Pedal Steel Music

Hello fellow players,

I received this letter and feel pretty bad that I slighted Mr. Zumsteg. Bruce is a pretty historic builder and has built outstanding steel guitars on a one by one basis over the past 36 years. Getting to know Bruce personally over this time, he has become a very close personal friend that I certainly do not mean to slight.

His guitars are of excellent quality in design, workmanship and have been played at one time or other by almost every great player in the world. There are many of them being played today by famous players we have all heard play. I have sold many Zumsteel guitars over the years and have always found them to be of the highest caliber.

Bruce Zumsteg is a very deep thinker and great designer. He is extremely tasteful person when it comes to building as fine a steel guitar as one could build in this day and time. I would like to share with all my readers the letter which Bruce has sent to me. His guitars definitely deserve more than an honorable mention. He is an astounding person, friend and designer. Here is his letter.

June 4, 2012

Dear Bobbe,

I just read your article in the latest issue of the Pedal Steel Guitar Newsletter (May 2012) on the history/evolution of the steel guitar/pedal steel guitar. I enjoyed your article very much. I’m so glad you are documenting and sharing all of the vast history of our instrument and its players that you have accumulated over the years. Please keep up the good work.

However, I really feel that you left out a chapter. In 1976, before the Emmons LeGrande was in the picture, the market was clamoring for an Emmons style and size guitar, i.e. a compact body, mica covered, with an aluminum neck, but with an all-pull scissor-like changer that provided shorter and easier pedal action, and that allowed easier set-up changes and additions. That year, I came out with that very guitar. In all fairness, the Franklin and Mullen guitars came out at about the same time, although the early Mullen guitars were much more like a Sho-Bud than an Emmons.

Since that time many guitars have come and gone. (You and I both know how the JCH was born, as we witnessed the dis-assembled Zumsteel on Jimmy’s work bench at the same time.) All of the similar designed guitars that followed are modeled after Zumsteel (JCH, Fessenden, early MCI from the ’80s; Rains, Rittenberry, Justice, Russler, and numerous others that never made it from the last 15 years or so.) None of these models were modeled after a GFI. I feel that the light weight designs such as Carter and GFI fall into a different category from the above. Also, they came out long after Zumsteel was born.

Bobbe, I mean no disrespect. I guess I just felt like my 36 years of effort and contributions to this instrument deserved at least an honorable mention.

I hope your health issues are better, and that things are going well for you.

Your friend,
Bruce Z

I’m sure some of you out there know Bruce as well or better than I do so you know what I’m saying when I compliment him on his taste, personality and building skills. I’m honored to have Bruce as a very close friend.

Check out our monthly specials at www.steelguitar.net/monthlyspecials.html and we’ll try to save you a lot of money.

Your buddy,
Bobbe Seymour
www.steelguitar.net
sales@steelguitar.net
www.youtube.com/bobbeseymour

Listen To Steel Guitar Music Streaming 24 Hours A Day!

Steel Guitar Nashville
123 Mid Town Court
Hendersonville, TN. 37075
(615) 822-5555
Open 9AM – 4PM Monday – Friday
Closed Saturday and Sunday

Hello fans and fellow players,

I received a nice CD from Arkansas Red. I listen to it every time I get in my car. Very pure country music. It reminds me very much of the great Doc Watson who I recorded with several years ago on one of his great albums. It sounds like Arkansas Red has been recording with Doc Watson himself.

I remember hitting it off very well with Doc’s son Merle who was also a very good thumb style player himself. This is a style of guitar that I dearly love. A style used by so many great players of yesteryear. Great players that make goose bumps come up on your arms. Players like Arlo Guthrie. Who could ever forget the great Arlo Guthrie album “Alice’s Restaurant”? And then of course we have the great Leo Kottke of Chicago.

It also seems like I’m starting to see a resurgence in great old music that was treasured so deeply by everyone in the middle Korean War years. If nothing else, like these years inspired much great music in those early days. I didn’t like the war, but I sure did like the music.

I missed all the great music from back in the twenties and thirties because I was born much later, but I was exposed to it and learned about it in my father’s music store that I grew up in. I remember all the folk pickers coming in and playing guitars in the store. The music they played was so full and so good.

The music that I hear kids in music stores play today is like, “How loud can you play?” Do they really think they can’t be heard unless they can drown out a Phantom jet at full throttle? I guess I shouldn’t complain because music is music. Or is it? The hard rock I hear today makes me appreciate Hank Williams more than ever. Not to offend anybody. Music has to keep moving I guess.

