The British Steelies Society

wow!

cracking boowah...
enjoyed that, thanks for posting Henry

(there's probably a thousand answers to this..) but what are the two necks likely to be tuned to?

Chris Scruggs has an encyclopedic knowledge of the various tunings used by the greats and probably experiments a lot but I did find a post from him a couple of hears ago on another forum where he said this:

"I tune the inside to C6/a7:

E
C
A
G
E
C#
A
A (bass note)

Sometimes I drop the fourth string from G down to F#, and play it as a D9 tuning.


I tune the outside to E13:

E
C#
G#
F#
E
D
B
E

Sometimes I drop the second string from C# down to B and use it as an E9 tuning"

And those are exactly the tunings he's using in the Youtube clip. The C6/A7th tuning was devised by Jerry Byrd and is a superb tuning for the experienced player, or one who has a GOOD teacher. The E13th is the one used in Hawaiian music and Hill-billy Rock and Roll and not the one used by Don Helms, Mcaulife et al.

N.B. Those bar slams and tone control effects are typical of Speedy West's style.
BTW they are the same tunings I use on my lap and console steel guitars.

In this Video:-

thanks for the answers Jeff and Basil..


so how does the A and A (bass note) work on the C6/A7? is that a unison or octave? or have I misunderstood

String 8 = Low A, probably a .064 or heavier, an octave lower than the 7th string. On occasions the low A is raised to a C and the higher A is dropped to a G. Retuning is quite common amongst that level of player. Two necks but most players of that standard probably play, C6, E6, A6, C6/A7, C13, D9, E13 and B11th. All of which are obtainable with the ONE set of string gauges. Not optimally but definitely usable.

henry wrote:thanks for the answers Jeff and Basil..


so how does the A and A (bass note) work on the C6/A7? is that a unison or octave? or have I misunderstood

Hey, Basil, nice playing.

Apparently he uses it a lot for special effects and "pig grunts" (yes, really""").

Check out this clip from the great Kayton Roberts who Chris acknowledges as a big influence - you an hear the low A in the first part of this tune.



And check out his behind the bar string bending!!!!!! I can't watch this clip without a big smile on my face.

By the way, how do you get those bar slams without losing any volume? I always have to nudge up the volume a bit if I'm going to do some slams.

Oh, and here's Kayton demonstrating the pig grunt (amongst other sounds).

Hey, Basil, nice playing.

Thanks a million you've mad a happy man old ?? errr something like that..

By the way, how do you get those bar slams without losing any volume? I always have to nudge up the volume a bit if I'm going to do some slams.

If you have to kick the volume up a bit then there are two factors to consider:-
1/. Use a volume pedal and set the off position to be your "Normal" volume and the full position for your slams. and don't change anything else.
2/. Pick softer, and don't be frightened of the upper mid range and treble.

Nine times out of ten it's because the player is picking much too hard, dynamics come from the picking.
Watch Speedy West on YouTube.. Actually come to think of it, you should watch Rod King at the next JD do, he has a master's degree in volume/tone pedal and bar slam usage.