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Topic: Making pedal steel sound like an electric guitar |
Jonah Turner
From:
Nebraska, USA
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Posted 19 May 2016 6:27 pm |
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Ive been looking for groups to join around town, but it's really hard to find a group that wants the sound or is even familiar with the sound of steel. However, my high school show choir band said they would definitely give me an audition, but they're not certain that they would accept me on steel if the tamber wasn't needed. The show choir is traveling to Nashville next year and is playing in the Opry, and I'd kill to get to play there. Do you guys have any suggestions on how I might get my sound closer to that of a regular guitar?
Thanks!
Jonah
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Carter D-10 9&8 |
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Dustin Rigsby
From:
Parts Unknown, Ohio
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Posted 19 May 2016 6:52 pm
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Playing power chords only requires you play the root and fifth of a chord...and a decent overdrive pedal can get you in the ballpark. I once had to comp the synth riff for Van Halen's "jump" , a very un-country song. Go out of your way to not play typical psg phrases.
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D.S. Rigsby |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 19 May 2016 8:28 pm
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If you palm block, curl your ring finger under, and bang the strings off the nail. Instant Tele.
Pop in a Boss/Buzz Tone, and hippie-trippy fuzzfuzz.
You don't HAVE to leave it pedal steel bright, you can EQ it for other tonalities as needed.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Glenn Demichele
From:
(20mi N of) Chicago Illinois, USA
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Posted 19 May 2016 8:30 pm
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Wow: I'd play bagpipes if it would get me on the Opry...
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Franklin D10 8&5, Excel D10 8&5. Both amazing guitars! Homemade buffer/overdrive with adjustable 700Hz "Fender" scoop., Moyo pedal, GT-001 effects, 2x TDA7294 80W class AB amps, or 2x BAM200 for stereo. TT12 and BW1501 each in its own closed back wedge. Also NV400 etc. etc... |
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Ned McIntosh
From:
New South Wales, Australia
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Posted 19 May 2016 9:36 pm
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I hate to be the heretic here, but the whole point about pedal-steel is it doesn't sound like other guitars!
Rather than conform to what the prospective band thinks it wants, it sounds to me like the band needs a little educating as to what the steel sounds like and what it can add to the band. It's just a guitar - it can be played in any number of styles and have any number of sounds quite distinct from the "country E9th" sound. Try the non-pedal Western Swing sound, for example. You can pick and strum big, fat chords on the C6th neck like a big Dobro tuned to 2 sets of C6th and not use a single pedal all day if you like. The limits are in our head, not in the instrument.
Show 'em what you and the steel can do...plenty of people here will give you excellent advice on how to get a different sound. Then go knock the socks of that band.
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The steel guitar is a hard mistress. She will obsess you, bemuse and bewitch you. She will dash your hopes on what seems to be whim, only to tease you into renewing the relationship once more so she can do it to you all over again...and yet, if you somehow manage to touch her in that certain magic way, she will yield up a sound which has so much soul, raw emotion and heartfelt depth to it that she will pierce you to the very core of your being. |
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Ben Edmonds
From:
Greenfield, Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 20 May 2016 3:16 am
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I always thought Sneaky Pete's tone was very guitar like.maybe single coil pickup wound lighter or a coil tap or something. If it's a choir I'd stay away from power chords and distortion unless that's what called for. Maybe less slides and vibrato.
Also maybe the choir director once they hear the steel will like it for what it is. I would just go play what you play and win them over if you can
Good luck!! And good on you for chasing down the work with an open mind. Playing with a choir could be fun
Last edited by Ben Edmonds on 20 May 2016 6:49 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Jonah Turner
From:
Nebraska, USA
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Posted 20 May 2016 3:35 am
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Thanks guys! I'm definitely going to try a bit of everything. I don't think the directors are very familiar with steel, so when they hear it they might be surprised that it doesn't sound like a Hank Williams recording. I'll also experiment a lot with what you said Lane. The more tools in the box, the more valuable I ought to be.
