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Topic: Hand Locators for Steel Guitar |
Dan Sawyer
From:
Studio City, California, USA
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Posted 25 Oct 2004 6:39 pm |
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Has any company ever made a steel guitar (pedals or not) with locators along the side of the fingerboard? This would seem to be an obvious idea. I'm imagining small bumps or something like that. As you moved the bar around the neck, you would be able to feel the bumps and know which fret you were at. The bumps or feelers would correspond to the fret markers. The one at the 12th fret could have a different shape. Wouldn't this help steel players? It would mean less looking down and more looking at your bandmates.
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Dan Sawyer
Fender Deluxe 8® (stringmaster), Fender Deluxe 8 (trap), Gibson EH-150, Wayne Lap Steel, Fender "White" 6-string w legs, Carvin steel w HiseTri-plex.
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 25 Oct 2004 8:05 pm
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| I really doubt any serious steel player would want this type of thing...I recall a visually impaired steel guitarist who put ball headed thumb tacks into the front portion of the neck along all the frets. It may have helped him, but from the way he played, (constantly out of tune), I have my doubts. |
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Jeff Au Hoy
From:
Honolulu, Hawai'i
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Posted 25 Oct 2004 8:23 pm
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...
Last edited by Jeff Au Hoy on 13 Sep 2019 3:21 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Jim Landers
From:
Spokane, Wash.
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Posted 25 Oct 2004 8:46 pm
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Accordion players do it with with a bump!  |
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Loni Specter
From:
West Hills, CA, USA
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Posted 25 Oct 2004 9:33 pm
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Yes, I can see it now! "Lightnin' Dan's Speed Bumps" or as they are known in the Spanish guitar world, "Frets!"
Seriously Dan That's not a bad idea. I don't know that all players hands rest on the edge enough to utilize them. Unless I'm not clear on the design. |
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Mark van Allen
From:
Watkinsville, Ga. USA
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Posted 25 Oct 2004 9:42 pm
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Actually I think Melobar sold a great number of stand-up lap steels with this exact attachment. They're still turning up on ebay. I seem to recall seeing a similar device marketed for the pedal steel some years ago in the steel mags.
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Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com
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Travis Bernhardt
From:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 25 Oct 2004 9:51 pm
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Might be handy for the really really high frets, where your hand is blocking your view.
-Travis |
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John Bechtel
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.
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Posted 25 Oct 2004 11:47 pm
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I wouldn't use them, however if I stuck tacks or put bumps of some kind on the neck(s), I'd put them on the side facing me and locate them with my thumb-b-b-b-b!
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“Big John” Bechtel
(2)-Fender ’49–’50 T–8 Customs
Fender ’65 Reissue Twin-Reverb Custom™ 15”
click hereclick hereclick hereclick here
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Les Anderson
From:
The Great White North
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Posted 26 Oct 2004 9:21 am
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I know a steel player in Spokane Washington who puts a dab of water colour paint on the side of string above each fret. He claims he likes to play many of his tunes and chords a touch on the flat or sharp side and this helps him to gauge where his bar is.
I always had the notion that if a person had even an inkling of an ear for tone or feeling for his instrument, he could tell exactly where his bar is after a few years of playing.
I guess it's safe to say some people just never get beyond the "mechanical" technique of playing.
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I am not right all of the time but I sure like to think I am!
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Tim Tweedale
From:
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
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Posted 28 Oct 2004 12:50 am
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It raises the question: can you play without looking at your hands?
This is an excellent skill to have as it means you can make eye contact with your audience, sight read when necessary, and enjoy good posture, keeping your head up.
So, can you?
-Tim |
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Ron !
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Posted 28 Oct 2004 1:13 am
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Hey guys.
Normally i am on the other posts but i couldn't help looking at this topic.
For several years i used sticky tape with the chords written on them on the side of the neck.This helps a lot.Aspecially when you are a beginner.
And yes there are some people that can play without looking at their hands.I have played lapsteel for over 30 years now and at this time i never look at my hands when i play...either a hawaiianguitar lapsteel or dobro.
Ron
Nikaro SD10 4x6 |
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Chris Brooks
From:
Providence, Rhode Island
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Posted 28 Oct 2004 5:02 am
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Ronnie, I used sticky tape for another purpose when I (tried to) play a D 10 Emmons for a couple of years.
I ordered it with 10 pedals and put tape with numbers on the 7 C6 pedals.
Later I went to an S 12 extended E9, as you know, and found that my feeble brain was actually able to keep track of only 5 pedals without the aid of tape.
Groetjes,
Chris
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now living in the Ocean State ....
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 28 Oct 2004 5:47 am
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| Herb Remington taught a blind person to play by attaching nail heads at all the frets. The idea worked and his student went on to play professionally playing entirely by feel. |
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Dan Sawyer
From:
Studio City, California, USA
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Posted 28 Oct 2004 11:36 am
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| That's what i'm talking about. Being able to free yourself from always having to look down. You want to be able to check yourself, especially when playing those long octave glides, but it would be nice to have a general idea of where you are without looking down. Somebody mentioned accordions. The left hand plays buttons. They're all the same size, but some have indentations, so the player can tell just by feel when he's on a 'C' button. The nail heads would all feel the same. We would want something in the feel to tell us when we were at fret 3,5,7,9, 12, etc. |
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