James Phillips
From: Michigan, USA
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Posted 15 Feb 2017 4:18 pm
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Brian McGaughey wrote: |
Isn't most of the tone difference between lap and pedal steel due to the difference in pickups? |
I think the tone of the lapsteel is more than just pickups. There is an old guitar player adage that goes something like," If it sounds good unplugged , it will probably sound good thru an amp". I know almost zero about PSG construction, but I do know my lap steels sound clear and sustained ,unplugged ,and even better plugged in, and all of those are a good honk'n chunck of wood.
Having said that ; the influence of PSG players is a positive one,in that it shows one what can be done ,and makes us strive to emulate,in our own way. _________________ Visit my Studio: LimeStoneLabs at.. http://Facebook.com/LSlabs
"Let the Bridges We Burn Light the Way" |
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Bob Watson
From: Champaign, Illinois, U.S.
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Posted 16 Feb 2017 12:39 am
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I play pedal steel guitar, dobro and non pedal steel guitar. I started on pedal steel and then finally got a dobro and then a few years after that a non pedal steel. They are all fun to play, but as far as gigging, IMO, some gigs are pedal steel gigs, some are dobro and some are lap steel. Even though you can play any kind of music on any one of the three, the old Hank Sr. type of C&W and Rockabilly is a lot more fun on a non pedal steel, just like C&W from the 60's on, IMO, begs for a pedal steel. The dobro seems to be the most versatile as far as crossing over to different types of musical genres, plus I love playing Bluegrass and acoustic music in general. I find the non pedal steel the most challenging and unforgiving, but when I am at the house and feel like playing for my own entertainment, I almost always go for the dobro. I have to say that playing dobro and non pedal steel really effected my pedal steel playing in a positive way. I started using more open strings and an occasional slant, but it also helped me to "think out of the box" and not necessarily rely on the pedals. I've been working on playing the Blues on all three instruments lately because that seems to be a genre that all three instruments work really well on. |
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