Pink Floyd and steel guitar question

[Dave Zirbel]

The steel parts on Dark Side were actually recorded on a Fender 1000 D-8 pedal steel, but the pedals were not used. I think David bought it at a pawn shop in Seattle while on tour...he did tour with that guitar a bit but switched to a lap steel obviously. I think it was tuned to an E minor chord.

[Gerard Ventura]

And Gilmour plays with a conventional guitar pick, another "discrepancy". Btw, the solo in 'Lunatic Fringe by Red Ryder was not a slide guitar but also a lap steel.

[Jesse Pearson]

I believe the actual tuning David used was a G6 tuning on the Dark side of the Moon album. It's like a regular Open G tuning used in Delta Blues with the exception that the High E string remains an E note which gives you the sixth interval to the tuning. Low to High = D G D G B E. This tuning is like regular tuning on the upper four notes which is why most musicians think it's just a standard tuning that was used.

[Don Downes]

I think you can get that "bend" just by twisting the bar. I do that all the time when I hit a clam.

[Helmut Gragger]

For Gilmour's tone...
Having fooled a bit around with my echo device, I believe that this massive wall-of-sound comes to a great extent from the echo unit. Echo is distinctly different from reverb, in a way more luxurious.

I found that my steel plinking sounded very feeble tone-wise, so next thing I try is the echo.

My standard six string guitar sounds massive with echo and a compressor, I must try the same recipe on the steel. Maybe the volume pedal does what the compressor does.
I have seen him using one, although I do not know if he pumps it like a steel player would.