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Topic: Multibender lever options... |
Tony Boadle
From:
Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland
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Posted 24 Mar 2014 9:32 am |
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I'm having a fine time with my Recording King/Deusenberg Multibender Lap Steel, coming on in leaps and bounds since I started playing along with John Prine! Check out his album 'In Spite Of Ourselves'....there's some great PSG, Lap Steel and Dobro on there.
My question concerns what each lever is doing. The usual Multibender set-up is:
The instrument is tuned to open E (E B E G# B E) and the levers are working as follows:
1. string: from E to F (extralever))
2. string: from B to C# (standardversion)
3. string: from G# to A (standardversion)
I find that lever 1 is little-used, I took it up to F# but still have to go out of my way to 'need' it.
Lever 2 and 3 are just right and do most of the work.
So if I moved lever 1 to a lower string (6,5 or 4) would a # or ##(up or down, I can raise or lower)be useful? In other words, if I play open E and press down lever 2 and 3, I have an A chord (near enough).
So what could a third lever do (apart from the current set-up)?
I hope this makes sense to you all, it does to me but I'm primarily a banjer picker.....so make allowances LOL ! |
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Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 24 Mar 2014 3:20 pm
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Standard Duesenberg setup is open-D, butI set mine up as (lo-to-hi) B E F# G# B E, more like a pedal steel.
Same for the levers -
2nd string B->C#
3rd string G#->A
5th string E->D#
With those levers, and having the F#, you get a LOT of pedal steel moves - not just that this imitates a pedal steel, but that it gives you a lot of chordal options.
B D# F# is a V chord
A C# E is a IV chord
C# E G# is a VIm
G# B D# is a IIIm
F# A C# is a IIm
E A B is a Isus4
E F# B is a Isus2 or IX chord
_________________
https://www.lostsailorspdx.com
Williams S10s, Milkman Pedal Steel Mini & "The Amp"
Ben Bonham Resos, 1954 Oahu Diana, 1936 Oahu Parlor |
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Tony Boadle
From:
Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland
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Posted 25 Mar 2014 1:20 am Multibender Lever Options
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Thanks Steve, that's a fascinating set-up. How did you come up with it in the first place? It looks pretty scary to me as I'm so used to playing open G on the banjo and Dobro, and G6th on the Lap Steel. As you know, with an open chord tuning it's hard NOT to sound reasonably competent!
I'll pluck up the courage next weekend and give it a try....I'm currently strung with a Martin set of rollerwound Reso strings (meant for GBDGBD)and they've been fine for open E, I'm assuming I can get away with using them for this tuning (temporarily) to see if I get the hang of it.
Finally, I see there's a IV and a V in your chord list. Pardon my stupidity, (it's the banjo-picker in me) but where's the I ?
Thanks again for your input. |
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Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2014 9:50 am
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the I is just all of the open strings, except for the F#!
Like C6, where you have to avoid the "A" string, in E9 you have to avoid the "F#" when playing the I chord...
I got this tuning from the standard pedal steel tuning...the levers do the standard pedal steel A pedal, B pedal, and E-lower lever. I got this instrument as a way to not have to bring a whole pedal steel to a casual jam or gig...
_________________
https://www.lostsailorspdx.com
Williams S10s, Milkman Pedal Steel Mini & "The Amp"
Ben Bonham Resos, 1954 Oahu Diana, 1936 Oahu Parlor |
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Tony Boadle
From:
Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland
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Posted 25 Mar 2014 12:29 pm Multibender Lever options
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OK Steve, time to own up. Three times I've tried to learn PSG (10 string) and three times I've given up in despair. Hence the 6-string Lap Steel, Multibender and the open E tuning. The ability to mimic some PSG sounds without the mind-boggling array of pedals, knee-levers and ten strings is very soothing!(If a little restrictive)
But just as I was settling in to the 'easy way out' you come up with a compromise that really looks good.
So I'll bite the bullet one more time and re-set the levers and tuning as you suggest, watch this space!
And thanks.... |
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Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2014 3:12 pm
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tony-
I'd say that playing the multibender is, in some ways, harder than playing a pedal steel...you have to pick, block, and operate the levers all with the same appendage...separating that, on the pedal steel, is easier for me to deal with and do it all reasonably well....good luck!
_________________
https://www.lostsailorspdx.com
Williams S10s, Milkman Pedal Steel Mini & "The Amp"
Ben Bonham Resos, 1954 Oahu Diana, 1936 Oahu Parlor |
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