The Steel Guitar Forum

Hey guys,

I hear alot of steelers talking here about how they know who so-and-so is playing the steel when they hear a new song, or tune, an old song, etc. How in the world do you guys know who it is that's playing? Is it that you all know each other that well? Is it the "tone"? Is it the players "style"? Is it something I missed? Is it that you follow this steelin' thing so closely? All I know is that they (you) all sound GREAT!

One day maybe I will be just good...I'll be happy then!

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Regards,

John

Steelin' is a way of life!

My PSG website-Carter SD-12-U, 8p/5k, Nashville 1000

How in the world do you guys know who it is that's playing? Is it that you all know each other that well? Is it the "tone"? Is it the players "style"? Is it something I missed? Is it that you follow this steelin' thing so closely?

All of the above!! regards, Johan

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STEELDAYS 2002 March 29 & 30
my web-site
my bands CODand TSC

John,

The answer is basically what Johan said. It is a combination of all of those things, and how well your ear is a picking them out. I guess it comes from years of listening to tunes where you “know” who the player is (read the credits on the CD, not that they are always right but more often than not they are!). After a while you kind of get into a players’ style. There are tone differences, signature licks, certain things that a player will do at a given time, etc.

Years ago it was much more simple. Buddy Emmons was very different from Jimmy Day, or from Curly Chalker, or Pete Drake, or Lloyd Green, or Ralph Mooney etc. They were hired for a session because that was the “sound” the producer wanted, and it was fairly simple to tell who was playing just by the “sound”.

In modern times it ain’t that simple! I hear the phrase “cookie cutter” sessions referred to, where one tune sounds just like the next one. Well, that is the way things are now. I don’t necessarily object to that because that is just the way music has evolved. I will also add that I don’t necessary like it, but time marches on. There is still a lot of great Steel being played out there, you just have to SEARCH for it!

The long and short of the deal is…pick a record from the 60’s, 70’s, or 80’s and I can probably tell you who played Steel. Pick one from the last 10 years and I will be wrong as often as I am right!

B. Bailey Brown
<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by B Bailey Brown on 04 July 2001 at 02:15 PM.]</p></FONT>

<SMALL>Pick one from the last 10 years and I will be wrong as often as I am right!</SMALL>

Not if you guess Paul Franklin.

LTB

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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro

John;
I'm with Johan. It's all the things you mentioned. If you pay close attention to the steel parts, somewhere you'll find a familiar thing. Be it a pattern, a change or tone. There are players that sound quite similar, but if you hear them enough you'll be able to tell, too.

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My best,
Ernie

The Official Buddy Emmons Website
www.buddyemmons.com

It is like hearing Chet play...

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Steel crazy after all these years.
Emmons Lashley Legrande 111 S-10, Nashville 1000, Peavey Stereo chorus 212, Peavey Classic 50/410, Lexicon MPX 100

Identifying the players on records is a skill that many players claim to have, though most of them really don't. It's also a skill that, IMO, seems to have little value. Sort of like "absolute pitch". Many claim it, few have it, and what difference does it make anyway?

Jeff;
It really doesn't make a differnce, BUT when there was a lot of different player doing sessions (Buddy, Lloyd, Sonny, Hal, Weldon, Pete, etc..) and album jackets didn't have all the credits on the back, it came in pretty handy for getting the records with your favorite players on them.

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My best,
Ernie

The Official Buddy Emmons Website
www.buddyemmons.com

John,

All of the above are referred to as a "style" or a player's "voice". It is as unique a thing as his DNA, his fingerprints, etc.

A player's style is distinguishable by observing and being alert to all the nuances of his approach.

For example, I KNOW you know the difference between Maurice Anderson playing his 12 string Boen, Buddy Emmmons doin' his thang, or Tommy White, Lloyd Green and Jimmy Day. Each of these players is as different as night and Day (yuk, yuk).

Now some more "current" players may be harder to distinguish because they are/have been influenced by the "styles" of the above players. These second and third generation players are still developing their own "voice" after having studied and been influenced by the masters. Sometimes it takes years or decades to finally settle in on one's own voice.

Take me, (please!) for example. I have played guitar since I was 10. I am now 50. I thought I had discovered my guitar voice/style when I was 28 or 29. But not really... I was still developing and expanding. Then I thought I had it around 35 or 36 after 6 years of playing the Dallas market night after night. But no, not yet even then.

It wasn't until I was 45 and it was 1996, not so long ago, that I believe I allowed it to come forth. I was instrumental (heh, heh) in launching what is now a blues society in South East Texas. I hosted the Jam Night for about a year or so. It wasn't so much the blues that did it, but the openness of the environment that let me really experiment with my sound as a guitarist and not as necessarily the Front Man.

So, each of us goes about finding our own voice in our own way. I guess you just have to follow your own "nose". Let your curiosity be your guide.

I'll call you later.

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Bill Fulbright
1998 Sierra U12 7x5; '74 Schecter Strat; Gibson ES-165; Peavey Classic 50-410, Line 6 POD 2.2
ICQ# 2251620; Bill Fulbright's Music Website (hotguitar.tripod.com)