Is the Pedal steel an American invention?

Elton Smith · Post by **Elton Smith** » 28 May 2011 3:35 pm

I've never thought to ask this Question.But I believe it may be.I think the Dobro was.So is the Pedal steel?

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 28 May 2011 4:16 pm

yes! so is the banjo.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 28 May 2011 4:40 pm

Watch your language Chris.

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 28 May 2011 4:52 pm

The banjo is an offspring of several African instruments .YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

Billy Tonnesen · Post by **Billy Tonnesen** » 28 May 2011 6:20 pm

Alvino Rey working in conjunction with the Gibson Co. was a Pioneer in developing Pedal Steel Guitar.
He would feature it with his Big Pop Jazz Band. Google his Website and get the whole story. He was not a Country Steel Player but played a Gamet of full multi-string chords and effects with his Tone Control. Many of Speedy West's effects were picked up from Alvino Rey's recordings.

Danny James · Post by **Danny James** » 29 May 2011 10:48 am

Jay Harlin of the Harlin Brothers in Indianapolis, Indiana, invented and held the first patent on a pedal steel guitar. It was called the Multi-Kord, and was listed as a Hawaiian pedal steel guitar.

Alvino Rey who worked for Gibson developed one that had a changer very similar in form & function to Jay Harlin's Multi-Kord.

Gibson ceased production & further developement of their pedal steel guitar called the Electra Harp, because of a patent rights dispute with Harlins.

There may have been others experimenting with the idea in that time period, but Jay Harlin was the first to patent one.

I knew the Harlin Bros. well, and worked in their studio back in the early 50's.

David Nugent · Post by **David Nugent** » 29 May 2011 11:36 am

Chris...You are partly correct, while as Charles stated the four string banjo evolved from gourd based African instruments (brought over by slaves), the five string banjo was invented in America by a traveling minstrel named Sweeney in the late 1800's.

Clete Ritta · Post by **Clete Ritta** » 29 May 2011 7:39 pm

A forerunner of the PSG was the lap steel. It was invented in Hawaii in 1885. The early rise in popularity as an electric instrument was in the 1930s but Hawaii didnt become a US state till 1959.

Clete

Danny James · Post by **Danny James** » 29 May 2011 8:22 pm

Clete, Good point! I guess the answer to the original question--"Is the pedal steel guitar an American invention" would be--

It is the changer and the pedals that are really the "American invention" part of the Pedal Steel Guitar. As to who really was actually the first person to come up with the idea of a tuning changer & pedals is a controversial subject as well.

Technically all steel guitars I suppose could be considered to be Hawaiian Steel Guitars. It kind of depends on how you look at it.

Then the tunings and style of playing vary considerably from the original Hawaiian tunings and style of playing, compared to modern "Country Pedal Steel Guitar" styles of music. That is something that is still evolving as styles of music that can be played on a Pedal Steel Guitar are changing.

The Pedal Steel Guitar is one of the most unique and versatile instruments that has ever been invented.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 29 May 2011 8:31 pm

...and the Hawaiians got it from the Portugese who picked it up from the Chinese who got it from India, quite some time ago now. It took some crazy Americans to turn it into a regular music-makin' machine

Gary C. Dygert · Post by **Gary C. Dygert** » 2 Jun 2011 12:18 pm

By the way, the Joel Sweeney story has been disproven. The high 5th string was in use before Sweeney came along.

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 2 Jun 2011 1:28 pm

" As to who really was actually the first person to come up with the idea of a tuning changer & pedals is a controversial subject as well. "

Thought I heard that Classical Harps changed tunings with pedals.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 2 Jun 2011 4:10 pm

Yes they do, John, although they are not generally used on the fly as with the PSG but to set the accidental notes of a given scale, i.e. used to set up for each key rather than for each chord.

So many folks built guitars of various types with levers and pedals of various designs, in bedrooms and kitchens and garages and shops all over the country for so long that I doubt any credible "first" can be identified. The fact is that the Pedal Steel Guitar as we know it today is a prodcut of persistant, rampant cross-pollenization.

Brint Hannay · Post by **Brint Hannay** » 2 Jun 2011 4:38 pm

And the pedal harp dates back to the 17th century! But if I understand correctly, the harp pedal mechanism "frets" the string at a different point, rather than tightening or loosening tension on the string like the PSG.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 2 Jun 2011 6:09 pm

Interesting reading from Wikipedia:

Pedal harps are essentially diatonic instruments which are fitted with the double-action pedal mechanism to allow chromatic alterations and key changes: no matter how the pedals are set, the pedal harp still has only seven strings per octave. Smaller harps, often called folk, lever or Celtic harps, are equally diatonic instruments (also with seven strings per octave) and use a mechanical lever on each string which must be moved manually to obtain chromatic alterations. The only completely chromatic harp is the cross-strung harp which has twelve strings per octave, or the triple harp.

