NEW Steel

Jimmie Hudson · From: North Carolina, USA

new steel

Dave Hopping · From: Aurora, Colorado

2+1 is kinda bare bones....

BUT if more pedals and KLs can be added later(maybe it's built with some sort of mounting points?), the new player has the opportunity to figure out what he needs, and if you can whip up pedal/KL kits for adding later, there's an opportunity to get some time under the hood!

Doug Taylor · From: Shelbyville, Kentucky, USA

Jimmie as someone who has played for 2 years now I find so far I have spent 99% of my time on A-B pedals and knees that lower and raise the Es. I would think I would want those 4 changes for the standard maybe with the option to add more as you go.

James Sission · From: Sugar Land,Texas USA

I agree with Doug, 2+2 for a beginner. That would occupy a lot of time with Jeff Newman or Paul Franklin courses.

Mark Perrodin · From: Tucson Arizona, USA

jimmie,
i think 2+1 is definitely a bare bones set up but with a little bit of practice it could work. i spend a lot of time on a, a+b and eâ€™s lowered. with different grips you can get the f lever+a pedal on an e lower by going up a couple frets. maybe itâ€™s not the best or easiest solution but itâ€™s certainly musical. when i was dabbling with pedal steel 35 years ago i might have been better off with 2+1 rather than the 4+4 that i had. it would have been easier to follow the changes with less options. but what do i know? i sold my 2 msaâ€™s and my emmons and now only have 4 1960â€™s cable drive guitars. i can force music out of them on a good day. sometimes less is really more. you just have to want to go that way.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

If I were recommending a minimum setup to a newbie, it would be 3 floor and two knees - raise and lower E's.

Georg Sørtun · From: Mandal, Agder, Norway

chuck lemasters · From: Jacksonburg, WV

My first good guitar, a Sho Bud, had two knees..lowering the E strings and raising 8 along with lowering 2. I changed it to raise both E strings. These days I would miss D#-D second string change, which I use a lot.

Ian Worley · From: Sacramento, CA

Another vote for 2+2, ten strings, with levers raising & lowering 4 & 8. There's a lot of music in there.

I agree with what Dave H said, best if the guitar is shipped with all the necessary drilling and screw holes pre-done so that adding a couple more levers and pedals could be easily done by the average neophyte with just a screwdriver few basic hand tools.
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All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest - Paul Simon

K Maul · From: Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL

The problem is, and always has been, that people donâ€™t have the money to try their hand at a complex instrument like pedal steel, and are intimidated by the mechanics. In this modern world, the expense is even more prohibitive. 3+4 or even 3+2 are, of course, desirable but not practical for everyone. To get a guitar player or even â€œa first-timer at anythingâ€ going on pedal steel an easily expandable 2+1 is what I think would sell the most people on the idea.
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KEVIN MAUL: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Donner, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, GFI, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing.

Allen Merrell · From: Georgia, USA

I agree with Jack and Georg. This will take a beginner a long way before he needs to upgrade. 3x2 in my opinion is a good way to go. A lot of courses I have seen are based around ABC pedals and being able to raise and lower the E's at some time in the learning. The first steel I had was a ShoBud maverick with a 3x1 setup 3 months later I was at ShoBud getting Harry to add another knee lever.
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72 ShoBud 6153 D10, Encore, Nashville 112, Boss Katana, Spark 40, Quilter TT12, GT001, ProFex II,Jackson Pitch changer (Love this bender)

Ken Mizell · From: Lakeland, Florida, 33809, USA

3 floor, and 2 knees (raise and lower E's). It won't take long before a newby sees tabs in instruction books with the B/C pedal being used. It would probably take quite a while before someone one runs into the need for two more knees.
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Steeless.

Jimmie Hudson · From: North Carolina, USA

Thanks for all the responces.

Kelcey ONeil · From: Sevierville, TN

Very sharp!

Jimmie Hudson · From: North Carolina, USA

Mark Perrodin · From: Tucson Arizona, USA

that is a great looking guitar. color scheme is just right. i think youâ€™re on to something.

Bobby D. Jones · From: West Virginia, USA

My vote is with Jack Stoner, Georg Sorten and Ken Mizell.

