Steel Guitar Demographics... The Future

Steve Stallings · From: Houston/Cypress, Texas

From where I sit, I see an aging population (including myself) of steelers with few new young players entering the arena. For every steel player I meet who is under thirty, I'd bet I know 30 who are over fifty. I seem to recall that the average age here is around 52 or so. I personally think the average steeler may in fact be somewhat older. I'm 52 and when I go to conventions I feel like a youngster.
My earlier observations regarding a dwindling market for steels (all steels, not just push pull) is based on simple bell curve mathmatics. I believe that the entire steel market is at or very near saturation. Much of the current demand has been fueled by folks with 3,4, or even more guitars.
As these folks age, die, or simply quit, these steels will begin surfacing in ever increasing numbers. This will yield pressure on the new guitar market that over time will cause serious repercussions.
In an age of mass production, the steel guitar is still made in one, two or three man operations. Even the largest builder has only three or four employees. Recently, a builder told me of fairly ambitous plans for expansion. I was a bit surprised and asked if they felt the market was there to support it. He told me "we are creating are own market". I personally feel his assessment is incorrect, but I hope he is right.

Ok... I just throw these observations out for your thoughts folks. I'm interested in how others perceive this.

Steve Hinson · From: Hendersonville Tn USA

Not many kids taking it up,that's for sure...

Guest · Posted 12 Nov 2003 10:54 am

What I find particularly interesting is the number of new players who are older -- myself included. I know that, in my case, I had no way to even be exposed to the steel guitar before the internet and the forum came along. But if I try to get a kid interested in it, they look at me like I'm from Mars -- AND I'M NOT EVEN FROM MARS!

Well, I'll tell you one thing, my son is going to play steel guitar or else. (or else he'll do whatever he wants, I guess)

chas smith R.I.P. · From: Encino, CA, USA

Larry Chung · From: San Francisco, CA, USA

Hi Steve:

Great post - it's an important question to consider - "THE FUTURE OF THE STEEL"

I teach music here in the San Francisco Bay Area and have several steel students - several of them in their 20s and 30s. Most of them are looking for a first good steel, not a student model, and not a multi-thousand dollar instrument. They all check the Forum and many of them have bought instruments from longtime players who have several instruments.

When I got into steel, I knew there was no way that I could pay thousands of dollars for a new steel, so I looked and found some very nice used ones - I currently own three.

I see plenty of younger people interested in steel, but they're not typically on the bandstand or in the bar room; they're practicing at home just like me. The steel, unlike the electric or acoustic guitar, takes ALOT longer to feel comfortable playing. I think it took me about a week to know enough electric guitar to play on-stage - Bless those Beatles! - but the steel... it took months to get comfortable.

For every young steel player you see onstage, I would guess that there are a whole bunch of folks who are at home practicing... I don't think the steel will ever be anywhere near as popular as the guitar, or drums, or piano, or even the accordian (hee hee!), but there are enough young people with a good dose of curiosity out there listening to alt-country, old country, and progressive steel-friendly music to keep the instrument alive for a long, long time.

As long as I'm blabbing, I think it's important that each one of us that plays alot teaches alot, too. Go to your local music store and check out how many fiddle, guitar, piano, banjo, accordian books and teaching materials there are... and how much steel stuff there is. It's just not there. The Forum really helped me get on my feet, as I'm sure it does for other young players, but I've also been fortunate enough to be friends with some more experienced players who were always willing to share with me and pass on the torch. I hope I can do the same someday!

On a different note, I think that having alot of used instruments available in the future is actually a big part of the solution and not the problem. The steel is still an unknown instrument to many - it took me 33 years to actually figure out what that crazy cat-fighting sound was behind the country singers... I say, the more instruments are available, the more people who are interested can actually get MORE interested. And, over time, as older guitars start to wear down and age, the more people will want a new or newer instrument. Does that sound so crazy?

I have a follow up question, too - how many steel manufacturers are actually out there and how does that number compare with, say, 10/20/30 years ago?

