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Topic: Need Direction |
William Potts
From: Indiana, USA
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Posted 27 Jun 2015 9:52 am
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Howdy,
Been on the forum off and on for a while, But never got any questions out.Been playing 5-String since 1976 but always wanted to try the Pedal Steel.
So, I Bought one. I feel I have already grown out of it. Thinking of Mullins. Any Info would be helpful,Co-Peds, Starters, Etc.
As earlier, Been off & on the forum, but never posted. Sorry to ask a silly question, but sure would like to have some direction. |
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George Buechley
From: Indiana, USA
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Posted 27 Jun 2015 11:50 am
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William,
Where in Indiana are you? Did you buy a pedal steel? What were you asking? Lesson information or something?
George _________________ Pre WWII Dobro, Sho~Bud Pro II Custom, Peavey Session 115, GFI Expo, Roland Cube XL80, Lil Izzy |
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William Potts
From: Indiana, USA
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Posted 27 Jun 2015 4:08 pm
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George,
I'm from New Castle,IN. The question I was really going after was what type of pedal/knee lever
arrangement would I benefit from most on my next guitar. I know that some of this might be more of a personal preference to some, But I am getting a little confused at this point about knee lever basics. Not the basics of operation, But the primary location of the knees.
For example, my set-up now is
F=Left Knee to left
Right Knee to Right Lowers my E's 4&8
Right Knee to Left Lowers my 2nd
I thought this was a pretty standard set-up and have kinda got used to it,but I have been told that my knee changes are kinda backwards. "?"
Standard Emmons Pedal set-up, A B C
Thanks
Bill |
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Tom Sosbe
From: Rushville,In
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Posted 27 Jun 2015 5:00 pm
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bill; come to the indy steel club show this sun. 6/28/15 at the greenwood American legion on south 31 greenwood. lots of players guitars. get all your questions answered. starts at 11:30 till ?.
tom |
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George Buechley
From: Indiana, USA
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Posted 27 Jun 2015 5:01 pm
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Hey William,
I see the only thing that is quite different with your set up is 'right knee right' lowering your E's. Most copedent set ups put the E's lowering on left knee right. On my Sho~Bud, I lower my E's on right knee left and this was known as the Sho~Bud set up. My right knee right lowers my second string. I don't think your set up is too awkward if that's the way you've always had it. I guess most tab these days is tabbed with the raises and lowers listed so you should be able to go through most tab books and figure them out from the first pages that tell you what levers lower what string. Do you have the Winnie Winston book? Also, Dewitt Scott has a book of introductory starter material for E9. You can find these by going to the Instruction section listed above here on the Forum.
George _________________ Pre WWII Dobro, Sho~Bud Pro II Custom, Peavey Session 115, GFI Expo, Roland Cube XL80, Lil Izzy |
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William Potts
From: Indiana, USA
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Posted 27 Jun 2015 6:20 pm
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Tom,
Thanks, I have been wanting to get back to the Indy Club but was not sure of the current schedule. I will not be able to get there tomorrow but would like to go to the next one. I will get in touch with you on when that is.
George,
Thanks for the feedback and the E lowers are exactly what is bugging me. After going through a lot of other Tabs and watching videos it seems I may need to try some different set-ups. It's workable for now but I do not want to breed bad habits going forward. I do have Winnies book and Two of Scotty"s. But I was starting to wonder if there was a more current set-up to be considering.
Thanks again for the feedback
Bill |
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Brint Hannay
From: Maryland, USA
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Posted 27 Jun 2015 6:40 pm
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I suppose there will be other opinions but in my opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong with having your E lowers on RKR. The only potential disadvantage would be if you want to A) be able to sit in on other people's steels without having to adjust to a different location, or B) have other people sit in on your steel without etc.
So it depends how often you expect to be in one of those situations. |
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Tom Sosbe
From: Rushville,In
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Posted 27 Jun 2015 6:50 pm
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bill; come by the store maybe we can move some things around. I'm open thur. fri. and sat. |
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Craig Baker
From: Eatonton, Georgia, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 27 Jun 2015 7:05 pm
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Hi William,
If you can get a copy of Winnie Winston's second book: "Pedal Steel Guitar. . . A Manual Of Style" Several top players discuss their knee levers and why they chose a certain set-up. The information will surprise and be a real eye-opener for most of today's players.
(ps: William, you're already on the right track.
Perhaps Fred Amendola will chime in. I believe he played an important part in creating the book and may offer some insight.
All the best to you.
