintage and getting really into it. I picked up parts Steel with E9 tuning. Sounds awesome.

I've started learning my grips, scales, and some intros - it's a lot harder than I first thought.
My favorite players are Lloyd Green, Buddy Emmons and Mike Bourque, but I'm constantly checking out more.
Out of curiosity - How did people here get their start learning E9? I'm a guitar player, but this is a different beast.

Would also love to know what tone bars people use, I've seen a lot of talk about them. I have a standard Dunlop but would love an old Emmons 7/8.

Can't wait to dig in more and learn more from you all!

Welcome aboard Cameron. Be prepared for a ton of repsonses to your questions. There are almost as many opinions as members.

Yes, it can be a difficult instrument, but the rewards are worth it. Best of luck.

Welcome to the forum. I started out learning by watching Mickey Adams and Aaron from "Steel Picking" videos on youtube and then at about 5 months in started buying Jeff Newman's DVD courses. Reading advice on this forum has also helped tremendously. What PSG did you get?

Welcome, I started with Skype lessons from the great John Mcclung!

hello and welcome
i am also a guitar player. I got my start from my friend
T.C. furlong that was 35 years ago played a lot of different brands msa for 20 years now shobud super pro d-10
8+7 . take it slow work up to it a lot more teachers now then when I was starting. its been a fun ride...

p.w

Jerry Overstreet wrote:There are almost as many opinions as members.

I disagree.

Seriously, welcome to the forum. PSG can be addictive, so be careful. As far as I know there is no specialist counselling available.

welcome Cameron
You have come to the right place for help and info. wish this was around when I started. hope to see your posts on your steel journey. joe.

Thanks everyone for the kind responses! I’m really looking forward to digging in further. Been listening to some Jimmy Crawford this morning.

Josh - the steel is a “parts” steel. I’m still learning how to set it up and figure out what brand everything is. I do know it has a George L’s E-66 pickup. I’ve attached a picture I have from when I first got it. It’s great, but I need to change the tuning nuts. (Is this the correct term? White stems at the base of the steel.) and fix the left knee right lever. My low E correct lowers a half step but E does not. (Quarter step only)

Hi from Australia Cameron,
You are already off to a great
Start if you play guitar first.
Just take your time ,and enjoy it.
Sam.

Sam Conomo wrote:Hi from Australia Cameron,
You are already off to a great
Start if you play guitar first.
Just take your time ,and enjoy it.
Sam.

Thanks Sam. I’m actually originally from NSW. Near Sydney. If I ever come home let’s have a steel hang! And a schnitty.

Hello Cameron, welcome aboard ! Its gonna be a hell of a ride ! Enjoy it, the rewards are overwhelming !

tp

All right, mates! What's a schnitty?

Hi Cameron-

Welcome to the Pedal Steel Guitar! As your 6-string guitar experience will no doubt attest, it's best to start out with no bad habits to unlearn later. That's a main cause of frustration and often leads to permanent plateaus or abandoning the instrument altogether.

Lots of good reading material here: Paul Franklin's Blog

Offering new players a road map of the E9 tuning, techniques options and where the "things that you already know on standard guitar" are found is one of the main goals of Paul Franklin's Foundations course.

More details here: Foundations: E9 Pedal Steel Basics

Chris Brooks wrote:All right, mates! What's a schnitty?

Mate! It’s a chicken schnitzel, a pub favorite.

Welcome to steeldom! NSW, i aspire to take a drive from Sydney to Brisbane and surf in Lennox and Tweed Heads!

Can you post pic of underside? If an all pull read the writeup of how it should be aligned at rest

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=326460

Welcome Cameron! And if you're ever back in Sydney we'll catch up for a Schnitty and a some cans for sure.

Welcome Cameron!

One piece of info, and a related suggestion. First, you will find your learning is not linear. It's like stairs. You will make progress, then it may seem like you are getting nowhere for a while - until you make that next jump. That's normal. Don't get discouraged when you are on one of those plateaus.

To help your morale, record or video your efforts every so often. I sometimes feel my learning is glacial, but when I play back something I did 3 years ago, I have to admit I AM better now than I was back then.

Have fun!

Gene Tani wrote:Welcome to steeldom! NSW, i aspire to take a drive from Sydney to Brisbane and surf in Lennox and Tweed Heads!

Can you post pic of underside? If an all pull read the writeup of how it should be aligned at rest

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=326460

Hey Gene - sorry for the late reply. Here is the photo! My D lever is only pulling my High E a quarter step down. I can adjust the throw so both E’s go to D#, but it’s too far of a movement.

Cameron is a terrific guy, very happy to have him aboard! He'll be going down the steel guitar rabbit hole in no time

Welcome Cameron!
I got addicted in the late 70s. Been suffering from sidewaysia ever since.
I have/like the Emmons 7/8 bar but also keep a section of drum hardware stuffed with nickels in my case that a roadie made me when my real bar rolled overboard on a ferry gig.