PEDAL STEEL....IT'S COMPLICATED
Studies* have shown , everybody loves pedal steel. It seems to make every song ” better “. Then why is it still considered a ‘Dark Art’ ?
It’s inherrent complexity , high cost at entry level and slow learning curve put it out of reach of the average budding musician. You also have to be ‘ This high to ride this ride ‘, there are no child size models commercially available. If you can get over these initial obstacles and persist , it is undoubtably the greatest musical instrument ever invented. Actually , it’s still a very young instrument , younger than the electric bass or synthesisers. The future is bright and the pedal steel will keep growing and evolving and infultrating all corners of music. Below are ten often asked questions at gigs and sessions , feel free to ask me any more on the contact page. Cheerio Trendsetters.
1 – WTF is a PEDAL STEEL?? –
Pedal steel is a kind of steel guitar that evolved from the original Hawaiian acoustic steel guitar in the early 20th century which is a regular guitar played flat on the lap with a knife or piece of steel as a slide. This grew into the electric lap steel and arrived at what is now the pedal steel guitar around the early 1960’s. Interestingly , the first commercially sold electric/magnetic pickups were in the Rickenbacher ‘ Frying Pan ‘ lap steel in 1931. It was a few years later they went into electric guitars.
2 – WHAT DO THE PEDALS DO??
The pedals and knee levers hanging from underneath the body serve the same function. Which is they raise and/or lower notes to desired pitches , sometimes one , sometimes three or even four. OMFG!
3 – HOW MANY STRINGS ARE THERE ON THAT DANG CONTRAPTION ?
The standard single neck pedal steel has 10 strings nowadays , but there are 6 , 8 , 12 ,14 variations and more. The standard D – 10 ( Double 10 ) has two necks each with 10 strings , which is what I play and is pictured above.
4 – WHAT TUNING IS THAT?
There are many different tunings and variations of those tunings but the most common tunings are E9 and C6 .These two are commonly seen together on a D – 10 and is what I use. Universal 12 , which is an extended E9 with lower notes and allows for more C6 sounds and low root notes without the extra neck , strings or hernia.
5 – IS IT LIKE PLAYING GUITAR ?
NO….I also play guitar and when I started on pedal steel I had to start again. The only relationship to the guitar is the distance of half steps and whole steps pictured on the neck.
6 – WHAT DO YOU PICK THE STRINGS WITH ?
You use a thumb pick ( usually plastic ) and finger picks ( usually metal ) . Most people use two finger picks on the first and second fingers , I also use the third , it’s like having an amp that goes to eleven and as Yngwie Malmsteen says ” More is more , how can it be less , it’s science ” .
7 – WHAT SLIDE DO YOU USE ?
The slide is actually called a TONE BAR and it’s often quite a bit heavier than a guitar slide. Usually it’s a solid piece of steel , which is where the term “steel guitar’ comes from , not because it has steel necks or legs etc but because it’s played with a piece of steel.
8 – DO THEY STILL MAKE NEW ONES?
YES!! There are many great companies making fantastic Pedal Steel guitars . They are mainly smaller ‘ boutique specialist ‘ builders who are passionate about pedal steel and as well as keeping up traditions , are also continually innovating. Innovation is part of the pedal steel tradition. Williams , Sho-Pro , Emmons , GFI , Mullen , Jackson , Infinity and Sierra are just a few companies making brand new pedal steels right now as I type.
9 – DO YOU HAVE TO PLAY COUNTRY MUSIC TO PLAY PEDAL STEEL ?
No…but it helps. HA! Pedal steel is in every kind of music you can imagine.
From the Juju music of Sunny King Ade featuring the pedal steel of Ademola Adepoju ( checkout the album “JUJU MUSIC ” ), to the mega hit Daft Punk dance album RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES featuring Greg Liesz to the great Pete Drake who is all over George Harrison’s ALL THINGS MUST PASS up to the contemporary avant guard compositions of Susan Alcorn. Once you know what to look for it’s like volkswagons , there’s one now!
10 – ASK ME A QUESTION IN THE CONTACT PAGE!!!