I've recently taken up playing pedal steel. I have to say it is very difficult.

Now, whilst I can't say that I particularly aspire to Ronnie's pedal steel playing style, I wondered if anyone knows what his setup (known as a copedant) is?

I do admire him for his ability to play this instrument though. It is much more difficult than standard or slide guitar. It is the only instrument that I have ever taken up where I haven't been able to play a decent tune in a matter of hours!

He uses standard C9 tunning, and only uses two bars to raise the 3rds and 5ths.

If you want to learn it, start with open E tuning. Once you master that, further tunings are easier to learn.

Mathijs

hi mathijs

can you recommend a "cheap" lap steel guitar?
there are a lot on ebay ,but don´´t know anything about their quality

thx

-----------------------------------------------------
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away

A "cheap lap steel" is almost impossible. A reasonable go one starts at around $1000, you get scrapyard junk when you pay less.

Mathijs

TeleK,

In fact, you can get a reasonable starter lap steel for not too much money which is good enough to learn on. Proper lap steel playing is so diferent from normal guitar or slide playing (especially in the right hand technique with the finger/thumb picks) that you may be better off getting a cheaper instrument to start with and upgrading when you know you have taken to the instrument.

Fender d0 a good little lap steel (at £300 in the UK). However, if that is too much you could try one of the really cheap Artisan models. You can pick these up for £50 or less in the UK. That's is how I started. The pickups are awful, the jack socket is in the wrong place and the nut is a complete waste of time. What's more, the strings it comes with are entirely wrong. However, with a bit of work you can turn this little plank of wood into a reasonable lap steel, which is what I learned to play on. I have now traded up and got myself a starter model pedal steel.

I learned to play lap steel in C6/A7 (with the lowest string raised to C#). It was interesting to learn to do it this way because I ended up learning a whole new style of playing, whereas if I learned in open E I would have been lazy and ended up playing like I play slide guitar. Do yourself a favour and learn in either C6 or A6 - it'll be worth it in the long run.

I'm learning the pedal steel in E9 tuning. I have to say I'm a little surprised by Ron's set-up with only two raises. I guess he raises the 3rd by a semi-tone and the 5th by a tone. That seems pretty limiting to me but he does a reasonable job all things considered!

Anyway, try this link for more info on the lap steel guitar...

[www.hawaiiansteel.com]

Hi! I've got a lap steel that was sot of found in the attic one way or another. Never the less, I am a decent guitar player, and kinda know my way around the lap steel as well. The thing is though, it sounds almost like playing slide on any electric guitar. Does anyone have any tips on how to get the sustainy countryish sound out of it? I'd be very greatful!

Yes, here are a few tips...

You need a volume pedal to get better sustain - especially on slow songs. This is an art in itself. You can also do some swell things with the pedal.

You should be using two metal finger picks and a plastic thumb pick. This is essential.

You should be using much heavier strings than standard guitars.

I recommend using the C6 or A6 tuning so you get those classic country intervals. If you use open E or open G you won't get the same range of intervals and your playing might be limited. (Although I have heard some excellent tallented players use opne E, D or G)

I tkae it you are using a proper heavy steel bar that you hold and not one of the hollow glass or metal slides used for slide guitar?

All these things matter. In adition, you need to work on your technique - though I haven't heard you so I cant comment on that!

Lap steels can be bought very cheap (even '50's Fender or Gibson lap steels are not that expensive) but pedal steels are always expensive. Cheap one's go out of tune when you press the pedals.

Mathijs



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-07-30 15:55 by Mathijs.

I think we could have been talking cross-purposes here.

For those who don't know, the lap steel has a 'fixed' tuning - i.e. the only way you can vary the pitch of the note is by moving the steel (bar) up and down the strings. The pedal steel uses a combination of pedals and knee levers to vary the pitch of each string. That way, it is possible to move notes up and down at the same time whilst sliding between different positions. Both instruments have a lot in common, but there's a lot more to worry about with a pedal steel.

Mathijs is right about pedal steels. It is very hard to get a good one for little money, although they do come about every so often.

Ron, of course, plays both lap steel and pedal steel.

Which leads to my next question - what tuning does he use for lap steel? I always assumed he uses open E, as he also uses for his slide guitar. Is that correct?

I wish Ronnie would play slide more often because he is definitely more talented at slide than at standard guitar at the moment.

Thankx for the tips sjs12. I have a lap steel, not a pedal steel. And I do have a solid heavy steel bar, but no volume pedal. I'll get one, and also but on heavier stings and experimant with the A6/C6 tunings. Thanx a million!

Try out a few volume pedals before you decide. Most suck lots of tone out of your sound.

Mathijs Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> He uses standard C9 tunning, and only uses two
> bars to raise the 3rds and 5ths.
>
> If you want to learn it, start with open E tuning.
> Once you master that, further tunings are easier
> to learn.
>
> Mathijs

Mathijs,

Thought you might like to know, I was watching 4 Flicks doc and Voodoo Lounge DVD tonight and noticed Ronnie was playing an Emmons pedal steel with at least 6 pedals. I couldn't see how many knee levers. This means that he must have much more than 2 changes - at least 6. Judging by the sound, my guess is that he plays in E9 with some standard changes plus one or two extra I can't make out.

Anyone know what amp he uses? I think he uses a Fender Blues Deluxe for the lap steel but doubt he uses that for pedal steel. Logic would dictate he would use a Fender Steel King since, at that time, most did. However, I've never noticed one behind him.

The pedal steel has 6 pedals, but I remember Wood saying in an interview that he only used two. Also in hi playing you only hear raises to a perfect third and fifth.

Mathijs