ZBest,
lc

------------------
Larry Chung
ZB D-10 8+4
ZB Custom S-11 4+4 Dekley S-10 3+4

Gere Mullican · From: LaVergne, Tennessee, USA (deceased)

I think you guys are right about not many youngsters taking up the steel nowadays. I remember several years ago after I had been playing steel for many years there started to be a lot of kids coming on. Back when they had the DJ convention in Nashville, I would be there and I would see some kids come in (already playing good): I remember when Tommy White came in down at Little Roy Wiggins' music store (I sat in for Roy while he was out with his heart surgery), The a little guy named Paul Franklin came in one of the vendor rooms at the Hermitage hotel bringing his Sho-Bud. He even sounded like Lloyd Green. And speaking of Lloyd, I use to see him around 6th and Church when he was selling shoes trying to break in to the business full time. I think he was playing some with Faron Young then. Then there was another little kid that his daddy brought him to some of the place where I was picking. His name is Johnny Cox. I wish a lot more of those kinds of kids would start playing the PSG. I sure would hate to see it go totally out of style. Certainly not in my opinion. I have stated many times that there is not another human on this planet that loves the steel as much as I do. They might come close but not quite. Anyway just because I am old (71) I still try, even tho I know I will never make it. I still LOVE it. Thanks for letting me get on my soap box.
Gere

David Doggett · Posted 12 Nov 2003 2:38 pm

This is related to the question of the changing demographics for country music. That's not real clear to me. I'm not talking about what your individual definition of country music is, I mean: is the country music slice of the CD and airway listener pie getting bigger or smaller - in relative numbers? - in absolute numbers? While steel is not quite the completely omnipresent thing it was in the past in country music, steel is very much a part of most live and recorded country music (just not all of it, as it was previously).

Then there is the question of steel in non-country genres. The country-rock scene took steel to a lot of young rock people in the '70s, and that has clearly not happened since then. Alt-country has nowhere near the prominence country-rock did. The Robert Randolph blues connection is still too new to predict. There is a lot of discussion on the Forum of taking steel into jazz, but how big and viable is the jazz listenership?

Eric West · From: Portland, Oregon, USA, R.I.P.

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

Moved to 'Steel Players" section.

Terry Edwards · From: Florida... livin' on spongecake...

In the future a young steel guitarist that hacks away at it like I do now will be considered a premier steel guitarist, highly sought after by studios everywhere, because nobody else will know how to tune these things, much less play one!

Terry

Leroy Riggs · From: Looney Tunes, R.I.P.

In my post shown below, I address the same issue after I attended the Winfield Music Festivalin KS this year. Bluegrass has did an excellent job in promoting to their young and they now have a great base of young people to draw from. The steel seems to promote to existing players. You might be interested in reading my observations.
http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum10/HTML/003353.html

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

Fact #1

This is about the hardest instrument in the world to become proficient at.

Fact #2

Kids, or "young people" by and large, have an attention span of about five minutes.

Fact #3

The demographic is swinging towards the oldsters. The percentage of young people in this country is declining.

Fact #4

It's just not a "cool" instrument in the eyes of most young people.

When you throw all these facts together, you can easily see why the younger generation isn't producing more steelers. In my own opinion, the only way the instrument will widen it's scope is in the jazz field. Jazz fans are thinkers...and this is a thinker's instrument. Jazz fans don't care if you're old, fat, bald, or ugly! Jazz fans don't care if you're playing a harp or a B3...as long as you can "cut it". And jazz fans don't like "synthesized", assembled music (which has become all to prominent in the recording industry). Jazz fans In short, they're one of the few groups of listeners who actually listen to music, and at the same time can actually tell good music from bad music, and real music from "assembled" music.

Right now, there's a little resurgence in honky-tonk music. (It probably won't last long.) Unless classic country (a la the '60s) returns, jazz may be the only savior for the steel guitar, IMHO.

Leroy Riggs · From: Looney Tunes, R.I.P.

