A Ralph Mooney Question

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 30 Jun 2005 1:20 pm

Tried searching the archives but couldn't find an answer to this question that maybe some of you Forum members already have.

I've seen Ralph Mooney on tour with 'ole Waylon a couple of times and saw that he liked to dampen and undampen the strings with the ring and pinky finger of his bar hand to get that signature staccato double
picking sound.

Being a face in the crowd didn't allow me to see much more. What other little tricks did he use to get that Mooney sound?

Did he ever produce an instructional video cassette or DVD that explained his technique?

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 1 Jul 2005 4:39 am

To my knowledge, Ralph never had any instructional material. I doubt that Ralph ever stopped to think of how he gets his sound. He just does it, like no one else. He doesn't have a computer either...........JD

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 1 Jul 2005 7:10 am

"I'll go back to her, where I'm wanted..."
Drives me nuts tryin' to figure out how Moon sounds sooooo good... (I can't do it, I CAN'T DO IT!)

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 1 Jul 2005 7:34 am

Ray, you KNOW how he does it..... IT'S IN THE HANDS.....IT'S IN THE HANDS...

Curt Shoemaker · Post by **Curt Shoemaker** » 1 Jul 2005 7:56 am

At one of our midnight sessions. I ask Moon how are you getting that? He said " I don't know, but it's pretty ain't it".
HE IS A LEGEND!!!!

[This message was edited by Curt Shoemaker on 01 July 2005 at 08:58 AM.]

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 1 Jul 2005 8:05 am

I was hoping I wasn't the only one dazzled by his picking, damping and playing technique.

I can listen to what he's playing and hum it, but I'm having mucho difficulty in getting my left and right hand to cooperate with my humming to just get close to that Mooney sound.

Will keep trying, but even a little hint from some of you 'ole pro's in the know out there will be a big help.

Curt Shoemaker · Post by **Curt Shoemaker** » 1 Jul 2005 8:12 am

Bill, I don't think the Pro's even know.Most just shake their heads!

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 1 Jul 2005 8:52 am

For those who know Moon's personality, the prospect of him ever writing tab or creating instructional material is REALLY FUNNY. It's just not his style. Like the others have said, he just DOES IT -- HIS WAY. Often imitated, never duplicated (although Jeff Newman did a pretty good impersonation). Seems like Jeff published some instructional material on Moon's style. Kinda like Murph, if you want to capture his style on paper, you'll have to do the cipherin' and writin'.

Now if you want some instruction on how to hose down that old ShoBud the morning after you had a bit too much to drink and 'soiled' your guitar -- he might help you out there.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 1 Jul 2005 9:22 am

Sometime ago on this thread, somebody posted the name of a brother picker from somewhere up north who was Ralph Mooney's ghost. I think his name was Frank______ something or another and he played an MSA.

Anybody have a fix on this guy?

Steve Hinson · Post by **Steve Hinson** » 1 Jul 2005 11:02 am

Frank Arnett...

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http://home.comcast.net/~stevehinson

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 1 Jul 2005 2:37 pm

Thanks Steve, that's the guy.

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 1 Jul 2005 2:47 pm

Boy, I'll say one thing, if you ask a steel guitar question on the SGF and the answer is floating around out there, sombody, somewhere is going to volunteer it.

Special thanks to Frank Parrish Jody Cameron and Dean Neely for some enlightening info on Ralph Mooney's picking style via phone and private email I never knew before.

It's enough to get me started on the road to develop some of that unique Mooney style.

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 1 Jul 2005 4:04 pm

I got Moons tuning and a lot of licks from him. Frank Arnett got it from me. Frank and I worked and jammed together on the west coast in the early 1960s. We both had a Fender 400 and a Chet Atkins Gretsch. Sometimes he played lead while I played steel and sometimes Frank played steel while I played lead. We both played a lot like Moon then. Frank stuck with the Mooney style and I developed my own style as soon as I got away from the west coast.
Frank changed his pedals so he only pulled one string with each pedal. When he called me in 1986, he said he was still using that setup.
Ralph is and always will be one of my favorite people. He is so easy to work with and he will keep you laughing.

John Lockney · Post by **John Lockney** » 1 Jul 2005 4:47 pm

Billy Cooper's has a course by Jeff Newman which includes something called the "Ralph Mooney effect". If you can describe it without giving away what people might buy the instructional material for, what do you suppose this is ?

This course is not on thier web-site. If you call them they will send a print catalog. The full description is:

"Jeff Newman "Music to Backup by" (#JN-MBB) Ten diagramed tunes in E9 tuning. LP with rhythm tracks and tablature. This course is designed to teach intros, fill-ins and turnaround ideas for the prospective band member. The vocalist, Bob Browning, is also on all cuts. Several sytles are used, including the famous 'Ralph Mooney' effect. Songs: Just out of reach, I don't believe I'll fall in love today , Another bridge to burn, healing hands of time, for the good times, and others."
[This message was edited by John Lockney on 01 July 2005 at 05:53 PM.]

