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Topic: What would your steel set up be if... |
Dustin Rhodes
From:
Owasso OK
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Posted 22 Aug 2021 8:02 am |
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You had no call to cover music made by others?
I know in my more familiar world of 6 string so many of my gear decisions were guided by needing certain sounds from albums and not necessarily what I wanted to sound like. I'm sure to some extent that guides all of us in certain directions. I'm just wondering if your approach or setup would change if that wasn't a factor. Would your copedent be simpler or maybe even more complex? S-10 instead of D-10 or even a completely different tuning from the standard? |
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Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2021 7:47 am
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Amazing but not surprising that no one has responded to this yet… the early days of steel guitar saw players inspired to “sound like themselves” and have their own voice, so much of the instrument now is built around “this pedal plus this lever plus this grip gets So-and-So’s sound off of this famous record.”
My set up would be very basic, but that being said, I would want a triple neck. The middle E9 neck would be a 24” scale, the inside and outside necks would be 22.653”, so the nut would be where the first fret marker would be on the 24” neck. I would want the string spacing the same as on a Fender.
A pedal ten string neck in the middle with two (mostly) non pedal necks on the inside and outside. I almost added the C pedal but then considered how I never touch it unless I feel obligated to get a Ralph Mooney or Lloyd Green type sound out of it for the sake of making a song sound more like the original recording, so I ditched it for the sake of this mental excercise.
OUTSIDE NECK, F13:
F
D
A
F
G
Ed
C
F
MIDDLE NECK, E9:
………..LL……LR…….A…..B…….RR
F#
Ed………………………………………...D
G#……………………………….A
E………F……..Ed
B………………………..C#
G#……………………………….A
F#
E………F……..Ed
D
B………………………..C#
INSIDE NECK, C6/A7:
………..RR
E
C
A
G……..F#
E
C#
C
A (bass note) |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 29 Aug 2021 9:04 am
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I don't have to sound like anyone else, but my setup covers everything I'm called on to do.
I play a B6 universal, so for educational purposes I can play E9 or C6 tabs. I don't feel the need to be unconventional. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have this or that extra change, but on a twelve-string with 8x5 there's usually a workaround.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 29 Aug 2021 10:02 am
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My favorite PSG tuning (since 1988) looks like this "on paper"…
… and much better players than me have confirmed that it covers just about all one can play on standard E9 tunings, along with most of what I like to play and create soundwise. |
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Dustin Rhodes
From:
Owasso OK
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Posted 29 Aug 2021 1:33 pm
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| Chris Scruggs wrote: |
Amazing but not surprising that no one has responded to this yet… the early days of steel guitar saw players inspired to “sound like themselves” and have their own voice, so much of the instrument now is built around “this pedal plus this lever plus this grip gets So-and-So’s sound off of this famous record.”
My set up would be very basic, but that being said, I would want a triple neck. The middle E9 neck would be a 24” scale, the inside and outside necks would be 22.653”, so the nut would be where the first fret marker would be on the 24” neck. I would want the string spacing the same as on a Fender.
A pedal ten string neck in the middle with two (mostly) non pedal necks on the inside and outside. I almost added the C pedal but then considered how I never touch it unless I feel obligated to get a Ralph Mooney or Lloyd Green type sound out of it for the sake of making a song sound more like the original recording, so I ditched it for the sake of this mental excercise.