Jesse Harris · From: Ventura, California, USA

I opened my musician's friend catalog today and there was a big banner over the carter starter saying "best seller" maybe theres hope yet.

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

There are close to a hundred teenagers in the sacred steel tradition that are gunning for Robert Randolph.
I've heard a few of them and they are scarey good.

I get about 5 new players a year as students and some of them are working the clubs and studios at this point. I seem to keep meeting and hearing about guys in there 20s that are busy playing steel around NYC. They are not in the country scene for the most part. Steel is a very sought after instrument in the indie rock and new music scene.

The real sadness is that live honky tonk country bar gigs are disapearing fast but fortunatly some of the new guys playing have adapted the instrument to play in more currently vibrant forms.

Bob

Eric West · From: Portland, Oregon, USA, R.I.P.

quote:
Fact #1

This is about the hardest instrument in the world to become proficient at. -D Hinson-

Some notable exceptions being Bowed Saw, Ocarina, Bassoon, Baritone Uke and pennywhistle. Not to mention the Swin.. (naw...)

quote:
Fact #2

Kids, or "young people" by and large, have an attention span of about five minutes. D Hinson

What was Number one again?

EJL

Brinton Payne · From: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

I agree with everything everyone has said here. I'll also tell you what it is like from a "youngster's" point of view (being 30 years old). Firstly, what Larry Chung said is right on - especially the cost of the instrument itself. I dropped more on my used Dekley than I ever spent on a guitar-which I've been playing for 17 years. And I am one of those guys sitting inside my house practicing an hour+ a day for the last year just waiting (and worrying) about the right opportunity to play live.

Secondly, I see a huge surge in PSG here in Texas. It seems like all of the new "alt country" bands have steel on their albums and if they are lucky enough, steel incorporated in their live sets.

As a thirty year old, and someone who has taken much of his PSG tech/teacher's time discussing how I'm one of the few guys he knows under 50 that plays and that with the right attitude and learning curve being a full time steel player or achieve a really nice supplemental income is possible now more than ever. This is the key to steel - not the money but the fact that good guitarists (6 string) are a dime a dozen and all have bands. Steel players are not this. They are in demand - especially when they can make it to gigs.

Finally, the pros and cons -
The pros are that a lot of country influenced rock bands are using steel. This provides great exposure for steel and I've even had people tell me that they think it is really cool b/c they think steel is a dying instrument. I find the activity very alive and well - and sometimes worry about my competition.

The cons - no one is playing the music - that great old country - you guys are talking about. Before, I would only listen to rock/talk radio stations, now only old country stations. The crappier reception I get b/c it is an independent station, the better the music and the better the STEEL!

As far as books and instruction goes, this site is it (along with a few books Amazon might have - Scotty's stuff by Mel Bay mainly). There is no place, and I mean no place, to find instruction. This is why I read this site every day - you guys have offered a ton of resources for me - and no offense, but there are going to be a lot of great PSGs in circulation for us "youngsters" in the near future - I'll collect them all!
BP

Rich Weiss · From: Woodland Hills, CA, USA

In all the time that I've been visiting this forum, there has always been an underlying current of concern, even fear, that the pedal steel is somehow dying out, going the way of the dinosaur. I never really understood this concern. Do we really think that if the steel sound is heard everywhere, work will somehow trickle down to all of us?
Please explain this concern.
I guess I've always trusted nature more than our collective ability to influence how the steel is perceived in the world of music. And if nature deems the steel to become lost in the fabric of time, so be it. It will never be lost to those of us who love it, and play it. Everything else is sort of... not living in the moment. How Zen.