Howard Tate · Post by **Howard Tate** » 1 Jul 2005 4:55 pm

Al Brisco up in Canada does a tribute to Moon that sounds really close to my ear. It seems like Al has some instruction, I may be wrong.

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Howard, 'Les Paul Recording, Zum S12U, Vegas 400, Boss ME-5, Boss DM-3, DD-3, Sierra Session D-10
http://www.Charmedmusic.com

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 1 Jul 2005 5:27 pm

I think John D hit the nail on the head:
Pull one string with one pedal

That's the mechanical and musical piece of it anyway. What Mooney does with it is magic. He pulls 4 to F# by itself on a pedal -- similar to the C pedal and he CAN add the B to C# to it if he wants to -- or NOT. He uses both feet and raises G# to A, E to F#, and B to C# on three separate pedals. He hits the E to F# with his right foot and uses that change a lot. There are a lot of examples of how he uses his one-pull pedals in ways you can't really do it if you pull both octaves.

But there's WAAAAY more to it than just the mechanical stuff -- the MAGIC. Nobody else will ever be Moon, but others can take that style, use it, and build on it. You'll never be Moon, but you can be pretty good.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 2 Jul 2005 6:09 am

Thanks John D for that great story about you, Ralph and Frank. Boy, would I have liked to be a fly on the wall when you guys got together. Never tire of hearing first hand snipets about my idols.

Larry, much obliged for the Mooney mechanicals. It would be interesting to find out how long it took 'ole Moon to figger out his little nuances that finally came together to give me that sound that nobody else ever heard before.

Frank Parish · Post by **Frank Parish** » 2 Jul 2005 8:37 am

My favorite Mooney story is the one where he was working on a lawnmower and caught it on fire. Not sure here but I think he caught the garage on fire and he had an old pedal steel he'd been working on in there and it got burned up. The story goes that he took the remains out to the desert and buried it to puzzle future archeologists! Now there's a man with a sense of humor. That's the thing about his playing that makes him himself. It's his fun loving attitude that comes out in his playing. Bill, you have to get Corn Pickin' and Slick Slidin' if you don't already have it. It's Moon at his best.

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 2 Jul 2005 9:43 am

Did Moon play a 400 or 1000 most of the time?

DZ

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 2 Jul 2005 11:46 am

Dave, when I first met Ralph in 1960, he was playing a Fender a 1000. The back neck wasn't even tuned. He only used the front neck and 4 pedals. He probably would have played a 400 if he had to buy his equipment. Leo Fender furnished all of Ralphs equipment.
I asked Ralph why he didn't tune that back neck to some tuning and put it to good use. As only Ralph could say it, he said " By God, I'm savin that neck for hard times"........................
Larry Bell, I caught you're comment about the soiled guitar. I was there the night it happened and I am the guy who asked him,the next night how he got it so clean. His answer was "I washed it with a garden hose and let it sit outside all night". It was not Ralph who threw up on the Fender 1000. It was his cousin, "Little" Joe Baumgartner.
I was talking with Ralph on the phone not long ago when I asked him if he remembered that incident. He laughed and said "Yeah, it cleaned up pretty good, but I never did get all the little red tomato chunks out of it".
I got to laugh about it all over again.

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 2 Jul 2005 12:11 pm

Great story, John.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 3 Jul 2005 9:14 am

Thanks for the tip on "Corn Pickin' and Slick Slidin'" Frank. I'm doin' a web search to try to find a CD if it's available. I think it might have originally been on the Capitol lable.

Of course the guy picking the blond Telecaster was no slouch either.

Larry Robbins · Post by **Larry Robbins** » 3 Jul 2005 10:21 am

Hey Bill,
Sounds like you may have scored yourself another pedal steel!Good for you my friend

...I was pretty sure you had the bug real bad!LOL

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SHO~BUDS, Steelkings,
Fender guitars,
Hilton pedals, Preston
covers, and Taylor(Tut, that is)Resos.

Still Country after all these years....

Bill Pastuch · Post by **Bill Pastuch** » 3 Jul 2005 10:46 am

Not quite yet Larry.

I'm going to fool around trying to develop some relationship to the Moony sound with an 8-string Remington Steelmaster.

Wasn't it you who reminded me that you really didn't have to play a Sho-Bud D-10 to get somewhere within a hammer's throw of his sound?

I'm basing that theory on the fact that he kept his mechanicals kinda/sorta to a minimum and concentrated mainly on left and right hand technique.

Wish me luck.

Larry Robbins · Post by **Larry Robbins** » 3 Jul 2005 12:10 pm

Good luck Bill! And congrats on the Remington!...I'm sure you will love it!

I am green with envey....at least,...I hope its envey...