The Steel Guitar Forum

Well, almost...

A band I sit in with was recently in the local True Value Hardware Country Showdown. The contest was held at the Diamondback Saloon, a huge honky-tonk in Bellevue, MI.
We played 8th out of 20 acts, one of two bands, the rest were karaoke singers (near as I can tell).

The house band had drums, guitar, bass, fiddle, keys...no steel. "Not in the budget."
The keyboardist had a steel guitar patch and he bent the notes with an MIDI attachment on his mouth. No, I wasn't drunk. Ever seen such a thing?

thanks,
Drew Howard



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www.newslinkassociates.com
www.drewhoward.com

I've seen "breath controllers" for MIDI keyboards before.

They're usually used with wind-type patches, though.

I'd think he could only "bend" one note, or more likely ALL the notes at once. Kinda hard to simulate the pedal steel guitar that way, really.

I never looked too hard, but I couldn't ever find a patch that really sounded like a steel guitar -- and I never could've figured out how to bend just one or two of the notes at a time, either.



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The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons

I haven't been paying much attention to keyboard technology for a number of years but I remember that when the Yamaha DX7 came out, there was an optional mouthpiece attachment. It was like an expression pedal and was supposed to help the player create more realistic sounds for wind, reed and brass instrument patches. I think it was also the DX7 that allowed only one note in a chord to be bent with the pitch wheel. At the time(mid 80s) there was one local player who was able to get some very realistic steel sounds out of his keyboard just using the wheel.

No matter what they come up with- no electronic device can ever sound like a real steel guitar. NO WAY!!! My opinion about those things is not printable here...
Joe H., Analog Freak

Any keyboard player who plays pitch bend 'steel licks' should be shot. I knew one once ...... unfortunately he survived.



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<FONT SIZE=-2>
Emmons Push Pull S10 | Peavey Session 400 | '52 Fender Lap Steel | Goodrich L120 & Matchbox
</FONT>

So you were replaced by a computer chip? I was replaced by 2 double "A" batterys once.
Never saw her again.
RK------------S

Oh Bobbe, hey what kind of a flashlight is this.

I've gotten calls to 'replace' tracks that were mocked-up with a Fairlight, not only did they sound wrong, but on a Zephyr Hills Water spot, I had to duplicate the notes and all of the pedal squeezes were backwards from what would have been 'normal'.

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<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Gene Jones on 02 May 2002 at 03:01 PM.]</p></FONT>

"Pedal Steel Simulators"....And people wonder why people get shot all the time!

I guess you could say the guy using the breath controller midi interface for a steel "SUCKED", AND YOU WOULDN'T BE LYIN'!!!

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Bill Fulbright
1998 Sierra U12 7x5; Gibson ES-165; Peavey 50-410, Line 6 POD 2.0
ICQ# 2251620; Bill Fulbright's Music Website

chas, I hope Bobbe was replaced by something
other than a FLASHLIGHT. That would be depressing

Not to worry,a keyboard can bend one note or all the notes but it can't bend two notes going in defferent directions.
ZUM STEEL FOREVER

Actually Don, it can if the notes are on different MIDI channels. Continuous controller data affects all the notes on a single MIDI channel, but with splits and layers and sequencing with multiple modulation sources.... well don't you keyboard players try it! I'm feelin' trigger happy ........ Hire a steel player!



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<FONT SIZE=-2>
Emmons Push Pull S10 | Peavey Session 400 | '52 Fender Lap Steel | Goodrich L120 & Matchbox
</FONT>

Bobbe, must have been a small one, I got replaced by 2"D" batteries. <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Larry Miller on 10 July 2001 at 06:35 PM.]</p></FONT>

Bobbe got replaced by BOB
(Battery Operated Boyfriend)

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Gaylon's Homepage
www.geocities.com/nashville/1064
The Tyler Wails Band
www.geocities.com/tylerwails

Sorta like a cold splash of water in the face.

So what's the lesson here, class? Our wonderful PSG is perceived by the general public as some sort of filler, a minor ingredient in the larger souffle of the pop music world--easily replaced by some sort of hi-tech simulator on an all-plastic keyboard instrument. I guess this is the reality that horn players, violinists, viola players, etc. have known for many years now.

Like a lot of things, it's an insult or an opportunity, depending on how you look at it. I think there are stellar examples of guys on this forum who've taken the steel to new frontiers if you will, played things that are uniquely "steel" oriented that would never work on a synth. Heck, string quartets are still around, Mark O'Connor hasn't been retired yet and we've got heros who are making sure that the audience for our beloved "electric table" will be around for years to come. --JR

She just called, wants to come back,I think the batterys died.(I think the rabbit did too!)
(you know who!)

Bobbe tell her that the "Eveready Bunny" just keeps goin and goin and goin...LMBO!

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kd...and the beat goes on...

Just as long as nobody turns her on to rechargeable batteries.

LTB

Bobbe,

My wife says she uses "C" batteries.

Doh!:>)

Drew

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www.newslinkassociates.com
www.drewhoward.com

Drew I own an Ensoniq sampling keyboard that has a pitch bender wheel on it that both raises and lowers pitch. I am not much of a keyboardist so I don't mess with it as I'm still trying to play a little boogie woogie on it and that's all. Regardless, a sampled steel could be reproduced fairly accurately by this keyboard I'm sure because it does piano, sax, violin, organ, guitar, trumpet and countless other sampled sounds pretty realistically if heard but not seen.

Can you play the intro to"Touch my Heart" and make one string go up and the other down at the same time on your key board? Do you need two mouths to do this or two keyboards? Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier just to hire a steel to "sound like a steel?" Keyboards are fine but we do have to remember, They are machines, not organic musicial instruments like violins,hornes,reeds,even pianos. They are electronic synth machines, and have there place,not in pure country music, in my opinion.It still looks funny to me to see names like Yamaha,Sabian,Takamine,on the Opry stage.-----This is the opinion that I have a right to.The Opry is an American institution,Am I wrong, tell me I listen very well.
Bobbe

That Fairlight I mentioned earlier cost something like $160,000, if that thing can't do steel guitar sounds I doubt the Ensoniq can. When I see synthesizer keyboards with country music I'd like to play a Heckler & Koch MP5 back at it, and those things don't need pedals although the black ones do have better tone.

Chas, sure the black ones sound better! And jump higher and run faster,You don't any white steel guitars at a basketball game do you?