OUTSIDE NECK, F13:
F
D
A
F
G
Ed
C
F
MIDDLE NECK, E9:
………..LL……LR…….A…..B…….RR
F#
Ed………………………………………...D
G#……………………………….A
E………F……..Ed
B………………………..C#
G#……………………………….A
F#
E………F……..Ed
D
B………………………..C#
INSIDE NECK, C6/A7:
………..RR
E
C
A
G……..F#
E
C#
C
A (bass note) |
I'm surprised there aren't more people who mix pedal and non-pedal on one instrument. Whether it be an old non-pedal tuning, a Dobro sim set up (like Travis Toy's MSA) or even something like an Open E or sacred steel tuning to cover bluesy sounding stuff. |
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Dustin Rhodes
From:
Owasso OK
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Posted 29 Aug 2021 1:34 pm
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| Georg Sørtun wrote: |
My favorite PSG tuning (since 1988) looks like this "on paper"…
… and much better players than me have confirmed that it covers just about all one can play on standard E9 tunings, along with most of what I like to play and create soundwise. |
How did you come to the doubled strings? |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 29 Aug 2021 2:43 pm
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| Dustin Rhodes wrote: |
| How did you come to the doubled strings? |
Wanted an extended range but not more strings, and chose to directly replace the E9 strings (7 and 9) I used the least and could easiest "emulate" by adding pedal/lever actions and utilizing splits/combos.
By keeping all other strings in place, switching between my twin-tuned PSGs and more regular E9 tuned PSGs became easy.
OK range now…
… and I only miss the extra changes when I play regular or extended E9. Especially the "E" to "F#" lever raise and "G#" to "F#" lower on 3 octave strings respectively, are missed when playing "regulars". |
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Asa Brosius
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Posted 29 Aug 2021 3:44 pm
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| Great question- (my background- I figured out what a pedal steel was after hearing it on my mom's mick jagger 'wandering spirit' tape from the 90's. It was the goofy part- when I identified Greg Leisz on albums I cared about in the late 2000's, I bought a way too expensive basket case MSA D10 from Bobbe Seymour. I dove into available instruction, which was country and western swing styles-all foreign to me at the time- with the odd pop/jazz standard that Emmons had figured out and composed on record on steel). At this point, it's hard for me to see past e9 with ab pedals and E raises/lowers-without consideration for playing covers/signature licks, it feels very complete musically, and a genius design. For me and my taste, my issue is with pedal steel's modern tone and range, not ideal coped- Russ Pahl has been an inspiration here- not adding changes for the steel show/album licks, but experimenting with lower-wound pickups in different positions, removing unnecessary changes, and lowering the range. There are a lot of great stylists playing recording and touring right now, and a lot of great players working 'in the tradition'- that seems to currently mean touring the record Franklin parts or gigging covers from the past 60 years. When I think about changing my coped these days, I think about what derek trucks does with one string, and knock it off. |
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Johnny Cox
From:
Williamsom WVA, raised in Nashville TN, Lives in Hallettsville Texas
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Posted 29 Aug 2021 6:43 pm
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I now have what I want with the D13th.
_________________
Johnny "Dumplin" Cox
"YANKIN' STRINGS & STOMPIN' PEDALS" since 1967. |
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Dustin Rhodes
From:
Owasso OK
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Posted 29 Aug 2021 6:58 pm
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| Johnny Cox wrote: |
| I now have what I want with the D13th. |
Your tuning + listening to guys with their own unique copedents is what made me as this. Im a big fan of guys who organically developed their own path. |
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Paul Strojan
From:
California, USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2021 8:46 pm
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| For me, I need to chart my own path to really learn how to play the instrument. I find that I develop most when I figure out how to play tab on a different tuning. As I gain more experience, I am going get a better idea of what setup I want. Right now my dream guitar is a double neck 12 string E13 on top and 8 strings on the bottom set up for lap style playing. I am really intrigued by the Bud Isaacs tuning. With two pedals, there are 5 functional strum able tunings E9, A6, E9 over A6 and E11/ D major 9 |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 29 Aug 2021 10:54 pm
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In 1978 I switched to E9th to get more work. To this day, I'm not sure that it was necessary. In 2010 I switched to an 8-string D6th and it had no effect on my ability to get gigs. Sneaky Pete Kleinow played an 8-string B6th and worked with the biggest names in pop and country rock.
My opinion: Our instrument is so esoteric; those of us who play it are the only ones who care how it is set up. As long as we can get that familiar A+B pedal sound, 90% of our clients will get what they expect. Our copedents simply don't matter to anyone but other steelers.
Here's what I play today. It's more than enough to handle everything that's ever been thrown at me.
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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