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You play pedal steel? My hat is off to you. I always thought you have to be a little deranged to play that beast. Each limb doing something different, plus knee levers, yikes! I had a Sho Bud for years but finally gave up and sold it to keep my sanity intact.
Doesn't that guitar have numbers painted on the fretboard in case you forget the positions? lol peace
Yes, which is quite convenient given my lap steel technique!
Yes I am a beast!
Claim to fame was playing for the deadstring brothers on their UK tour a couple of years ago. Since then I've been in demand with us acts touring UK but haven't got the time to do it due to work and there's not enough pedal steel work in the UK to quit the day job
...and then there are the tunings and set-ups. Which one do you use? Side note: Al Perkins used an unusual 8-string set-up for "Torn & Frayed".
I did an album and had pedal steel on two songs. I tried it, but then had to call in a real steel player to wipe my parts and do better ones.
E9 was all I could manage. A teacher changed my copedent to some kind of universal tuning and the instrument was useless after that.
Thank you for the correction on Perkins. I had read that he played an 8-string set-up.
The guy who tried to teach me years ago (he had his own universal copedent) was a big Bob Wills fan, so he leaned more toward that kind of stuff than the country stuff I wanted to learn.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-12-06 19:37 by 71Tele.
Damn that was a real treat! That steel player makes it swing and his tone is fat. Thanks. Good thing there is only 12 notes cause I'm gonna try to cop a few of those licks for myself using a few less strings. peace
david lindley , a great player , lots of close ups of his playing .
standing lapsteel though !
That's al Perkins of torn and frayed fame.
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OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
ripthisjoint908
()
Date: December 5, 2012 19:52
I am wanting to buy a lap steel guitar, and learn to play. I already play guitar, just not steel. Anyone on this board play lap steel and know what's the best kind to get for the money? And any tricks, tips, etc. on how to get a really solid classic country sound? Thanks!
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
steel driving hammer
()
Date: December 5, 2012 20:12
I hope Ronnie comes on the board and can tell you some good info...
If not, just look online hard, first.
Then go to the shop and get the feel/sound of it first before you buy.
Love the Pedal Steel, it's so heart felt...
If not, just look online hard, first.
Then go to the shop and get the feel/sound of it first before you buy.
Love the Pedal Steel, it's so heart felt...
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
sjs12
()
Date: December 5, 2012 23:47
Not sure, I play pedal steel though I started on lap steel
You can get a reasonable sound out of a cheap lap steel as long as it has good pickup. You have no worries about action and intonation! Also play with very heavy strings and a good solid slide bar.
You can get a reasonable sound out of a cheap lap steel as long as it has good pickup. You have no worries about action and intonation! Also play with very heavy strings and a good solid slide bar.
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
Naturalust
()
Date: December 6, 2012 00:05
I play lap steel and dobro. Plenty of great stuff on the market for relatively cheap. Looks can be deceiving with lap steels. Some of the cheapest looking ones can sound fantastic.
The Pickup-Amp combination is the key to sweet tone. I play with a homemade Steel bar that is solid stainless and heavy as they come. Companies like Gibson made Amp-Lap steel combinations that were well mated together, like the EH150. I have 2 of them. Amazing what sound they still get for an electric instrument made in 1937!
Getting a matched instrument and amp is always nice but not really esential. The best sounding setups for lap steel are rigs that use a very clean amp and a driven tube amp at the same time. The small wattage tweed stuff by Fender is a great place to start.
As sjs12 said heavy strings are best and provide fat tone. The Lap Steels can take the extra tension required to play in pitch by their inherent design. Damping is technique also very important to get the Nashville sounding single note steel runs.
Good luck, sounds like a great goal. peace
The Pickup-Amp combination is the key to sweet tone. I play with a homemade Steel bar that is solid stainless and heavy as they come. Companies like Gibson made Amp-Lap steel combinations that were well mated together, like the EH150. I have 2 of them. Amazing what sound they still get for an electric instrument made in 1937!
Getting a matched instrument and amp is always nice but not really esential. The best sounding setups for lap steel are rigs that use a very clean amp and a driven tube amp at the same time. The small wattage tweed stuff by Fender is a great place to start.
As sjs12 said heavy strings are best and provide fat tone. The Lap Steels can take the extra tension required to play in pitch by their inherent design. Damping is technique also very important to get the Nashville sounding single note steel runs.
Good luck, sounds like a great goal. peace
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
71Tele
()
Date: December 6, 2012 00:30
I've got a Gibson lap steel and matching BR-9 amp. Get a vintage steel if you can. The price tag won't eat you up like on vintage guitars, and many of them have fantastic pick-ups. There are a lot of them around too. besides Gibson, Fender made good ones as well as National, Oahu, etc. Lap steel was quite popular in the 1940s, so different companies churned out thousands of them.
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
sjs12
()
Date: December 6, 2012 00:57
Yes, the right hand damping technique is very important, otherwise you will feel like you're in Hawaii! As I say, I play pedal steel which is a different beast, but try using finger picks. Though I suppose it depends on what style you're playing.
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
71Tele
()
Date: December 6, 2012 01:22
Quote
sjs12
Yes, the right hand damping technique is very important, otherwise you will feel like you're in Hawaii! As I say, I play pedal steel which is a different beast, but try using finger picks. Though I suppose it depends on what style you're playing.
You play pedal steel? My hat is off to you. I always thought you have to be a little deranged to play that beast. Each limb doing something different, plus knee levers, yikes! I had a Sho Bud for years but finally gave up and sold it to keep my sanity intact.
