Truckstop Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 I was listening to Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs earlier today and once again fell in love with the gorgeous tones of a pedal steel guitar. Never seen or heard one in person. How do they work? Anyone play in a band with one? Anyone play? Anyone know where to get one? Truckstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samuelcroberts Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 As far as I know, they work in a similar way to a harp with a pedal for each string or set of strings. Each pedal alters the pitch of the string (not sure by how much on a pedal steel, but on a harp it's generally up and down a semi-tone) so you can change note during performance. BJ Cole is the man for pedal steel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKo0mW8e96M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 Sneaky Pete Kleinow... mint. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BITiY8M_oDo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BITiY8M_oDo[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 And if you can do without the 'pedal' bit, Santo & Johnny: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1st_9KudWB0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1st_9KudWB0[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratman Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 Check out Cindy Cashdollar. And Junior Brown, although he's not technically a pedal steel player, he has a double neck Tele/lap steel hybrid called a guit-steel. They're both amazing players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 Love pedal steel. Paul Franklin is probably my fave along with the aforementioned. For some edgy stuff try Robert Randolph. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacker Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 As well as pedals there may also be knee-levers which, again, change pitch. But where these differ from the pedals in that if you push the lever half of its travel you'll get a semi-tone shift and full travel is a full tone shift. It's pretty tricky to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 (edited) You might want to check out Paul Franklin (been pointed out above). [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT_Eg75X5fI[/media] Edited October 14, 2013 by lowdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggiesnr Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Right foot operates a volume pedal (instant change in attack and decay), left foot (and in some cases knee) operates the string pedals which stretch/contract the strings during play. Different pedals will bend different strings (or in some cases groups of strings). Either one or two necks (different tunings therefore possible in one number) and up to fourteen strings per neck! Great fun and fiendishly difficult. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japhet Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Check out Melvin Duffy with Los Pacaminos! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHU8454cSmk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 (edited) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMxr7LvoJ7s Edited March 24, 2014 by icastle Link fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 (edited) [quote name='KevB' timestamp='1381750133' post='2243059'] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMxr7LvoJ7s [/quote] [Pedant mode ON] No pedals :-) Edited March 24, 2014 by icastle Link fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 [quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1381745722' post='2242994'] Check out Melvin Duffy with Los Pacaminos! [/quote] Los Pacaminos! Seen them a couple of times, great band. Jamie Moses is a Star, capital C. I go line dancing and there are a handful of country bands/duos doing the circuit that play live pedal steel. It is one of the joys of country music! Yeehaw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggiesnr Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 (edited) A video is worth a thousand words, an explanation of how it works by one of the best [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrbSL92Kz1Y[/media] Steve Edited October 14, 2013 by oggiesnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbiffa Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 It bears no similarity to playing a guitar ! You pick triads that are altered via the foot pedals and also the up to 5 knee levers and the tuning to E9 is not bottom E to top E across the 10 strings. I sold mine about 3 months ago due to not having the time to learn to play and it is undoubtedly the most difficult instrument i have ever tried to play but also hauntingly beautiful. Moved to Dobro and Mandolin which is much more understandable ( but not easy). I had a student Sho Bud Maverick and if you are looking to begin the now discontinued Carter Starter is recommended as a second hand buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 [quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1381750509' post='2243072'] [Pedant mode ON] No pedals :-) [/quote] Yeah I was going to mention it in an edit but the editing seems to be going a bit haywire on my system at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Jon Graboff plays some great pedal steel with Ryan Adams. I was in an Americana band with a guitarist who had nailed the technique of making his guitar sound like a pedal steel with just a reverb, volume pedal and some virtuoso playing. I'll find some links later but people were often shocked when they realised it was 'just' a guitar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 (edited) http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=EPjfqS5NvCY Edited October 14, 2013 by Mr. Foxen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted October 14, 2013 Author Share Posted October 14, 2013 Thanks for all the links folks! Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cytania Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Robert Randolpe and the Family Band - Live at the Wetlands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK Jale Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 (edited) Ray LaMontagne pedal steeler = Eric Heywood, a magical master. Also great to see John Graboff mentioned, he is ace! PSG is a fascinating and addictive instrument, not at all impossible to play reasonably effectively if you have a good musical ear and some understanding of inversions and suchlike, but with more 'barriers' in your path than most others (in my opinion). Getting to a BJ Cole level would be a lifetime's undertaking but don't let that get to you. Horror stories about its notorious difficulty kept me away for years and then I met a mate, a guitarist who plays with Eric Heywood, who said that HE said you could learn the basics in an afternoon and it wasn't really hard at all... actually that was utter bollocks but I now understand why Heywood told him that as the most important thing is to get away from the fear, it's not THAT hard. So I bought an old Sho-Bud Pro 1 and mended it (another story) and now have done some album sessions and gigs and so forth. Not playing much at the mo as bass has taken over work-wise. The key IMO is 1) an hour a day without fail and 2) try to join a band within 6 months, it'll push you like nothing else. Re. Carter Starter as a beginner's steel - a mate has one, I've fixed it as best I can and they are fairly seriously flawed. A better choice would be a Stage One by Zum. However, on both of these the copedent (what the pedals and levers do) is fixed, you can't change it. A used pro-grade steel is a much better buy, but do get advice. Anything I can help with just ask Edited October 15, 2013 by KK Jale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Haunting sound, but I personally could tire of it very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 A fabulous instrument in the right hands, nothing like it really. Buddy Emmons and Lloyd Green were the governors for a long time, although now Paul Franklin seems to be generally regarded as one of the best. Look out for his playing with Vince Gill in The Time Jumpers. I'm fortunate to play with a great steelie, Dave Holley. He plays with my country band sometimes, and the steel really adds another dimension. Other UK players of note include the aforementioned BJ Cole, Gordon Huntley, Melvin Duffy and Gerry Hogan (of Hogans Heroes with Albert Lee). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeponehandloose Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 check Speedy West out on utube, and also search for Take and Give by Slim Rhodes for hauntingly good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.