The Steel Guitar Forum

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Well the Hank Williams steeler achieved his style with no pedals. Lap steel or console was pretty much the norm back then I think. Pedals, for the most part came a little later on.

Rick

Get yourself a Fender Dual Professional double-eight and a tee-vee face tweed Fender Pro Amp.

You'll be about 90% there even before you plug it in... -L-

I don't agree with the thought that you are 90% there with just the equipment.

The various specialized tunings, the multiple neck set-ups with neck-hopping underway, the bar slams, and the doo-wah effect ...

Don't dismiss the talent those guys demonstrated back then, and the talent being demonstrated by the current crop of straight steel players.

For the modern outlook on the older sounds check out Lee Jeffriess, or Chris Scruggs. Sometimes with pedals, and sometimes without, but always exciting and inspiring.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Bryan Bradfield on 12 August 2005 at 11:01 AM.]</p></FONT><font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Bryan Bradfield on 12 August 2005 at 11:01 AM.]</p></FONT>

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I've only been studying this older sound for a short period of time myself. With my limited interaction with the 2 players I mentioned earlier, I see constant forward motion and/or change in their tunings and/or instruments.

For instance, search out the topics that Chris Scruggs has been involved in on this forum. You'll see continued experimentation, and subtle changes in his 8 string Fender pedal steel copendent.

To my ear, the greater part of the battle is the playing technique, and not so much the tuning. I'm very satisfied with the sounds I've made on 6 string lap steel in a 6th tuning. A straight major tuning is not very satisfactory to my ear.

For the Don Helms stuff you mentioned, you might want to try a 13th tuning.

When I was trying to figure out Al Petty's early non-pedal tunings a while back, I was told by one of his friends that Al would change the tuning on his instrument before he would leave the stage for a break, so that no-one could go up there and figure out what he was doing.

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Lee is represented on several of the recordings of Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys: http://www.bigsandy.net/

He has moved on now, and I can't recall who he is playing with nowadays.

Chris played for a short period with BR549, but did not play steel on the one CD he recorded with the group. His steel playing, as far as I know, is available only on his own CD, available through his website: http://www.chrisscruggs.com/

Both of these guys are forumites, and have participated in threads in the past; however, I believe they are both quite busy at the moment.

Remember, when searching out the recordings of these guys, that they represent the modern view on what the steelers of Hank Williams' day would sound like if they had continued to progress. That is my opinion.

History of the steel or slide guitar aside, depending on your country of origin, it seems the early steel playing took advantage of the newly electrified guitar as a way to replace a horn section in a small ensemble. Swing was big; big band was 'bad;' there had to be a way to get that sound with a small dance band. It worked.

Sorry for the confusion, I only meant in terms of tone. Those guys could pick for sure, but if you want the authentic sound, I think it is a good idea to play the equipment used n the original recordings... :- )