Pedals of a harp
The pedal harp uses the mechanical action of pedals to change the pitches of the strings. Pedals were first used in 1697.[1] On the modern harp there are seven pedals. The pedals (in order from left to right) on the left side of the harp are D C B, and E F G A are on the right. Each pedal is attached to a rod or cable within the column of the harp, which then links to a series of moving rods within the neck. When a pedal is moved with the foot, the column rod is moved, which then moves the linkages and turns either or both of two small discs at the top of strings. The discs are studded with two pins that press against the string as they turn, shortening the vibrating length of the string. The pedal has three positions. In the top position no pins are in contact with the string and all notes are flat; thus the harp's native tuning is to the scale of C-flat major. In the middle position the top disc presses its pins against the string, resulting in a natural, giving the scale of C major if all pedals are set in the middle position. In the bottom position the second, lower disc is turned, shortening the string again to create a sharp, giving the scale of C-sharp major if all pedals are set in the bottom position. The order of the pedals is directly influenced by the order of sharps and flats. Many other scales, both diatonic and synthetic, can be obtained by adjusting the pedals differently from each other; also, many chords in traditional harmony can be obtained by adjusting pedals so that some notes are enharmonic equivalents of others, and this is central to pedal harp technique. In each position the pedal can be secured in a notch so that the foot does not have to keep holding it in the correct position, unlike piano pedals.

For "the rest of the story" See: Pedal Harp

Roual Ranes · Post by **Roual Ranes** » 2 Jun 2011 6:57 pm

Pedal Steel Guitar = Console Harp

Elton Smith · Post by **Elton Smith** » 2 Jun 2011 8:00 pm

So ? Who invented the pedal steel?

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 3 Jun 2011 8:36 am

Danny James may have answered that question already

Jay Harlin in Indy invented and patented the MultiKord in the late '30s. If you consider the MultiKord a pedal steel (it IS a steel guitar with pedals, although not exactly like modern ones), there's your answer, unless someone else beat him to it and has a similar patent granted earlier.

see this link

Other suspects would include Bud Carter, Len Stadler, Shot Jackson, Jerry Blanton, and many others involved in developing pedal mechanisms more familiar to us today.

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 3 Jun 2011 8:51 pm

There was a rumor going round, some guy in a small one horse town in Mass. invented the steel guitar. I DON'T know,just what I heard.

YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

Elton Smith · Post by **Elton Smith** » 3 Jun 2011 9:58 pm

I would have to say ur rite Larry.I think the multicord is the daddy.Thats a lot of info.

Bent Romnes · Post by **Bent Romnes** » 4 Jun 2011 3:19 am

I wonder where Ed Fulawka fits into this. He told me that he had the two pedals (A and B) fitted to an E9th guitar by 1950

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 4 Jun 2011 8:42 am

I wasn't playing steel at that time but old timers I've talked to told me that folks would drill a hole in a console guitar (like a Stringmaster) at the right spot to hook the string and use what was described to me as a clothes hanger and an accelerator pedal. Tough on strings and I have no clue how they tuned it. Unless there was some stopping mechanism the length of the rod would determine where it would bottom out. Not sure if any of these early attempts were ever recorded but I'm sure any pedal pulls were hard to keep in tune and strings would pop waaaay sooner than usual.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 4 Jun 2011 2:39 pm

My understanding is that many of the early pedal guitars were modifications of existing steel guitars by individual steel players and their friendly local mechanics, unique one-offs created by and for that player.

I have seen a video interview in which Lloyd Green, Weldon Myrick, Jimmie Crawford and Hal Rugg all talk about their personal "first" pedal guitars, each one was a home-made adaptation of their contemporary non-pedal steels.

Elton Smith · Post by **Elton Smith** » 5 Jun 2011 12:05 pm

Dave I still think that applies today.Steel guitars are a custom fit.Sooner or later the steel will be a standard instument.If you were to bring your steel over for some lessons,we would have to figure out yours and mine,just so we could play.That may be one of the set backs were going thu with steel guitars.

Elton Smith · Post by **Elton Smith** » 5 Jun 2011 12:10 pm

Emmons vs Day That kind of thing.