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
Naturalust
()
Date: December 6, 2012 02:13
Quote
71Tele
I've got a Gibson lap steel and matching BR-9 amp.
Doesn't that guitar have numbers painted on the fretboard in case you forget the positions? lol peace
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
71Tele
()
Date: December 6, 2012 06:30
Quote
NaturalustQuote
71Tele
I've got a Gibson lap steel and matching BR-9 amp.
Doesn't that guitar have numbers painted on the fretboard in case you forget the positions? lol peace
Yes, which is quite convenient given my lap steel technique!
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
sjs12
()
Date: December 6, 2012 10:26
Quote
71TeleQuote
sjs12
Yes, the right hand damping technique is very important, otherwise you will feel like you're in Hawaii! As I say, I play pedal steel which is a different beast, but try using finger picks. Though I suppose it depends on what style you're playing.
You play pedal steel? My hat is off to you. I always thought you have to be a little deranged to play that beast. Each limb doing something different, plus knee levers, yikes! I had a Sho Bud for years but finally gave up and sold it to keep my sanity intact.
Yes I am a beast!
Claim to fame was playing for the deadstring brothers on their UK tour a couple of years ago. Since then I've been in demand with us acts touring UK but haven't got the time to do it due to work and there's not enough pedal steel work in the UK to quit the day job
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
71Tele
()
Date: December 6, 2012 16:23
Quote
sjs12Quote
71TeleQuote
sjs12
Yes, the right hand damping technique is very important, otherwise you will feel like you're in Hawaii! As I say, I play pedal steel which is a different beast, but try using finger picks. Though I suppose it depends on what style you're playing.
You play pedal steel? My hat is off to you. I always thought you have to be a little deranged to play that beast. Each limb doing something different, plus knee levers, yikes! I had a Sho Bud for years but finally gave up and sold it to keep my sanity intact.
Yes I am a beast!
Claim to fame was playing for the deadstring brothers on their UK tour a couple of years ago. Since then I've been in demand with us acts touring UK but haven't got the time to do it due to work and there's not enough pedal steel work in the UK to quit the day job
...and then there are the tunings and set-ups. Which one do you use? Side note: Al Perkins used an unusual 8-string set-up for "Torn & Frayed".
I did an album and had pedal steel on two songs. I tried it, but then had to call in a real steel player to wipe my parts and do better ones.
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
sjs12
()
Date: December 6, 2012 18:05
He played an 11 string ZB custom on Torn and Frayed. I believe he had literally just acquired it and reckons he hadn't got the hang of it by the time he did the session. Hence, he had to hang back and play it safe.
[www.alperkinsmusic.com]
For pedal steel, it's not just the tuning that's important, but what we call the copedent! This includes not only the tuning of the strings "at rest" but also the various tuning changes assigned to the different pedals and knee levers.
I play an Emmons pedal steel with E9(chromatic) tuning and a fairly standard copedent. I have bought extra knee levers for experimentation but never got round to it!
[www.alperkinsmusic.com]
For pedal steel, it's not just the tuning that's important, but what we call the copedent! This includes not only the tuning of the strings "at rest" but also the various tuning changes assigned to the different pedals and knee levers.
I play an Emmons pedal steel with E9(chromatic) tuning and a fairly standard copedent. I have bought extra knee levers for experimentation but never got round to it!
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
71Tele
()
Date: December 6, 2012 19:14
Quote
sjs12
He played an 11 string ZB custom on Torn and Frayed. I believe he had literally just acquired it and reckons he hadn't got the hang of it by the time he did the session. Hence, he had to hang back and play it safe.
[www.alperkinsmusic.com]
For pedal steel, it's not just the tuning that's important, but what we call the copedent! This includes not only the tuning of the strings "at rest" but also the various tuning changes assigned to the different pedals and knee levers.
I play an Emmons pedal steel with E9(chromatic) tuning and a fairly standard copedent. I have bought extra knee levers for experimentation but never got round to it!
E9 was all I could manage. A teacher changed my copedent to some kind of universal tuning and the instrument was useless after that.
Thank you for the correction on Perkins. I had read that he played an 8-string set-up.
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
sjs12
()
Date: December 6, 2012 19:19
He did just before the Exile session. That clip I posted earlier he would be playing an 8 string setup.
And what do you mean E9 was ALL you could manage? Respect yourself!
And what do you mean E9 was ALL you could manage? Respect yourself!
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
71Tele
()
Date: December 6, 2012 19:32
Quote
sjs12
He did just before the Exile session. That clip I posted earlier he would be playing an 8 string setup.
And what do you mean E9 was ALL you could manage? Respect yourself!
The guy who tried to teach me years ago (he had his own universal copedent) was a big Bob Wills fan, so he leaned more toward that kind of stuff than the country stuff I wanted to learn.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-12-06 19:37 by 71Tele.
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
Naturalust
()
Date: December 6, 2012 21:57
Damn that was a real treat! That steel player makes it swing and his tone is fat. Thanks. Good thing there is only 12 notes cause I'm gonna try to cop a few of those licks for myself using a few less strings. peace
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
straycatblues73
()
Date: December 7, 2012 00:30
david lindley , a great player , lots of close ups of his playing .
standing lapsteel though !
Re: OT: Lap Steel Players?
Posted by:
sjs12
()
Date: December 7, 2012 00:52
Quote
Naturalust
Damn that was a real treat! That steel player makes it swing and his tone is fat. Thanks. Good thing there is only 12 notes cause I'm gonna try to cop a few of those licks for myself using a few less strings. peace
That's al Perkins of torn and frayed fame.
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