The Steel Guitar Forum

I have a Justice Jr s10 to satisfy my E9th sounds, and am considering having a second one built just for C6th, probably 5 pedals and 1 knee lever. I grew tired of lugging around D10s, and at my age want light weight steels, but I do miss playing the C6th neck. I am wondering how many of you have a single c6th pedal and have any recommendations for me. (Between the two steels I would have about 2700 bucks, and for that price I could get a d10, possibly, but back to the weight issue.) thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Ever consider a Uni ?

My first thought too. I changed to a uni to save weight but discovered it's also easier to switch necks because, er, you don't have to

Yep E9th/B6th.

I play a 12 string D6/9 and can get classic E9 sounds and C6 sounds. It's great. I've never had a D10 but I don't think I'll ever need one.

For some reason the universal has never appealed to me, maybe its too logical...haha
Anyway, perhaps I should change my question and ask how many of you have a single neck C6th pedal steel.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I have a single neck C6 8 string Jackson. It was originally a 3 and 3 E9 guitar, and I switched it over to C6. 3 and 3 works fine for me on this guitar. Pedals 5,6 and 7 and the left knee acts sort of like pedal 8.

Dave

I converted my little Lamar keyless to 8 string A6.It will of course work for C6 but be advised the changer may not fit the low C.This one didn’t.
It’s a good days work but I’ve been playing a lot of non pedal and thought this might be fun.With 3 pedals and 5 knees you have everything you could ask for and then some.As noted I think even a simple 10 string Uni set up is more versatile but if I was only playing Western swing ( wouldn’t that be nice)
I would definitely use this guitar.
i

Hey Rich, is you steel sitting on part of your case with legs attached??

Or what?

Yeah it’s just sitting on the case.the knee levers fold up inside the body.
No legs attached

Towards the end of the last Century I had a mid- to late-'70s Pro I 'Bud that was 5x4 and tuned C6. It sounded fine, but refused to stay in tune, so I dumped it. Used the proceeds on a squareneck 1929 National Style-1 and have never looked back. Sometimes less is actually more.

I have a C6 Carter S-10. I think it came from the factory as a 5-4 with Buddy's C6 tab setup. You can see the copedant here, if you scroll down:

http://www.buddyemmons.com/info.htm

If you're going to get a C6 S-10, consider getting the 4 knee levers that Buddy used for his courses. I use the A raise/lower levers all the time, maybe only second to P6 and P5. I also have a D-10 that is 8 & 7, giving me the Emmons course setups on both necks. I only bought the C6 S-10 becuase it was too good of a deal to pass up. I take the D-10 out on gigs, but have had gigs in the past where I would've taken the C6 S-10 out if I had owned it at the time.

you might consider a lightweight D10. my new Excel is loaded with 10x14 and is only about 35 lbs out of the case.

but I play so much C6 these days I would absolutely consider having a single neck dedicated to it.

I had stopped steelin' for almost 20 years but "fell of the band wagon" again to steel some more about 1 1/2 ago.
I had been playing E9th/B6th Universal up until 2001 an my first PSG since was ordered as such.
Within 3 weeks I had pretty much stripped off all of that E9th stuff and tuned B6, Bb6th and eventually C6th which is what I play now with a D on the bass instead of the low C (which gives me a second open minor, the relative minor to the FMay. and a lot of other stuff)
I am currently up to 6 pedals and 8 levers with 2 LKL's and to LKV's and a RKV.
My aim is Bebop and Jazz.

The reason I left Universal was not "lack of possibilities", but rather tuning considerations. I feel that E9th calls for Just Intonation and a complex C6th for Equal Temperament as it has a lot of changes "stacked" upon each other. For all the changes to mix'n'match, I found no other way than tuning ET.
A double neck would become a mechanical nightmare having only a "generic" E9th plus all these C6th changes and since I felt that Country left us stranded , I decided it was just OK to return the "favor".

I will have a D10 Emmons Bolt On coming with a basic (as much as Lloyd Green ever needed) and part of my C6th... but I don't anticipate to dedicate much time on E9th anymore. Nothing wrong with it, but I moved on.

I still think that the Zane Beck's and his followers of this world have a point with their E13th "short Universal". But I am pretty heavily set on my C6th setup now.

... J-D

Mine is tuned a step higher to D6th. It also has the main E9th pedals and knee levers so that I don't need a double neck or two guitars. Meantone temperament works well for me in both C6th and E9th styles of playing.

Back in my more acquisitive years I'd accumulated three S-10 PPs from 1966-67. Two were bolton guitars; one in E9 3p/4k, one all original in C6 w6p/0k. But those two have left the herd and all I have remaining is a '68 cuttail in C6 with 6p/4k.

This is the guitar I generally take to the Phoenix steel shows, since it flies well and I rarely play any E9 on those events. It's also great for straight ahead Western Swing dates, and the occasionally Herb Steiner Combo gigs I do.

Thanks for your input, Herb ...as always, I enjoy reading your insightful posts. I missed seeing you in Phoenix this year, but hope you are doing well and hope to see you in Dallas ! I am placing my order with Ron Anderson to build the C6th single neck pedal steel...I have the E9th Justice Jr version and it works great for my intentions, and I am sure the C6th one will also.
Take care.

I have two Excel S-10's - 5X5. The new Excel is lighter and that causes issues on knee levers that are not vertical. Start using those left and right knee levers and the guitar starts moving that direction. Especially I have a lever with three changes and you almost have to hold onto the guitar when you use it. So lighter isn't always better.

Thanks
Fraser

I don’t have one. But I want one. Herb, I’m jealous.

I have one here in Wales UK.Had it six months and love it.Made of Emmons parts with a new maple body and legs.4 x pedals and 3 knee levers.It sounds gorgeous and I will be keeping it.Just changed the back pad to black leather.

Back in the mid-1970s I was looking to upgrade from my first steel - a ZB Student model (3+1) - to a professional guitar.

The one I opted for was a new S-10 ZB (a lovely wine-red and blond) with 5 and 1. I didn't know enough back then for this to even occur to me but I've since thought that it had to have been built for a C6th set-up.

Shame on me! I can't remember if those extra two pedals were even hooked up, much less if they had a function on my E9 tuning. I was still battling '3+1'.

I guess that, the farther back in time you go, there's a greater likelihood of a single-neck being made for a C6-only player.