Pedal Steel guitar

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my bloody television
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Pedal Steel guitar

Post by my bloody television » Tue Jan 24, 2017 3:09 pm

I'm thinking of buying a pedal steel for the first time and I wanted to see if any of you here have experience playing one and what your thoughts/suggestions might be for a good intro model. I play dobro style slide guitar and lap steel so I'm comfortable with a slide and finger picking but the pedals and knee levers will all be new to me. In my limited research I think it makes the most sense to start with a simpler machine, i.e. single neck, 3 pedals, maybe 4 levers. I've looked on reverb and seen Sho-Buds for relatively cheap ($6-700) but I've noticed people on various forums will say they are very limited and better models can be had for not much more money. The one model that keeps cropping up as a good buy is the Stage One steel guitar. Does anyone have experience with that guitar? That's about the top end that I'd like to spend, especially on an instrument I don't really know how to play ha.

Are there any other models I should be looking at? Is this a silly waste of money? What sort of things should I be on the lookout for when purchasing a used one?

thanks in advance!

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mike fried
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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by mike fried » Tue Jan 24, 2017 4:46 pm

I'm a pro pedal steel guitarist (former national artist gigs, now mainly local Nashville). You won't do better than a Stage One for the money, and they're actually played by pros for "grab and go" gigs around town and even fly dates. Old Sho-Buds, etc. are cool and can have a great vintage sound, but ones in that price range would likely have fewer knee levers and could be in questionable mechanical condition. Options open up a bit in new steels as you approach and exceed the $2k price range, but I wouldn't recommend that kind of outlay unless you're pretty committed to the instrument.

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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by Telliot » Tue Jan 24, 2017 5:12 pm

I love pedal steel and am very interested in this thread. :-*
The cool thing about fretless is you can hit a note...and then renegotiate.

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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by druunkonego » Tue Jan 24, 2017 6:04 pm

:whistle:

http://poconos.craigslist.org/msg/5955552433.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just happen to see this. That's under 2 hours from you.

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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by my bloody television » Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:15 pm

mike fried wrote:I'm a pro pedal steel guitarist (former national artist gigs, now mainly local Nashville). You won't do better than a Stage One for the money, and they're actually played by pros for "grab and go" gigs around town and even fly dates. Old Sho-Buds, etc. are cool and can have a great vintage sound, but ones in that price range would likely have fewer knee levers and could be in questionable mechanical condition. Options open up a bit in new steels as you approach and exceed the $2k price range, but I wouldn't recommend that kind of outlay unless you're pretty committed to the instrument.
Thanks for the insight! Will probably look into getting a Stage One. I've heard the wait times on a new one are quite awhile so if anyone has leads on a used one.... :whistle:

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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by mike fried » Thu Jan 26, 2017 3:27 pm

druunkonego wrote:http://poconos.craigslist.org/msg/5955552433.html

Just happen to see this. That's under 2 hours from you.
Not to be a spoilsport, but I would stay away from this for three reasons: 1.) It's only an 8-string, which severely limits its usability for any "modern" pedal steel music. 2.) It has no knee levers, limiting it even more so. 3.) It's quite overpriced for that model of Fender.

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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by my bloody television » Wed Feb 01, 2017 9:54 am

Well, just placed an order with Doug for a brand new Stage One! Wait time is apparently about 4 months so now I wait...

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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by Patrick » Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:25 am

my bloody television wrote:Well, just placed an order with Doug for a brand new Stage One! Wait time is apparently about 4 months so now I wait...
You're going to dig it. Pedal steel is a great instrument, and there's really no way to better way to learn than to get a decent instrument and just give it a go. I'll often hear people assume that it's going to be similar to playing lap steel or Dobro, but it's a very different animal. Also, it's so much easier to find a gig playing steel than it is to find a gig playing six-string.

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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by Strangeways » Wed May 17, 2017 10:08 am

my bloody television wrote:Well, just placed an order with Doug for a brand new Stage One! Wait time is apparently about 4 months so now I wait...
I agree with the Stage One recommendations. I've been playing for a little over a year. My first steel was a Stage One and I couldn't have asked for a better way into the world of pedal steel. It's a really solid guitar and Doug is very accommodating. The only drawback with the Stage One is that you can't experiment with the copedent. But, in my opinion, you shouldn't be thinking about that anyhow. I just upgraded to a Williams, but I keep the Stage One ready to go in its case for band practice and the like. You should be receiving that soon then, no?

