Pedal Steel... Ugly or Elegant?

Tony Glassman · From: The Great Northwest

I've had my steel described as:
A) an "Okie Organ"
B) a burial for 2 salmon

On the other hand, as steel is a "sit down job". While the other band members are forced to stand, the seated position does connotate "power"(e.g think Presidential desk in oval office)....unfortunately that only attracts chicks who look like Monica Lewinski.

Jim Phelps · From: Mexico City, Mexico

I think an art-deco steel might be cool... I always thought the ZB Custom was pretty cool-looking with its little pointed aluminum parts. I think a more art-deco steel could be made without making it look like an industrial building oil furnace and that's what those steels in the photos with all the coverings look like to me.

Sonny Priddy · From: Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA, R.I.P.

I Think My GFI Looks Great And It Will Hold It's Own With The Others. SONNY.

------------------

Bob Carlucci · From: Candor, New York, USA

DVA.. That is a VERY cool looking abomination of a console steel!!.
I'll bet it sounds sweet too!... Never saw one... A console steel with built in amp/cabinet...it does look kinda art deco don't it?.. I don't know why I think this, but I'll bet those guys were some pretty hot "cats" back in the day... bob

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

Cool art-deco console steel, but I wouldn't want to have to lug it around, or that doghouse bass either.

I guess I'm a Leo Fender-style 'form follows function' kinda guy. My favorite electric guitar is a plain old Tele. For acoustic guitar, I'll take a plain old Gibson flattop like an SJ. I love the trim, clean line of the right Mercedes or late 60s Plymouth. For furniture, I prefer minimalist Oriental or Scandinavian design. Architecure - angular and modern. So to me, I love the look of a trim, sleek, and angular pedal steel guitar. No wasted motion or excess weight. Emmons, Franklin, BMI, and so on - that's the look I prefer. I just picked up an early BMI S-12U with gorgeous birdseye maple and a faded cherry-red ES-345-style finish. Still has that minimalist look, but the wood is nice. Otherwise, black is just fine, thank you.

Hillbilly science project? OK, I'll accept that. Sorta like a flat-black '66 Dodge Coronet with a 426 Hemi. Yeah.

Do I care what "the public" thinks about how my guitars look? Nah.

Jim Phelps · From: Mexico City, Mexico

I like the plain and simple "form follows function" but I also like a little flash and style too.

I think steels look perfect as they are, chrome legs, bodies out in the open and no shrouds.

I still think that steel in the cabinet in the b/w photo looks more like a '40's oil furnace than a musical instrument. I'd love to hear them play though.

Chris Lasher · From: Blacksburg, VA

This is a "How do you tell a mother her baby is ugly" question.

I think steels look cool. All of my friends disagree; most of them say "What the heck is that thing?" with a light dash of contempt. Our baby is ugly to everyone but us.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Well, when I saw that picture, I wasn't thinking "oil furnace" as much a I was jukebox or a bookcase headboard for a Hollywood Bed!

No, that's not the kind of style I was envisioning. Yeah, Shot and Zane had the right idea with their finned-horned keyheads, but someone should have done something with the endplates, too. Maybe something more sculpted, reeded, or engraved. The cabinets could use some help, too. Flat surfaces could be carved, reeded, or sculpted. Pedal boards could look like something other than barstock or furring strips, and legs could have used some help, too. Actually, Sierra did have square, extruded legs. That shows that different can be made practical.

That red Commodore steel over in "No Peddlers" sure has a lot of style for a little lap steel!

Looks pretty Art-Deco to me, MOTS and all!

Reading Ron Randall's post, he and I seem to think alike. Pedal steels just seem rather spartan (except when compared to electronic keyboards).

[This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 12 October 2005 at 06:28 PM.]

Dave Van Allen · From: Doylestown, PA , US , Earth

Duane Reese · Posted 13 Oct 2005 6:53 pm

For the general public, probably one big factor is whether or not they like country music, which is what they will most likely associate the steel with. They are flipping through channels and happen across Austin City Limits, and either like what they see or don't.
On the other hand, I've had mid-teens rock band players come up and think it was mind-blowingly cool... And I've had die-hard country fans seem to express that it looks like some guy playing a poker table with a big cow magnet!
It's just really hard to say.

-Duane

Forum Index > Pedal Steel	Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3	Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: