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Topic: Banjo pedal for lap steel, or other technique? |
Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 23 Jun 2020 12:22 pm |
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Winner for me is the 1" dowel, shaped like a bullet bar...read on for the experiment....
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I've sold my banjos, callouses are gone...but still need a banjo sound for some tunes with two new bands I'm starting with as soon as things open up...I'm limiting my instruments to Clinesmith Frypan, maybe with some dobro if needed.(I'm so in love with the 'pan that I don't really want to play anything else any more)
Are there any effects pedals that do banjo? I don't really want to go for a huge multi-effect pedal just for this effect - my pedalboard already has everything else I need, and is short on space....
I did find a mechanical thing, the "guitar-jo" which looks clumsy but sounds really accurate. Probably not what I want for my frypan, too clunky and aimed at lower action...(will be back in stock soon)
https://www.guitarjo.com
also just sticking a piece of a sponge under the strings seems to work pretty well, and surely is at a good price point. May be enough to fool a typical brewpub audience, which is all I really need....here's a guy who Rube Goldbergs up both banjo and sitar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn_rPK_zJ4M
Any other ideas?
_________________
https://www.lostsailorspdx.com
Williams S10s, Milkman Pedal Steel Mini & "The Amp"
Ben Bonham Resos, 1954 Oahu Diana, 1936 Oahu Parlor
Last edited by Steve Lipsey on 16 Jul 2020 1:53 pm; edited 5 times in total |
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Ken Pippus
From:
Langford, BC, Canada
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Posted 23 Jun 2020 1:52 pm
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| Try using a plastic comb for a bar. |
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Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 23 Jun 2020 1:54 pm
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Experimenting a bit I found that the sponge under the strings, almost touching, sounds pretty good...clearly a banjo vibe. I probably should devise some way to hold it in place, but it pretty much stays where it is put..
FYI, the black thing in the pics is a piece of rubber shelf liner blu-tacked to the instrument that is a handrest - the heel of my hand was getting bruised by the metal frypan...
And yes, the rest raises the sponge so that it blocks the 6th string, but banjos only have 5...and it stays in place better that way...
_________________
https://www.lostsailorspdx.com
Williams S10s, Milkman Pedal Steel Mini & "The Amp"
Ben Bonham Resos, 1954 Oahu Diana, 1936 Oahu Parlor
Last edited by Steve Lipsey on 23 Jun 2020 2:01 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 23 Jun 2020 2:00 pm
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Ken-
WOW - Thanks! the plastic comb works great! And I like the price point and portability!
Add a little treble and it is a Gibson Mastertone...well...not really...but plenty good for the bar crowd.
_________________
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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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 23 Jun 2020 2:28 pm
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| Steve, a wooden broom handle has a similar dull sound. That frypan is cool. |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 24 Jun 2020 8:42 am
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Plastic prescription pill bottle.
Empty, of course...and label removed. |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 24 Jun 2020 4:12 pm
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| Larry Dering wrote: |
| Steve, a wooden broom handle has a similar dull sound. |
That's what I used to use. |
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 24 Jun 2020 5:49 pm
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| Jack, I believe we got the short end of the stick. |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 26 Jun 2020 7:33 am
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| Larry Dering wrote: |
| Jack, I believe we got the short end of the stick. |
Indeed I did. The ex got to keep the long end (and dang near everything else). The only consolation is she eventually lost the entire kit & kaboodle, and I still have about three inches of that broom handle around here somewhere... |
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 26 Jun 2020 5:22 pm
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| Well then, that stick will certainly make you smile knowing you have your part. Best of luck and keep pickin. |
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Garry Vanderlinde
From:
CA
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Posted 27 Jun 2020 12:26 pm
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Don't forget to smile like a banjo player. It doesn't get much more authentic than a set of Billy-Bob teeth.
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Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 28 Jun 2020 5:10 pm
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And the winner is....no question...by a mile....the bullet-bar shaped 1" dowel.
I tried all of these...could get a banjo tone with most of them, but the effort required to make it consistent was unworkable...had to keep exactly the right amount of pressure, even a tiny bit off would choke the sound or not touch the strings...and they were hard to play accurately to pitch (although banjo tone masked some of that).
With the 1" bullet dowel, I could easily and evenly keep the right pressure (essentially none) and do forward and reverse slants, and even split slants, easily, with good banjo tone throughout. And essentially matching my normal bar (but a bit thicker) made it easy to play accurately...muscle memory and visual positioning worked just fine.
Just add a little treble compared to normal frypan tone, and you're good to go...thanks to all of you for the suggestions, comments, and humor...I still need to acquire some Billy-Bob teeth to complete the act (seriously!).
_________________
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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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2020 1:30 pm
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| Steve, glad you found your mojo. Only problem for me is weight. Thought about drilling out center and adding lead. That may alter the tone so some trial and error is needed. I have the bubba teeth handy for on the spot imitation. |
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Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2020 2:10 pm
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You don't want it to be heavy!!! The point is to have it light enough to vibrate on the string and NOT give clear tone. E.g.,the ceramic finger slide, even though hollow, was too heave and sounded just like a steel bar unless you were extremely careful to not let the weight fully down...
_________________
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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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2020 3:03 pm
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| Steve, you are right and that is why I mentioned trial and error. I quickly learned the lighter wood bar gave me a decent tone and putting pressure on the bar was bad. However I use a 1 inch bar so this feels like a feather. I want to get a better balance overall. Maybe a total bust. I'm stuck at home and this type of thing is interesting. |
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Jacek Jakubek
From:
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 9 Jul 2020 5:20 pm
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| Thank you for reminding me of this wooden-dowel method of getting banjo-like tone. I made a similar broom handle bar like yours many years ago, pulled it out today and had a great time getting cool staccato, nylon string type sounds. If you press harder on the strings with the dowel bar the tone gets less banjo-like and more nylon-string sounding. |
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Jim Palenscar
From:
Oceanside, Calif, USA
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Posted 15 Jul 2020 9:24 pm
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I use a cut-of drum stick (of course I had to label it as "Deering")  |
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Dennis Detweiler
From:
Solon, Iowa, US
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Posted 16 Jul 2020 5:01 am
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My deceased steel mentor also played guitar. He used to weave a matchbook through the strings at the nut and play tenor style "Bye Bye Blues." Very good replication of a tenor banjo.
I used to use a comb for banjo on steel. Anything to make it plunk.
_________________
1976 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics 427 pickup, 1975 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics X-12 pickup, Revelation preamp, Carbon Copy Delay and Hall Of Fame Reverb, Crown XLS 1002, 2- 15" Eminence Wheelhouse speakers, ShoBud Pedal, Effects Pedals. 1949 Epiphone D-8. |
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Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 1 Aug 2020 2:44 pm
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And in an amusing side note, I took one of the 3"x1" dowel pieces I'd made and sliced off about ⅓ of it lengthwise, and made a nice wrist rest (blu-tacked on)...keeps my wrist at the right angle, doesn't let it drop down to the surface, which keeps my fingers at the right angle for a better attack...now I have to think of uses for the other bits of dowel I have left...
_________________
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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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 1 Aug 2020 3:10 pm
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I use a pen or a Sharpie marker, and just play it like a banjo. Works for me!  |
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