The British Steelies Society

Hi there,

My name is Merlin and I'm pretty new to steeling. I've been a professional clarinet/sax player since I left college and have also playing guitar since I was a teenager. I've recently been bitten by the steel bug and am a little overwhelmed by the beauty and complexity of the instrument. I'm thinking of going straight for a good instrument, possibly a Shobud Super Pro and just wanted to greet everyone here and see what's available nearby.

I'm looking forward to learning lots from experienced players too. Seem to be plenty here!

Hi Merlin, good to hear from you and welcome to the forum! I'm quite a newbie myself, having got hold of a Sho-Bud pro 3 at the end of March this year. You'll find some fantastic people here, who will go the extra mile to help you out and answer any questions you may have.
Whereabouts are you based, by the way?
Cheers,
Sid

Welcome Merlin,
It sounds to me as if you're on the right path. If you're located near any of the meetings that take place, I'd urge you to get along to one. I've found, since taking this monster of an instrument up, that, to a man, they are the most helpful bunch of guys I've ever come across.
And, I'd add that with your musical experience, going for a good, pro guitar is definitely the thing to do.
Good luck

Welcome Merlin, you have certainly come to the right place here. If it's possible it's well worth visiting John Davis and taking a look at the Sho Bud he has. JD is very knowledgeable and a great guy to deal with, you can't go wrong there. Best of luck with your future instrument and journey into steel playing.

Thanks to you all for the warm welcome. There certainly seems to be a great community here and I'm just getting my toes wet in all the different threads, so my learning curve is really starting.

I'm in Brighton, btw.