Worst advice you ever received?

Steve Becker · Post by **Steve Becker** » 21 Jun 2010 5:09 pm

Following up on a previous thread...

What's the worst advice you've received regarding learning to play the steel guitar?

I was encouraged to buy an old piece of s##t steel from a 'reputable' music store. I not only got ripped off, but I played it for a very long time before I realized that it shouldn't have to be retuned every 5 minutes, and that it wasn't 'normal' to break the 3rd string every other day! But I was just so enthralled with the SOUND that I HAD to have it, and overlooked everything else. But even though it was a bad investment, I think in the long run it strengthened my resolve and my patience toward learning to play this crazy, wonderful instrument!

Wayne Franco · Post by **Wayne Franco** » 21 Jun 2010 7:10 pm

I was about 35 years old when I started playing steel. She suggested I was too old to start playing a complicated instrument at that age. Glad I didn't take her advise!

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 21 Jun 2010 7:20 pm

Get rid of that tele you have been playing for the last thirty years and start playing steel,you will make a LOT more money.

YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

Steve Gorman · Post by **Steve Gorman** » 21 Jun 2010 7:40 pm

If you get lost in the middle of a song, just keep moving the bar around till something sounds right...

Clyde Mattocks · Post by **Clyde Mattocks** » 21 Jun 2010 8:59 pm

"You won't have much fun, but, my God, look at the money you'll make!"

Billy Murdoch · Post by **Billy Murdoch** » 21 Jun 2010 11:02 pm

It's easy to play Steel Guitar!!!

Dave Hopping · Post by **Dave Hopping** » 21 Jun 2010 11:51 pm

From my first ex,who campaigned hard for me to quit playing music for a living,and get a day job.

Jim Lindsey (Louisiana) · Post by **Jim Lindsey (Louisiana)** » 22 Jun 2010 12:49 am

When I first started learning steel (advice from a Cajun steel player that I met early on):

"If you get lost in a song, just go to "C" and wait. The rest of the band will end up there sooner or later."

ray qualls · Post by **ray qualls** » 22 Jun 2010 4:04 am

Jim, I don't care what everyone else says, now thats funny!

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 22 Jun 2010 6:56 am

"All the girls go for the steel player"

David Griffin · Post by **David Griffin** » 22 Jun 2010 7:46 am

Go to Branson!

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 22 Jun 2010 9:50 am

Get a (rather than start a controversy, I will not name the brand.)

I got my green MSA instead.

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 22 Jun 2010 10:11 am

You don't need fingerpicks.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 22 Jun 2010 10:20 am

I threw my back out one time extreme pain a friend of mine said take two of these[pain killers]you'll need two because your a big guy...I woke up about three days later!

Bob Kagy · Post by **Bob Kagy** » 22 Jun 2010 1:09 pm

"Hey, you're good. You should go to Nashville"

(I didn't - I thought the guy that said it was nuts)

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 22 Jun 2010 1:30 pm

Bob,A woman came up to me a while ago and told me that I should be in Nashville...I said what did I ever do to you.

Wayne Franco · Post by **Wayne Franco** » 23 Jun 2010 11:29 am

I'm laughing more at you guys remarks than when I do when I go to the humor section...

Ryan Barwin · Post by **Ryan Barwin** » 23 Jun 2010 1:18 pm

Not gonna say who it was, but he told me: "You should upgrade from that 60s wraparound PP you've got. None of the pros play PP's anymore...even Buddy hasn't played one in years."

What's worse is I actually took the advice (since I was a new steel player). I ended up with a nice all-pull, but I'm still kicking myself for it. $:\$

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 23 Jun 2010 2:51 pm

Worst advice? "You don't need to learn to read music on steel guitar. Just learn tab."

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 23 Jun 2010 3:46 pm

Jim Cohen wrote:Worst advice? "You don't need to learn to read music on steel guitar. Just learn tab."

Mega dittos Jim. Many many mega dittos.

Morgan Scoggins · Post by **Morgan Scoggins** » 25 Jun 2010 7:38 am

"you can't play steel guitar without using a bullett nose steel tone bar"

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 25 Jun 2010 9:25 am

"playing any gig no matter how bad it is, is better than not having any gigs at all."

-so not true. so many times I wished I had just said no and stayed home.

"playing in any band no matter how bad they are, is better than not playing in a band at all"

-again...FALSE

Jim Lindsey (Louisiana) · Post by **Jim Lindsey (Louisiana)** » 25 Jun 2010 9:29 am

Ryan Barwin wrote:Not gonna say who it was, but he told me: "You should upgrade from that 60s wraparound PP you've got. None of the pros play PP's anymore...even Buddy hasn't played one in years."

What's worse is I actually took the advice (since I was a new steel player). I ended up with a nice all-pull, but I'm still kicking myself for it. $:\$

Ryan, I feel your pain and you're not alone in that scenario ... I had something very similar happen to me and ended up losing out on a very good deal on an Emmons because of listening to someone else.

Shortly after I bought my first D-10 guitar, a red MSA Classic back in 1976, the guitar player in the band I was in bought himself a white mica Emmons D-10 with 8 & 5. I think it was like a 1974 or 1975 model, but I'm not sure. I just know it was still pretty new at the time. He tooled around with it for a few weeks, but started reconsidering his purchase.

Deciding he didn't want to learn steel after all, he put the guitar up for sale for only $650 just to try to move it quickly. Not a bad deal for an Emmons that was still almost new at the time! He let me keep the guitar for a couple of weeks to try it and see if I'd like to buy it. I was so excited I even took a picture of it ...

Naturally, I didn't know the ins-&-outs of tuning a push/pull Emmons at the time, so I tried to tune it like my all-pull MSA and ended up getting things a bit out of whack before it was over with.

I took it over to a friend of mine, the only other steel player in the area that I knew and who'd first taught me how to tune a steel, and the moment he saw it his advice was "Oh, man, don't tell me you're thinking of buying this hunk of junk! They're a nightmare to play and you'll spend more time trying to tune it than playing it. You should give it back to that guy and avoid this brand at all costs."

Well, I was torn. This guitar had such a beautiful tone, but I was terrified of my buddy's prognosis that the guitar wouldn't stay in tune, so, being the newbie that I was and not knowing much about steels at the time, I took his advice and gave the Emmons back to our guitar player and missed out on a great deal on a guitar that would soon after become one of my two all-time favorite brands of steel. Here it is some 34 years later and I'm still kicking myself for passing on that guitar.

You know, thinking back on it, I'd have to say that his advice to not buy that Emmons pretty well ties right up there with "If you get lost in a song, just go to 'C' and wait. The rest of the band will end up there sooner or later" as the worst advice anyone ever gave me.

George McLellan · Post by **George McLellan** » 25 Jun 2010 10:45 am

I would have to say it was "quit you day job and go on the road with us". That was 1968. I didn't quit my day job but still played weekends. Now that I'm retired, I'm glad I didn't take his advise.

BTW Jim Lindsey, your old lead guitar player, Darin Johnson was up to see his folks and we got together for a jam, good time.

Geo

Jim Lindsey (Louisiana) · Post by **Jim Lindsey (Louisiana)** » 25 Jun 2010 11:08 am

George Mc Lellan wrote:BTW Jim Lindsey, your old lead guitar player, Darin Johnson was up to see his folks and we got together for a jam, good time. Geo

Hey, George, good to see you! If you get a chance, drop me an email and let me know how Darin's doing. I haven't seen or heard from Ty or anyone in the band since I left the group.

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