Craig Baker 706-485-8792
cmbakerelectronics@gmail.com
C.M. Baker Electronics
P.O. Box 3965
Eatonton, GA 31024 _________________ "Make America Great Again". . . The Only Country With Dream After Its Name. |
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Jon Light (deceased)
From: Saugerties, NY
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Posted 28 Jun 2015 4:12 am
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The E lower on RKR is not one of the top two most common choices but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
And no self-respecting tab is going to denote the lever moves with a specific knee position.
Unfortunately you may see 4L or 4R and get confused into thinking 4th string Left, 4th string Right but it will actually be meaning Lower and Raise. |
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Mark van Allen
From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA
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Posted 28 Jun 2015 9:11 am
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Hi, Jon, it might depend on the use and efficacy of your copedant… I and quite a few Universal players put the E lowers on RKR because it's easier to hold it in for extended 6th phrasing usage. My lazy knee in particular loves to flop that way!
I collect instructional material and quite a few of the older courses (particularly the Hilton company Doug Jernigan stuff) have the changes shown by where they were on the author's guitar, i.e.; RKR, LKL in the tab. I'm not sure why they did that other than to show the physical logic of the author's setup, but they do require some "translating" to one's own setup as you play along, and it's certainly a stumbling block. I will say some of the Jernigan material presented that way is particularly good stuff! _________________ Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com
www.musicfarmstudio.com |
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Jon Light (deceased)
From: Saugerties, NY
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Posted 28 Jun 2015 9:32 am
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Yeah, Mark---totally no disrespect intended toward anyone's tab (in spite of the fact that I disrespected some tabs).
I think we can agree that in a world of a zillion setup variations, tab that denotes the intended function (string raise or lower) will provide far more universal instruction than tab that tells you to move a leg one way or another.
Reminds me of when my dad bought a Renault in '68. Turn signal was on the right side of the steering stalk. I learned to drive on that car. If I had been instructed to hit the lever on the left of the wheel before making a turn I would have been flashing the headlights.
And if anything I said sounded like I was against RKR for the E lower, then I stated my case poorly. It is totally fine. My Uni came with RKL and that's how I learned. Otherwise, RKR has appeal, even on E9. |
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Lane Gray
From: Topeka, KS
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Posted 28 Jun 2015 12:01 pm
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I love being helpful, but I'd have to say the first move would be to swap functions of your 2nd lower and E raises. It'd drive me CRAZY to not be able to use the E lowers and the 2nd string drop together.
Or possibly learn on this guitar as it sits now. If and when you want to add more, draw up a plan of what you want next. I STRONGLY advocate for a second string drop and 6th string drop on separate levers on the same leg, so that both can be used in combination with the E lowers.
But that pales besides my #1 advice for novice players: DO NOT change your setup until you:
1) know what you are missing and what you want to do with it;
2) can envision how you're going to use the new change
3) understand that when you move stuff, you may be losing combinations.
That's a perfectly fine setup to start on _________________ 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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Tom Gorr
From: Three Hills, Alberta
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Posted 28 Jun 2015 12:24 pm
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What model of guitar do you have?
For E String raise and lowers specifically: there have been polls in the past on where guys have their e raises and e lowers.... there is nothing that is a hard and fast standard. .. just rationalizations around preferences. ..Buddy Emmons and Paul Franklin had a two or three page debate a number of years ago. .. should be a Sticky Thread imo.
My e raises and lowers on my Universal guitar is exactly as yours. A number of other Uni players split them that way too. I would guess it's about 15 percent of the players. I doubt if any other arrangement has a majority..eg 50+ percent. |
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Charlie McDonald
From: out of the blue
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Posted 30 Jun 2015 3:09 am
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Tom, do you have the link to the conversation? I love steel history. _________________ Those that say don't know; those that know don't say.--Buddy Emmons |
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Roger Palmer
From: Rossendale, UK
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Brint Hannay
From: Maryland, USA
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William Potts
From: Indiana, USA
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Posted 30 Jun 2015 8:43 am
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Thank-You
To every one's input on this thread.
Thank-You
I can see that this was not such a silly question after all. In my quest to learn this instrument, I have found that there are so many possibilities that just drive you crazy, and you try to take them apart, that you go nuts to get them right.
This is the last instrument that I am trying
to learn.
And I will learn it!
To every One, Thank-You once more
You have been a great help.
Bill |
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William Potts
From: Indiana, USA
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Posted 30 Jun 2015 9:14 am
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Brint,
Thanks, I found that discussion, Very good information.
Thanks,
Bill |
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William Potts
From: Indiana, USA
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Posted 30 Jun 2015 9:20 am
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Roger,
Thanks, More good info from that thread.
Bill |
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