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Topic: Steel guitar on "unplugged" recordings |
Bill Pittman
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 4 Apr 2013 10:55 am |
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| I am getting ready to record an album. I may end up doing an "unplugged" type of record. Acoustic guitar(s), upright bass, drums, fiddle, mandolin, maybe piano/accordion. Maybe a little bit of dobro. I generally prefer the sound of pedal steel guitar versus dobro, just wondering if pedal is a fit. I suppose lapsteel could work but what about pedal? Can you point to any unplugged recordings done with pedal? EDIT: Or if not, do you think it's a good fit? |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 4 Apr 2013 12:41 pm
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| i don't think you'd hear the steel unplugged! |
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Bill Pittman
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 4 Apr 2013 1:01 pm
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| chris ivey wrote: |
| i don't think you'd hear the steel unplugged! |
I don't know if you mean that in jest, but, you can go two ways with 'unplugged.' Literally unplugged and everything is mic'd... or some artists have done unplugged shows even with electric guitars. I don't care what it's called, just wondering if the sound of a pedal steel is compatible with this type of mix. |
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Jeff Scott Brown
From:
O'Fallon Missouri, USA
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Posted 4 Apr 2013 1:15 pm
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| Bill Pittman wrote: |
| I don't care what it's called, just wondering if the sound of a pedal steel is compatible with this type of mix. |
Sure it can be. I think the PSG can sound awesome with acoustic instruments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeT6qtBX2Oc may give you some idea.
Is that the kind of thing you are after?
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Steve French
From:
Roseville CA
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Posted 4 Apr 2013 1:21 pm
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| Check out Peter Cooper's record The Lloyd Green Album, mostly acoustic guitar, voice and the inimitable Lloyd Green. Wonderful acoustic music featuring pedal steel. |
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Matt Teske
From:
Seattle, WA
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Bill Pittman
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 4 Apr 2013 1:54 pm
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| Jeff Scott Brown wrote: |
| Bill Pittman wrote: |
| I don't care what it's called, just wondering if the sound of a pedal steel is compatible with this type of mix. |
Sure it can be. I think the PSG can sound awesome with acoustic instruments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeT6qtBX2Oc may give you some idea.
Is that the kind of thing you are after? |
Yep, that's it! Perfect example, thanks. |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 4 Apr 2013 4:50 pm
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of course it all is determined by the artistry of the creator.
but still...it's not unplugged if something is plugged in.
it would probably be best to create 'music' and let other fools put labels on it.
Last edited by chris ivey on 4 Apr 2013 4:51 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 4 Apr 2013 4:50 pm
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I did a whole album with two acoustic guitarists who sang. The pedal steel was compatible - I even used distortion on some of the tracks and it worked. I don't have the rights to post most of the tunes, but one that I wrote can be heard here:
http://b0blee.bandcamp.com/track/on-sacred-ground
I've been in many living room jams where I was the only electric instrument. It always sounds fine to me.
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Bryan Daste
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 5 Apr 2013 11:07 am
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| I do tons of stuff where I'm the only electric instrument. It seems to blend so well that sometimes people (non-musicians) don't even realize I'm playing through an amp. |
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Howard Parker
From:
Maryland
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Posted 5 Apr 2013 11:30 am
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You heard Mike Auldridge on pedal steel on many of the early Seldom Scene recordings.
h |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 6 Apr 2013 12:00 am
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If you play with taste, it fits fine.
As to Howard's point, Mike played steel on two tunes on:
The New Seldom Scene Album (one of them Paul Craft's Song For Life);
Act 4 (the intro to Life's Railway to Heaven was awesome);
After Midnight (don't recall which songs);
At the Scene and
Blue Ridge
He also played pedal steel on about a third of Chesapeake's stuff, where except for that danged E-bass, he was the only electric.
As to Chris Ivey's thing, the "unplugged" stuff AIN'T anyway. They almost always plug in a flattop, because they lack the talent to use a mic. So they don't even sound acoustic, they sound piezoelectric: spending thousands for a Martin or Collins or Taylor, only to sound indistinguishable from a Harmony.
If it's not obvious, I don't like the piezo tone.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Bill Pittman
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2013 1:20 pm
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If found the sound, exactly what I was looking for, just acoustic guitar and steel. I guess that is all it is.
Click on "Forgotten Flowers" song in this link for a brief snippet that includes steel...
http://www.amazon.com/From-The-Ground-Up/dp/B007T5H2CI/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_title_0
Here is the entire song, but no steel...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaomcqQp92k
This guy is really, really good; I bought his album and he is nominated for a Grammy!
Other than steel, what can you think of that would sound good with acoustic guitar? Fiddle, twin fiddles? Cello, lap steel, dobro, mandolin, harmonica, accordion, piano, organ, upright bass. Flute? LOL, I'm curious what could sound good on these forlorn songs, very sparse production. Perhaps an upright bass, in addition to whatever other instrument I use, could be good. |
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Mike Schwartzman
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2013 1:55 pm
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I recently had a "happy accident" with this topic in my basement project studio. The drummer didn't show up because of a family illness, and we ended up with acoustic guitar, upright bass, and pedal steel.
We recorded a couple of cover tunes anyhow...just for the heck of it since the system was up and running. And I think we were all very surprised (in a good way)of how it turned out.
With the definition of "Unplugged" aside...If your foot on the volume pedal is working well, the results can be very good.
_________________
Emmons Push Pull, BMI, Session 400, Home of the Slimcaster Tele. |
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James Kerr
From:
Scotland, UK
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Ian Holman
From:
New York, USA
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Bill Pittman
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2013 8:25 pm
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Dang that is awesome. I have heard Michael Nesmith had something to offer far beyond the Monkees. This is proof!
Do you guys think the crowd applause is real? It seems awfully loud... like a LOT of people there. Does that seem correct? |
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James Kerr
From:
Scotland, UK
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Posted 16 Apr 2013 12:23 am
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[quote="Bill Pittman"]
| Ian Holman wrote: |
Do you guys think the crowd applause is real? It seems awfully loud... like a LOT of people there. Does that seem correct? |
1974 is a very long time ago, maybe they had bigger hands then.
James. |
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Posted 16 Apr 2013 12:53 am
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| Bill Pittman wrote: |
Do you guys think the crowd applause is real? It seems awfully loud... like a LOT of people there. Does that seem correct? |
Thanks Ian for the link. I happened to be in London, not at the concert, but in the same year. There were posters all over town advertising gigs by bands that were part of the Zig Zag Concert. I guess that's where Red Rhodes aquainted the band Chilli Willy and the Red Hot Peppers, he's featured on their record.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzIgbzJMKpQ
Their music was called Pub Rock than. I think the applause is very real.
Zig Zag btw was a music magazine.
_________________
Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube. |
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Doc Hall
From:
Galveston, Tx
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Posted 16 Apr 2013 6:06 am
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| Bill, I think pedal steel applied in a folk/acoustic setting is the one of the finest applications for the "electric" pedal steel. I prefer that mix to the standard C&W electic mix. For me, it really brings out the beauty and uniqueness of the pedal steel guitar. |
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