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Post new topic What lap tuning is most like Emmons pedal setup?
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Author Topic:  What lap tuning is most like Emmons pedal setup?
Steve Lipsey


From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 8 Jul 2011 2:17 pm    
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About to start learning pedal steel....and would like to have one of my 8-string lap steels tuned such that I could play many of the same licks, both for learning and for interchangeability for jams, really small gigs, etc..

Since there ain't no pedals, that means the open tunings won't match....I'd have to have a few strings that did what the pedals do, right? Or do I just use slants for that?

My lap steels are now all high-G C6....which E tuning should I use to one?

Thanks!

(note-this is cross-posted to the non-pedal forum, I'm not sure where it should go!)
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John Turbeville

 

From:
Carlsbad, ca
Post  Posted 8 Jul 2011 4:03 pm    
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I would use open E, you can even bend notes behind the bar to get the pedal sound, especially the G# up to the 4th. I use
E B E G# B E
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Steve Lipsey


From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 8 Jul 2011 8:12 pm    
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Hmmm....i would have thought that something that had the F# or C3 of the pedal tuning would be more interesting, and would teach me more about the pedal....but maybe you are right, simple may be better. I've used open g on my guitars for quite a while, that is pretty familiar...
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Ken Pippus


From:
Langford, BC, Canada
Post  Posted 8 Jul 2011 8:35 pm    
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Going at it backwards, the Don Helm book has all the Hank stuff in E13, with a high G#. b0b has posted the translation to E9 pedal here some place. Working that stuff up on both may give you a whole different view of the pedal beast.

Don't know if that appeals to you at all.

KP
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Tom Wolverton


From:
Carpinteria, CA
Post  Posted 8 Jul 2011 9:06 pm    
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I'll second rhat E13th suggestion.
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Brendan Mitchell


From:
Melbourne Australia
Post  Posted 8 Jul 2011 9:28 pm    
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I had my 10 string Dobro tuned to E9 with the A&B pedals down .
Found I was playing the same old licks I played on pedal steel but I could find my way around pretty easy .
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Steve Lipsey


From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 8 Jul 2011 10:25 pm    
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Brenden, Tom & Ken-
This sounds like the right track.....
So exactly what would you suggest for the E13 tuning? Or E9 w/A&B for an 8-string? I see so many versions of every tuning....
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John Turbeville

 

From:
Carlsbad, ca
Post  Posted 8 Jul 2011 10:42 pm    
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But if you leave it in open E, you can bend the G# to A just like the pedal steel B pedal.
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Steve Lipsey


From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 9 Jul 2011 1:29 pm    
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I'm actually looking more for a tuning that will help me learn the E9 pedal tuning, not just sound like it....
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Ken Pippus


From:
Langford, BC, Canada
Post  Posted 9 Jul 2011 6:00 pm    
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http://www.steelguitarshopper.com/products/Don-Helms-%252d-Your-Cheatin%27-Heart-Song-Book.html

As the blurb says, the bottom two strings were primarily decorative with Helms playing for Williams. I have a B and a D down there, which is also fairly "E9"ish. I can't find the post, but b0b gave a nice detailed explanation of the conversion from this tab to E9, which I think would help you in developing E9 "muscle memory."

KP
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b0b


From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
Post  Posted 9 Jul 2011 6:07 pm    
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F#
G#
E
C#
B
G#
E
D

This is playable and very useful as a non-pedal tuning (Don Helms or Little Roy Wiggins), but it also gets you used to the idea of the first string (F#). The B and C# strings become one string on pedal steel (with the first pedal). Both notes are very important. You can get most of the standard E9th pedal changes with bar slants. The timbre will be like a pedal steel.
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Steve Lipsey


From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 9 Jul 2011 10:34 pm    
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b0b....I think you may have nailed it....the right combo of grips for the pedal, but also with the notes you use....E and C#m all covered....
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Alan Brookes


From:
Brummy living in Southern California
Post  Posted 10 Jul 2011 10:25 am    
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John Turbeville wrote:
I would use open E, you can even bend notes behind the bar to get the pedal sound, especially the G# up to the 4th. I use
E B E G# B E

I agree. Then fit palm levers.
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Steve Lipsey


From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 13 Jul 2011 1:43 pm    
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From this and the same post on the non-pedal forum....I think I found the key thing here.....the learning is as much about the pedals and levers as it is about the sounds they make.

I truly appreciate all of the advice and comments form the crew here....and what I've decided to do is just go with a USEFUL E9 (E13) on the lap, and not worry so much about the mechanics - I'll get that from the pedal steel itself. The lap will just give me an E tuning to complement the C6 on my other lap steel...which will certainly help me move from C6 to E9 on the pedal steel.

Thanks again to all of you!
-Steve
G# E C# B G# E D B
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