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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by my bloody television » Wed May 17, 2017 10:33 am

Strangeways wrote:
my bloody television wrote:Well, just placed an order with Doug for a brand new Stage One! Wait time is apparently about 4 months so now I wait...
I agree with the Stage One recommendations. I've been playing for a little over a year. My first steel was a Stage One and I couldn't have asked for a better way into the world of pedal steel. It's a really solid guitar and Doug is very accommodating. The only drawback with the Stage One is that you can't experiment with the copedent. But, in my opinion, you shouldn't be thinking about that anyhow. I just upgraded to a Williams, but I keep the Stage One ready to go in its case for band practice and the like. You should be receiving that soon then, no?
Glad to hear you still dig yours! Yeah, I guess I could've gone with something that would give me more options but I don't even really know how to play the instrument yet so I figured I'd start basic.

Doug is supposed to get it out this week (today actually). I know he's been a little delayed due to some flooding where he is and just a bunch of orders to fill. I should take delivery soon though! pictures forthcoming.

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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by andy » Wed May 17, 2017 1:07 pm

I've been playing a Fender 400 model for the last five years and I love it. It is limited in what it can do but I find satisfaction in making it work. If you want to learn modern steel styles than go for the stage one. They are great guitars !
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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by Strangeways » Thu May 18, 2017 8:54 am

my bloody television wrote:
Strangeways wrote:
my bloody television wrote:Well, just placed an order with Doug for a brand new Stage One! Wait time is apparently about 4 months so now I wait...
I agree with the Stage One recommendations. I've been playing for a little over a year. My first steel was a Stage One and I couldn't have asked for a better way into the world of pedal steel. It's a really solid guitar and Doug is very accommodating. The only drawback with the Stage One is that you can't experiment with the copedent. But, in my opinion, you shouldn't be thinking about that anyhow. I just upgraded to a Williams, but I keep the Stage One ready to go in its case for band practice and the like. You should be receiving that soon then, no?
Glad to hear you still dig yours! Yeah, I guess I could've gone with something that would give me more options but I don't even really know how to play the instrument yet so I figured I'd start basic.

Doug is supposed to get it out this week (today actually). I know he's been a little delayed due to some flooding where he is and just a bunch of orders to fill. I should take delivery soon though! pictures forthcoming.
Nice! It is a very reliable steel. Super light too. I've heard so many horror stories about people buying Carter Starters or older steels that constantly needed work. I figured learning how to play the thing is challenging enough so I did some extensive research on purchasing. I've only ever broken string 3 on the Stage One, which you'll find is the most often one to break on any steel. Mechanically, I've never had an issue with it. Stays in tune really well too. As Mike noted, pro's use them too for fly dates and lighter rigs. You should join the steel guitar forum as well. Tons of useful steel info over there. Pedal steel is a world of fun. I sometimes have to remind myself that I also play standard guitar. :fp:

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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by Strangeways » Thu May 18, 2017 8:56 am

andy wrote:I've been playing a Fender 400 model for the last five years and I love it. It is limited in what it can do but I find satisfaction in making it work. If you want to learn modern steel styles than go for the stage one. They are great guitars !
Hey, Andy. Good to see more steelers over here. I've thought about picking up something like a 400 for C6. What tuning are you using on it?

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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by Harmoncj » Thu May 18, 2017 12:46 pm

I'm highly interested in them, in fact I was planning in the near future I might rent one just to see what I can do with it but first I want to fully comprehend this concept of copendents... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copedent" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; If it's what I think it is, it could open a lot of doors musically I would really like to explore custom copedents

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Re: Pedal Steel guitar

Post by Strangeways » Thu May 18, 2017 1:18 pm

Harmoncj wrote:I'm highly interested in them, in fact I was planning in the near future I might rent one just to see what I can do with it but first I want to fully comprehend this concept of copendents... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copedent" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; If it's what I think it is, it could open a lot of doors musically I would really like to explore custom copedents
Hey, Harmoncj. With most pedal steels there are a ton of variations with string raises, lowers, and half stops one can accomplish (with limitations, of course). I haven't changed the copedent on either of my steels. The Stage One is welded and thus cannot be changed. As for my Williams, the copedent is their standard setup but can be altered in a ton of different ways. Here's a link to their standard copedents, which are fairly common among most of the steel manufacturers: http://williamsguitarcompany.com/standa ... _setup.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've been very happy with the copedent on the Williams. I play alt country/roots but can just as easily move into more experimental/ambient approaches with the same setup. It's pretty amazing how much ground you can cover with standard E9 tuning/copedent.

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