Actually, I really love all kinds of music. This includes the rock n roll of yesterday and today. I remember working in my father’s music store teaching 12 year olds how to play guitar. I’m still even in touch with a few of them. I can remember their names better than I can some of the rock n roll tunes that they wanted to learn to play.

House Of The Rising Sun of course is one I’ll never forget. I’m pretty shocked at how easy these songs are to play on steel guitar today. I remember working with a country group that would play Fox On The Run in one set and House Of The Rising Sun in the next set. I loved the variation in the material we did.

Where you live in the United States has a lot to do with the material you have to play. But I really love the diversity in tunes that I get to play on steel guitar. I’m glad that I play an instrument such as steel guitar that is capable of playing so many styles and that I’m not limited in what I can do.

But playing steel guitar has kept me out of marching bands.

Probably the greatest thing we having going for us as steel players today is teaching aids to help us become good players. One of the best is the Tascam GB-10. It allows you to slow a song down to half speed without changing the pitch so you can learn the notes of the song easier. I wish I had one of these when I was learning to play steel. We have a video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkje1we7G2g&feature=plcp

Check out our monthly specials at www.steelguitar.net/monthlyspecials.html and we’ll try to save you a lot of money.

The friend of all bar holders,
Bobbe Seymour
www.steelguitar.net
sales@steelguitar.net
www.youtube.com/bobbeseymour

Listen To Steel Guitar Music Streaming 24 Hours A Day!

Steel Guitar Nashville
123 Mid Town Court
Hendersonville, TN. 37075
(615) 822-5555
Open 9AM – 4PM Monday – Friday
Closed Saturday and Sunday

Hello fellow players,

Well, they keep saying steel guitar is dead or dying and I’m seeing more and more all the time between Branson, WSM, RFD, The Tonight Show and more. There are an awful lot of bands out there using steel guitar. I think it’s pretty wonderful that so many opportunities are being taken advantage of by steel players everywhere.

I remember when I was a little kid just learning steel guitar talking to an old steel player that told me how much money he made during the Depression. He said he was making $5 to $7 a night and his dad and uncles were making half that on their day jobs. As I see things tightening up around me now, I’m seeing similar things happen. People can’t afford to buy cars and new houses, so they hit the bars. It happens with every down turn of the economy.

It doesn’t cost that much to buy strings, picks, bars and most steel guitar equipment and these are things that can pay you back. I haven’t heard of anybody on my mailing list here doing poorly. However, if you find yourself laid off, it doesn’t hurt to have steel guitar skills in your hip pocket. No matter what happens in your life, it’s always nice to have another skill to be able to rely on.

So the point I’m getting to is this. Sharpen your skills so you’ll be ready if you need them. I’m seeing new players come into the store here every week telling me about what they are doing in the world of steel guitar. Remember, there are many things to do in steel guitar other than just playing on the road or in a club. The world of steel guitar needs designers, builders and repairmen to keep our little world turning.

As I said, there are many things you can do besides playing in clubs and on the road. Consider the sheer thrill of making music for yourself in your own living room or bedroom. If you would drive through any neighborhood in any town and be invited in the houses as a guest, I’m betting you’ll see many pianos that have trained many fingers over the years.

So there’s nothings wrong with having a beautifully finished steel guitar sitting in your music parlor amongst your other instruments. I know many steel players that own not only a piano, but several guitars, dobros, ukuleles, trombones or brass instruments from their childhood days from the school band.

Remember, music is music. Any instrument can play it. Different styles of music can be played by the same instrument and if you happen to like bluegrass also, I’m seeing a tremendous resurgence in the love for this kind of music. Where do you think country music came from?

Have any of you seen the Steve Martin Review lately? He has a very nice bluegrass band. He is putting as much effort into playing banjo as he did into his comedic career. Maybe what steel guitar needs is a new Steve Martin and who knows, it could be you.

Check out our monthly specials at www.steelguitar.net/monthlyspecials.html and we’ll try to save you a lot of money.

Your buddy,
Bobbe Seymour
www.steelguitar.net
sales@steelguitar.net
www.youtube.com/bobbeseymour

Listen To Steel Guitar Music Streaming 24 Hours A Day!

Steel Guitar Nashville
123 Mid Town Court
Hendersonville, TN. 37075
(615) 822-5555
Open 9AM – 4PM Monday – Friday
Closed Saturday and Sunday