Gino Iorfida · From: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Well, as I see it, as much as we don't like the direction country is turning, it IS appealing to a younger crowd. looking back 10 years ago, when I was in my early 20's, I wanted to get a steel guitar, and without the internet presence that there si now, I had no way to find a good affordable used steel. Nobody my age even heard of a steel guitar etc. Now fast forward 10 years.
I'm 31, and everytime I play in a bar, I can honestly count at least a half dozen people, all in the mid 20's to 30's all commenting on how our band sounds so much better having a steel in the band... I 'blame' it on the attraction of a younger crowd to the new country. couple that with the internet presence with sites like this, dealers/mfr's like Carter and Bobbe (among others-- don't want to leave anyone out) the amount of info is overwhelming now. Look how many new steels are on the market: (Carter, MSA, Emmons, Fulawka, Fessenden, Franklin, GFI, Zum, Derby, BMI, PedalMaster, Excel (made in japan even!), Anapeg (made down under!) Williams, Sierra, Mullen)-- 16 off the top of my head (plus dozens low number, handbuilt, steels that are every bit as good or better!)...what did we have 25 years ago? ShoBud, Emmons and MSA. Add to that the fact that guitar center/musicians friend have a beginner steel in a price range comparable to a standard telecaster and less than the basic les paul (the Carter Starter). I believe there MAy be a slight lull in new players, but I feel that soon, VERY soon we'll see a surge of players that are in the younger crowd.

chas smith R.I.P. · From: Encino, CA, USA

Johan Jansen · From: Europe

Chas, as a teacher, I can say you are right, it's the zap-generation...
It just needs another approach..

Johan

Bill Stafford · From: Gulfport,Ms. USA

Youngster's exposure to this insrtument is the key. When I was fortunate enough to have been on Carl Dixon's program in Atlanta, a few years ago, a lady was in the audience(at my invitation) who was the band instructor at one of the Atlanta High Schools. She was "exposed" to more forms and types of music she never expected to hear from a "steel guitar" and was duly impressed by the likes of Joe Wright and all the others.
She was under the type caste impression most people are who have never really paid attention to this instrument. After the show, she asked me to stay over on Monday and visit her high school and give a demo to her students. I was scheduled for just the first two hours during their band practice session. Those high school students could not wait to "get their hands on this steel guitar" after the basic structure of music was obtained from the first two pedals and the Eb lever. They were allowed to sit behind my guitar and just using the basic I, IV, V and 6m patterns almost all of them were able to play those chords perfectly the very first time. One sixteen year old girl really had a touch and her eyes lit up like magic and all her friends there noticed her touch and the feeling of the notes coming from those strings she played. After just a few minutes, she was able to play all those chords very smooth and immediately.
I had to stay all morning and into the afternoon to give this demo to all the band students as they came to classes. It was great for me to have been able to visit with those kids. That is one thing that must be done to get the exposure to start these youngsters playing our beloved instrument.
PS: And when I turned on the distortion box, it really blew their minds. No Joe Wright here folks, but I could see how Joe would have been the one to really demo this instrument to these students. Joe cuts his own path and those fortunate to hear and see him in person are duly impressed. Keep it up Joe..
Another PS: Our club here in Gulfport has been fortunate to have David Easly play for us. David is as impressive as Joe in his playing and is from the "younger crowd" and we are proud of this contact with David and his group of youngsters.

Fred Layman · From: Springfield, Missouri USA

I can remember 20 years ago people looking at the demographic at the St. Louis convention and predicting the imminent demise of the steel guitar. But, as Gino observed, several new companies have formed since then and are producing ten to thirty or more guitars a month that are being sold somewhere. The music scene is a young people's world today. Drawing conclusions from the predominant demographic that shows up at a steel gathering may be tricky. It could be that most of the young guys are working gigs and are too busy to take off to come to a show.

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

Ed Naylor · From: portsmouth.ohio usa, R.I.P.

I deal daily with all kinds of "Steel" questions.The Steel world has no specific direction as I see it. This past week I sold a 3/4 to a "Newbie". I am building his 2 yr old son a little lap job. I got a call from a gentleman that is 98 years old and wanted to sell his guitar- his fingers were getting stiff.My focus is GET PEOPLE INTERESTED- forget age etc.Ed Naylor Steel Guitar Works

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