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Topic: How to sound like Chalker on C6 |
Ben Godard
From:
Jamesville NC
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Posted 3 Dec 2023 4:29 pm |
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| I finally decided to dedicate some time to the back neck. Of coarse I have basic Emmons setup but I want to know how to sound like Chalker on C6. I’m open for any ideas. I’m somewhat familiar with the C6th and E6 tunings for non oedsl but not using pedals. |
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john buffington
From:
Owasso OK - USA
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Posted 3 Dec 2023 5:39 pm
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| Get in touch with Johnny Cox - he is the go to guy!!! |
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Len Amaral
From:
Rehoboth,MA 02769
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Posted 6 Dec 2023 1:59 pm
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Curly certainly had his own voice on the C6. I have been watching Youtube clips of his playing and admire the way he used the low strings in his phrasing.
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I survived the sixties! |
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Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Posted 6 Dec 2023 2:52 pm
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| Have to learn to gut the volume pedal very fast without sounding too choppy on the volume level. Jim Murphy had this down pat and Buddy Charleton was close behind in that technique. |
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Ron Funk
From:
Ballwin, Missouri
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Posted 6 Dec 2023 4:17 pm
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As I recall, Curly Chalker had his own personal & unique tuning for his 10 string C6th neck .....open tuning, as well his floor pedals and knee lever changes......which he played on 'the front neck' of his pedal steel guitars.
I searched The Forum archives, (and general internet), but didn't discover anything definitive.
Hopefully someone can provide better info.
Ron |
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Quentin Hickey
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
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Posted 6 Dec 2023 4:22 pm
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| Cox plays E13th and has some Chalkerizm knee levers, check out his youtube channel |
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scott murray
From:
Asheville, NC
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Posted 6 Dec 2023 5:06 pm
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_________________
1965 Emmons S-10, 3x5 • Emmons LLIII D-10, 10x12 • JCH D-10, 10x12 • Beard MA-8 • Oahu Tonemaster |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 6 Dec 2023 7:26 pm
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| Ron Funk wrote: |
As I recall, Curly Chalker had his own personal & unique tuning for his 10 string C6th neck .....open tuning, as well his floor pedals and knee lever changes......which he played on 'the front neck' of his pedal steel guitars.
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While that's true, most of his style wasn't in his tuning, but the way he played it, using techniques he specialized in, like "gutting" and "quaking". He was a phenomenal player, being recognized by many as one of the "chord kings" for his extensive use of chords instead of single strings to play melody lines. Many didn't care for his style or sound (or his demeanor), but he remains one of the true greats on the instrument for his innovative and jazzy style. |
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Richard Alderson
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 7 Dec 2023 5:26 am
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Hi Greg - What do you mean "gut the volume pedal" real fast?
_________________
Derby SD-10 5x6; GFI S-10 5x5; GFI S-10 5x5; Zum D-10 8x7; Zum D-10 9x9; Fender 400; Fender Rumble 200; Nashville 400; Telonics TCA-500. |
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Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Posted 7 Dec 2023 6:09 am
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| Chalker cut off the leading edge of his notes with the volume pedal then brought the volume back up in a hurry to get his trademark sound. You don't hear the pick hitting the string or the initial string attack, just a resulting swell. You can see him do this in his videos and hear it on all his recordings. |
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Jerry Horch
From:
Alva, Florida, USA
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Posted 7 Dec 2023 2:09 pm Volume
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A reverse swell..Joe Adam’s..Washington Courthouse Ohio could sound like Chalker….
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Franklin D10 /Walker Sterio Steel JBL's /DigiTech Quad4/ Korg Toneworks/ Dobro DM 1000 / Santa Cruz Guitar VA |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 10 Dec 2023 8:03 am
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Chalker's "gutting" technique is hard to really master! As Doug says, it was kind of an explosive swell immediately after the picking motion, and it always reminded me of a mellow Hammond B3 organ sound (without the Leslie effect). It's featured pretty well in his backup work on this old Merle Travis record:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pmTUlPQvM0 |
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Bill Cunningham
From:
Atlanta, Ga. USA
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Posted 10 Dec 2023 8:12 pm
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| Donny Hinson wrote: |
Chalker's "gutting" technique is hard to really master! As Doug says, it was kind of an explosive swell immediately after the picking motion, and it always reminded me of a mellow Hammond B3 organ sound (without the Leslie effect). It's featured pretty well in his backup work on this old Merle Travis record:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pmTUlPQvM0 |
I think that LP is the best Chalker playing ever.
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Bill Cunningham
Atlanta, GA |
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Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Posted 10 Dec 2023 8:40 pm
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| I posted the Merle Travis LP with Curly Chalker on here a while ago. My favorite LP of his is More Ways To Play, however. |
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Bill Cunningham
From:
Atlanta, Ga. USA
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Posted 11 Dec 2023 5:33 pm
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| Greg Cutshaw wrote: |
| I posted the Merle Travis LP with Curly Chalker on here a while ago. My favorite LP of his is More Ways To Play, however. |
I love that one too and you might be right now that I think of it. I’m glad it’s not an eye test and we don’t have to really pick one! 
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Bill Cunningham
Atlanta, GA |
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Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Jerry Horch
From:
Alva, Florida, USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2023 7:06 am Chalker
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Thanks for posting the Chalker Albums….his playing blows me away no matter how many times you hear him. I’m not sure there are many, if any steel players who mastered it like Chalker, the dynamics , from strings to volume pedal, chords, single string, in the melody…and what he laid out what was in his head… very unique. Does anyone have any live footage of him that might show his volume pedal technique?
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Franklin D10 /Walker Sterio Steel JBL's /DigiTech Quad4/ Korg Toneworks/ Dobro DM 1000 / Santa Cruz Guitar VA |
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Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
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Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2023 6:00 pm
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Jim Murphy nailed Chalker's tone on a live cut of She Called Me Baby All Night long but it's been removed from YouTube. A less explosive but similar version with Jim is here with a nice break in the middle and a swing ending:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBL-5xbnN-c
Johnny Cox did get Jim and Curly together for a night of picking in a Nashville club. That would be something to hear live!
Last edited by Greg Cutshaw on 13 Dec 2023 8:30 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Bill Cunningham
From:
Atlanta, Ga. USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2023 7:24 pm
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There may be others that are less known, at least to me, but Jim Murphy and Johnny Cox would be the two best known for playing Curly’s style. There’s a lot of Curly’s style in John Hughy’s C6 playing too. John once told me “Curly was the man!”
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Bill Cunningham
Atlanta, GA |
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Quentin Hickey
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
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Posted 14 Dec 2023 9:59 am
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| Definitely hear a tonof Curly influence in Johnny Cox playing. I recently got a Cox cd and when I popped it in I thought someone was messing with me and swapped for some Curly mystery that I never heard. |
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