The Steel Guitar Forum

Hello, anyone know what Greg Leisz uses for his U12 tuning and setup? I'm a big fan.

Don't know, but I'm following this thread because I'd also like to know.

From everything I've read, which is largely on the forum, it's pretty standard changes and more his sense of playing that gets his brilliant style.

It’s an extended E9 set up last I saw.

Ok, I only have an S10 setup as an E9. What's the difference between the universal tuning and the E9 extended? I'm thinking of getting either a D10 or a 12 string to get more of a C6 sound. Greg Leisz sounds like he's using a lot of extended harmonies in his work with Bill Frisell.

Greg plays an Extended E9... just like your S10 but two more bass strings (stg 11 is G# and stg 12 is E) for when he needs a lower voicing. He doesn't spend a lot of time on them, more a like quick note here in there in a quieter number.

I would love to find out his full copedent, but man... I've never heard him hit any change that wasn't part of a typical E9 setup. He's ALL about maximum simplicity, squeezing something nice out of the AB pedals and the E lowers.

He has 6 pedals: Pedal 0, then ABC set up in Emmons order, then a Pedal 5 and 6. I've never seen or heard him hit anything but the ABC pedals, so can't say what changes are on the other three. And he almost never touches the C pedal.

On that Infinity, he has six knee levers. The E raises and lowers are on the left knee. He raises string 1 to G# on RKL (and maybe something else). And he raises string 7 to G#. I don't know what's on the other levers, but he likely has at least the other common changes (2nd and 9th stg lower, 5th and 10th stg lower).

I just watched a video of him in jazz mode with Frissell... it's still all done "C6 on E9" style.

Check this great video of Conor Smith. It's E9 but you would swear he was playing a 6th tuning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4o8BtdUN_0

Those 6th chords are right there on E9. You just have incorporate the 7th string in your grip and engage either AB or the E-lower lever. That gives you A6 or B6, respectively. On that B6, the root is on string 10. Leave out string 9 and the rest above that are part of the chord.

I heard a good length interview with him about a year ago wherein he discusses his set up on extended E9. Maybe it was The Pedal Steel Podcast? - I think it was a more guitar centred series though...
I'm sure if you google "Greg Leisz interview" you'll find some interesting stuff.

I have what I'm told by a source I shall not name is Greg Leisz' extended E9 copedent from 5 years ago when he had Jim Palenscar set up his Williams. I'll post details soon when I have more time. Early tidbits: E's up and down on left side. Has a zero pedal with some unusual changes, then ABC; C raises 4 and 4 as usual, plus string 8 to F#; 2 extra pedals do some unusual things. Has a RKL-Front and RKL-Rear. Stew on all that for a while!



Greg clearly has some interesting ideas he's been trying out!

Pedal 6 yields mostly a fat E power chord including the dom7 note if you include string 9.

Pedal 1 looks like it would combo nicely with pedal 2 (pedal A) for a fat C#m getting rid of the clunker that the D on string 9 usually is.

Other stuff I leave for others to analyze. Food for thought!

James Shelton on you tube knocks it out of the park for C6 on E9 stuff,,,,I would bet that's the technique that Greg uses so effectively

I emailed Greg and asked some time ago. Very nice guy.

Hi Dustin - thanks for the kind words , yea I do have an extended E9th on two of my pedal steels , a Williams and an Infinity , with a low G# and E on the 11th and 12th strings the zero , or first pedal on both of the steels lowers the 12th string to C# and raises the 9th string to D# , the rest of my pedals and knee levers are pretty conventional , Emmons set up , I’m experimenting with some changes all the time with the odd knee lever and or 5th or 6th floor pedal , but 90% of the time I’m just using the standard pedal setup , left knee changing the E’s up and down , and right knee left , raising strings 1, 2 and 7 , right knee right doing the standard 2nd string with halfstop , lowering 9th string . I’ve actually been playing my 10 string guitars lately , and they’re all pretty normal pedal setups , also been playing the C6th necks on my old Emmons double 10 guitars , as well as a newer Williams 10 string . I do have a change lowering 5 and 10 whole step on most of my E9th guitars I’m always experimenting

So basically Emmons + a bit + Greg's incredible musicality.

Dustin Rhodes wrote:So basically Emmons + a bit + Greg's incredible musicality.

Boom! There it is.

Dustin, thanks for confirming suspicions.

Thanks everyone. I was initially looking to get an upgraded setup from my S10 E9 in order to more easily get some jazz voicings. I find half diminished seventh chords and altered chords to be difficult on my standard E9. I really like the melodic minor sound common in minor 251's, like a C7b5#9 (super locrian) for the V chord.

Trying to decide if I should go with a D10, a U12 or an E9 Extended 12. I like the way Greg plays, but if his setup is pretty unique, maybe that's not the way for me to go when making the switch from an E9.

Thoughts?

That's the thing though. His set up isn't that unique. Just very well implemented.

Thanks so much for providing that email exchange, Dustin! I know I'm not the only one who loves Leisz's playing and I've spent time every couple of months over the last several years popping in to see if anyone had info on his copedent and this is the first I've seen of it actually explained in any detail!

John, still would love to see what your sources say about it. It would be fascinating to see what he was purported to use years back and compare it to recent setups!

Thanks John McClung,

Having been my teacher long ago in San Pedro, would you say the D10, Ext 12 E9, or the U12 is the way to go for someone more interested in playing jazz and western swing? I'm interested in making a purchase, but am not sure the best way to go.

Here's a link to the interview where he discusses his setup. It's towards the end of the interview.

https://www.fretboardjournal.com/podcas ... dal-steel/

"Here's a link to the interview where he discusses his setup. It's towards the end of the interview."

The interview is about 32+ minutes long.
The set up portion starts at about 28:30.

Greg could probably play a board with 2 strings on it and sound amazing. His musicality is second to none as far as modern steel playing in my humble opinion. I've never heard him play an out of place note. Everything perfectly fits the songs.
My personal favorites
Whiskeytown - "Dancing with the Women at the Bar"
https://youtu.be/IAB2I2xe4lU
Bon Iver - "Beth/Rest"
https://youtu.be/wF_Mx2xsdbw

Nice work by Greg!

Greg saw this chart about a year ago and emailed:

Greg Leisz wrote:that’s pretty much the Williams set up except on P6 that should be 9th string D raised whole step to E , not 7th string lowered a whole step ...not sure if that was an older change — the Infinity outside right RKnee left doesn’t lower the 10th String , just 5 and 12 a whole step , and the P5 is different in the 2 guitars but you’ve got the gist of my current 12 string extended tunings there.

It looks like I corrected the knee lever but not the P6.

Greg's P6 gets it close to the Severed Head In A Bag tuning.

Bumping this to bring Greg Leisz' clever ext. E9 tuning back in focus.

I'm still committed to the D13 12-string tuning but my guitar has not yet arrived (!!) and, some days, I find myself vacillating between it and ext E9 (Doug's, Greg's, and Rick Schmidt's set-ups fascinate me.

Don't know if anyone her follows Nashville session player Tom Bucovac and his Home Skoolin' YouTube channel, but both Tom and Greg were in the house band for Willie's birthday party at the Hollywood Bowl. Tom did a video from the stage during the set up introducing some of the players, and when he came to Greg, he asked him about his steel and Greg said something to the effect that it's a 12 sting, but I never use the bottom two strings.
Bucovac is an amazing player and funny as hell. His channel is worth checking out.

Home Skooler here....
Tom Is one of the coolest dudes on the planet.