Pedal Steel Music

Hi guys and gals,

While doing a new album that will be released soon, the leader on the session made the remark that the reason unique, “… great players get a lot of work in Nashville is because of their sound.” I asked him to clarify what he had just said by saying “What do you mean their sound?”

He said “The quality of their tone and the way they deliver the notes, this having to do with the soulful feeling in the notes.” I said “So, are you telling me that great players that can just blurt out a tremendous array of notes in a short time are not as valuable as a player that plays the correct note at the right time with tone and finesse?”

He said “Oh, you have it, mighty steel player.”

This player is a big time session producer, arranger and a very hard working lead guitar player on many sessions. He was primarily talking about guitar players when he made the statement that he hired others players for their “sound”. I asked him how important execution and tone were. He said “It’s everything.” I was glad to hear him say this because this has been my thought and what I appreciate in other players for many years. Yes, it’s how you play more than what you play. Quit worrying so much about learning the new song and work on playing what you know more perfectly, with a better sound. Execution, tone, vibrato and volume pedal technique are the most importand qualities to being a great steel player. It might be nice to be able to play the Orange Blossom Special as fast as the fiddle player … or Harlem Nocturn and sound like the Ray Anthony Orchestra … but these are far from the important things you need to be concentrating on.

Here are some unadvertised specials I’ve got this week that I’ve decided to hold for my mailing list members only and are at least a third below our average selling price.

Peavey Bandit 112 New demo model – all paperwork. This amp retails over $500. Absolutely perfect, no fingerprints. I’ll sell it for $199.

Excellent condition late model Nashville 400
Starting to become rare and hard to get. I used it Saturday night on a live job in Nashville. $299.

Super rare Peavey Vegas 400 just like Buddy Emmons and John Hughey used for many years. Very good condition. $399.

Peavey Stereo Chorus
Very unique twin twelve high-output professional stereo amplifier. These amps have been used by steel players and lead players alike for many years. Retail was over $800. You can have this one for only $299. Excellent condition.

Alesis Midiverb. $179.

Brand new Peavey Blazer amplifier. $88.

The reason we are getting these great, old, rare steel guitar amplifiers in is because of taking trades on the sales of new Nashville 112 and Nashville 1000 amps. Check with me if there’s something special you’re looking for that as you can tell, these amplifiers are way below used retail.

All electronic items I sell, I do not service. They work good when they leave here but any repairs needed in the future, I recommend having the factory do the work.

Steel your buddy,

Bobbe

www.steelguitar.net

sales@steelguitar.net

Hi guys and gals,

I just wanted to remind everybody that Monday is the last day of the Labor Day sale but because I’m closed Monday, I’m going to extend the sale until Tuesday at 4 P.M. central time.

Here’s something that you may think is silly at first. But the more you think about it, the more serious you’ll know that I am and the more you’ll probably agree with me. A steel player needs to present himself as a complete package. Of course, we all know what he should sound like … but what should he look like? What theme player is he and from what era? What is the job he is playing and from what era? Is he playing old country standards in a band, doing a Patsy Cline show? Is he working a VFW show on Friday night where everyone in the audience is over 60 years old?

When you are in conflict in eras and styles, you are not sending the message that most people want to see and hear. What am I talking about? If you are hired for a steel playing job and the band is all over 50 years old and you are going to be playing 50’s country all night for the VFW crowd, don’t show up in a Toyota Camry with your hat and jeans on backwards, goatee, earrings and a tatoo of a skull on your forearm. Just the same as if you’re playing a hip-hop job with a group in their early twenties, don’t show up on your John Deere tractor and bib overalls.

Two of the coolest steel players in Nashville are Chris Scruggs and Kevin Owens. BR549 member Chris Scruggs is 19 years old, a great musician, the son of Randy Scruggs and Gail Davies, grandson of Earl Scruggs, loves old country music and plays a 1950’s Fender non-pedal double-neck. He combs his hair straight back with vaseline, wears horn-rimmed glasses, knows more about country music than people four times his age and plays it like it was played in the 50’s. The same thing can be said about Andy Gibson, another hard-working early era non-pedal player. Kevin Owens won’t drive a car any newer than the 60’s, plays a 63 Sho-Bud Permanent through a Sho-Bud amplifier … even his pack-a-seat and volume pedals are old Sho-Bud … dresses, acts, looks and plays like he just stepped off the stage from playing with Ernest Tubb and the Texas Troubadours in the 1960’s. He has been working the Patsy Cline show in town for the last several years.