Jonah
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Carter D-10 9&8 |
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 20 May 2016 4:02 am
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| Check out Spencer Cullum and Steelism. He doesn't make it sound like a guitar as such but definitely takes into territory more associated with guitar and goes way outside the country genre. |
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Dustin Rigsby
From:
Parts Unknown, Ohio
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Posted 20 May 2016 5:46 am
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| Ben Edmonds wrote: |
I always thought Sneaky Pete's tone was very guitar like.maybe single coil pickup wound lighter or a coil tap or something. If it's a choir I'd stay away from power chords and distortion unless that's what called for. Maybe less slides and vibrato.
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This is what I was trying to get at. Sneaky is a very good example.
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D.S. Rigsby |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 20 May 2016 7:23 am
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Avoid the typical cliche pedal steel licks.  |
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Jeff Garden
From:
Center Sandwich, New Hampshire, USA
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Jonah Turner
From:
Nebraska, USA
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Posted 20 May 2016 2:37 pm
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Thanks for the listening ideas! There's definitely some in each that I'll try to emulate. I feel much better about my audition now.
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Carter D-10 9&8 |
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Jack Aldrich
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 20 May 2016 5:25 pm
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Most of the time, it's the other way around - a regular guitarist wanting to sound like a steel guitar, hence the string pullers and palm pedals.
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Jack Aldrich
Carter & ShoBud D10's
D8 & T8 Stringmaster
Rickenbacher B6
3 Resonator guitars
Asher Alan Akaka Special SN 6
Canopus D8 |
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richard burton
From:
Britain
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Posted 21 May 2016 12:01 am
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My biggest difficulty is making my pedal steel sound like a pedal steel  |
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Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Posted 21 May 2016 7:26 am
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| Lou (sp?) Houston with Conway Twitty was so good with regular guitar sounds on the steel guitar that your ears couldn't believe what your eyes were seeing. I looked all over the stage and there was no lead player just Mr. Houston. This was just a few weeks after hearing Tommy Cash's guitar player do knock 'em dead E9th chromatic riffs on the standard guitar. ET's steel player watched the whole show peeking out of the back stage curtain and you could see he was impressed too! So much talent back then and the starts let the band have the limelight too. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 21 May 2016 7:29 am
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Ernest was great in promoting his band members. I was at one of his shows where he had Cal Smith and Jack Greene as band members. He worked them into solo spots until they could make it on their own.
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Posted 21 May 2016 8:03 am
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In reality no steel can imitate the percussive sound of a six string being strung hard from the top to the bottom strings.
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Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube. |
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Les Cargill
From:
Oklahoma City, Ok, USA
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Posted 21 May 2016 4:19 pm
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"Lunatic Fringe" by Red Ryder features what I'd thought initially was slide guitar, but is steel.
The theme to the 1980s show "Simon & Simon" is the same way.
This being said, if somebody wants six-string and is being stubborn about it, either do that or abstain. |
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John Scanlon
From:
Jackson, Mississippi, USA
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Posted 21 May 2016 7:35 pm
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The name Robert Randolph (and other sacred steel players) can evoke strong opinions across the spectrum on here, but it's required reading if you're looking for rock guitar sounds on PSG.
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Click here for the Index to Mickey Adams's YouTube video lessons
Insert impressive gear list here. |
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Jeff Harbour
From:
Western Ohio, USA
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Posted 23 May 2016 6:03 am
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I am not primarily a "rock" steel player, but I Have successfully played in a classic rock band and never once gave in and brought a guitar. For me it took nothing more than just hearing the "rock" sound in my mind before I played, and then listening to (and feeding off of) the other guys in the band. The end result can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxE6bafrvl4 |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 23 May 2016 6:43 am
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What Jeff said. With the proper frame of mind and the vocabulary, the pedal steel can speak nearly any language.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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