3 Pedals ABC and 2 Knee Levers raise and lower E's 4 and 8.

With the B-C pedal you get another minor voicing at the 5th chord position with many uses. The A-F up 3 frets same chord, Have many uses. The B Pedal, Lower E's 7th chord would justify 3 pedals and 2 knee lever setup. This would allow the guitar set up at the factory and ready to do serious learning and practice on, When a student gets their guitar.

Drill cross rod holes and have guitar set up to add Franklin pedal and 2 or 3 knee levers in kits would be selling point on a new student guitar.

Leo Grassl · From: Madison TN

I will respectfully disagree with the other fellows. Of course it depends on your commitment to learning the instrument but I think 3 and 4 becomes essential not far down the road. 2 and 2 is fine for a little while and Iâ€™m not arguing that you canâ€™t make tons of music with just those changes but 3 and 4 gives you most of what you would ever need. Having to send the guitar back and have knees and pedals added if your not mechanically inclined to do so yourself could become a lot of trouble and money. From what Iâ€™ve gathered the demand for economy models with 3 and 4 is very high and most younger folks looking to play are being steered towards guitars with that setup.

Thatâ€™s a cool looking guitar Jimmie!

LG

Al Evans · From: Austin, Texas, USA

As a somewhat-recent beginner, I think the "expensive instrument" problem is illusory.

My first pedal steel was a 1976 MSA D10 Classic. All I really knew about it was that the E9th neck worked, as did the first three pedals and all four knee levers.

I got a good start on learning to play. I also learned about overtuning, and fixing a knee lever with too much friction. I think most will agree that acquiring the ability to fix common minor problems is important to a new player.

Later on, after I had decided I was REALLY going to learn to play and acquired a newer, more modern pedal steel, I took the old MSA all apart, cleaned up everything, and set it up so that both necks worked more or less like I wanted them to. In the end, I sold it, in better shape than when I got it, for enough more money than I paid to cover the new parts I put in. So it was a great deal all around, more like a savings account than an expense.

I also have a ZumSteel Encore, which I would highly recommend as a first pedal steel. The $2000-ish cost of the thing is, again, more like a savings account than an expense -- if you need the money back, you could sell the Encore in practically no time and recoup your investment.

So I think the complaint that "the pedal steel is an expensive instrument" is misleading, and potential beginners should be educated as to how they can get their investment back pretty easily if they're reasonably careful in their initial purchase.

--Al Evans
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2018 MSA Legend, 2018 ZumSteel Encore, 2015 Mullen G2, G&L S-500, G&L ASAT, G&L LB-100, Godin A4 Fretless, Kinscherff High Noon

Andrew Goulet · Posted 6 Jul 2021 6:08 am

Jimmie, how much more would it add to the cost of your 2 pedal/ 2 lever to add that C pedal? My thinking is that 2 pedals and 1 knee lever is bare bones essentials for some of the most used and classic moves.

I could see someone sending a guitar back for the addition of another knee and the C pedal. But does it make sense to send it back for the addition of a single pedal? This is assuming one couldn't do the work themselves although I think many could.

My gut tells me to either go with 2 pedals and 1 knee, or 3 pedals and 2 knees. Unless there's a big cost savings for the consumer in a 2 pedal 2 knee, I personally would probably just rather pay the extra cost for the C pedal upfront rather than add it later.
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Marlen S12 and a ZT Club

Jimmie Hudson · From: North Carolina, USA

Jimmie Hudson · From: North Carolina, USA

Steel.

Jimmie Hudson · From: North Carolina, USA

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

I agree - 2+2.

When I started (early-'70s), the bare-bones set-up was 3+1. The E to F knee-lever, though, is such an intelligent addition that I believe it's now regarded as almost essential.
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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles and Martins - and, at last, a Gibson Super 400!
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Johnie King · From: Tennessee, USA

The only thing I see wrong with Jimmie's add is he says beginner steel.
This is a pro model steel with out the weight of a Sd 10 heavy wrecking ball.

Jimmie has the Steel Market covered for the person wanting the ultimate

Tone"!!
Playability "!!
Light weight 15 pounds"!!!
Three pedal four knees :::: or start with two pedals an one knee. Very easy too add knees an pedals in the future.

I love the wood key head for tone.

Who would put a Aluminum key he'd on a telecaster an a aluminum nut For better tone?

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