How many times have you seen a country band that sounded fine but looked horrible? Everybody showed up wearing their work clothes from around the house, dirty cutoff jeans and beer commercial t-shirts and rings in their noses and ears … and you said to yourself, this isn’t the way they used to do it back when I loved country music.

What I’m saying here is, if you’re gonna play the part, look the part. I am playing clubs around Nashville and I try to do this if for no other reason than to get myself in the mood which makes me play better. If it’s an old country job, I have a thousand dollar 1977 Buick Electra 225 with a trunk big enough to put an upright bass in. I’ll play a Permanent Sho-Bud or an old Emmons push-pull. If it’s a new tech, kick’em in the butt kind of job, I’ll play my new G.F.I. loaded D-10 and two Nashville 1000 amps.

I really feel that living the part that you are playing and looking like it is advantageous to your income, mood and overall image that you portray as the steel player that you were hired to be. Just like the clothes that you wear, you need to be coordinated. You don’t wear a Hawaiian shirt with a tuxedo or dress shoes to the beach. You should try to be congruent. Don’t be a conflict of styles and eras. Make everything match, not just your clothes. I’m sure you all have examples that you could email back to me. The image should fit the job and who you are.

Remember, you are being hired for your entire package, not for just the notes coming out of the front of your amp.

Your buddy,

Bobbe

www.steelguitar.net

sales@steelguitar.net

P.S. I want to wish each and every one of you a happy Labor Day.

Hi guys and gals,

Learning how to learn. Does this sound funny? Think about it. How many people do you know that practice many hours a week and still can’t play and never will? The practice time may not be spent programming the brain as efficiently as possible. The brain has to be programmed through repetition and done so correctly. Learning how to do it correctly is why you need video tapes or a well-seasoned instructor standing over your shoulder. It’s all about programming the brain. I’m interested in finding out how many of you would like me to make a video on how to practice so that you actually learn. If you first learn how to learn, it will make being a great steel player many times easier than the way most people are doing it today. I barely practice at all but when I do, I know how to get the most value out of my practice time. I can make you a one hour video that will be worth thousands of hours in the future. Email me with your comments because you know my videos are guided by what you want to see.

Do you absolutely love your guitar? Are you very used to it and can play it better than any other guitar but it’s worn out and ugly. If you have an Emmons, Sho-Bud or ZB, the enhanced value after a first-class restoration could be as much as four times what the value is before restoration. To many players, restoring the steel guitar they have is a much better option than trading around and experimenting with new, different brand guitars that they may not ever become fond of. This is especially true if you already own one of the great sounding classics of the world of steel guitar. If you had a ’38 Martin D28, would you be happy with a new Yamaha?

I restore several guitars a month for individuals and for resale in my store. Restoration to me means total disassembly and every part in the guitar being refurbished cosmetically and mechanically or being replaced with new. All aluminum parts are professionally rebuffed, the body is either re-lacquered or refinished after being taken down totally to the wood. On mica guitars, any damaged mica will be replaced. New tuning keys are usually in order, as are rollers, changer fingers, all springs, pedals showing wear and almost always pickups. I always advise changing pickups because the new pickups being made today by George L and their competitors are always better than the old single coils that are 20 to 30 years old in the original guitar. However, if the owner wishes, the old pickups can be rewound and magnets re-energized to return the pickup to the level of performance it had when new. However, these will still not have the humbucking qualities of new replacement pickups.

To make a long tale shorter, if you loved your guitar when it was new, you’ll love it more when it’s restored. You’ll have less money in a restoration than in a new guitar but chances are it will be worth much more than a new guitar and will hold it’s value much better.

Your buddy,

Bobbe

www.steelguitar.net

sales@steelguitar.net

P.S. The Bluebird show has been post-ponded because of scheduling problems. I will keep you updated as I get more information myself.