The British Steelies Society

Hi,

I'm new here. Guitarist and percussionist for 25 years - not pro, just play and perform in my spare time.

I've always been infatuated with the sound of PSG but have always told myself it's an impossibility; self-limiting beliefs and well, the steep cost of entry. Recent events in my life have reminded me that it is short and I'd regret not trying my hand at it at least. So having sold a few other instruments it's time to get something sorted.

I've noticed a Carter Starter on eBay for £600 but have been told that they are not great for holding tuning and I'd likely want to upgrade soon if I took to it. I'm a bit OCD about tuning with my guitars anyway and don't like the thought of something unstable and potentially distracting.

I'd been watching a listing for a Bennett S10 for £1900 (just within my budget) but this has now sold!

There's a GFI and Mullen Discovery on Reverb, both going for £3000...

I'd rather something I could get my money back on if I really don't take to it but there seems a big gap in cost between a starter instrument and something more solid. Should I wait for something better within my budget of £2000, or wait and save some more to get something around the £3000 mark?

I already have a nice valve amp and Peterson strobe tuner, so the budget can all go on a PSG + tone bar.

Cheers,
Wes (Birmingham)

Hi Wes,

I've been dabbling in steel for the past several months and will soon be upgrading from my Sho-bud Maverick beginner model. It's been a good model to get me used to the basic principles, and more importantly, to get me hooked!

Anyway, I live in Birmingham so would be happy for you to borrow it as a "try before you buy" when I have my new model to see if PSG is something you want to throw some money at - it'd also be nice to know another local steelie!

Take care,
Jess

Hi Wes, welcome to the forum. I started off on a GFI student, 3 pedals and 2 knee levers, I very soon was looking at getting something a bit better, it did allow me to get the gist of what was involved, however it could very well have put me off altogether as it was not the easiest of things to play. Comparing it to guitars, it's like your first guitar has it's action set too high, the strings are too heavy and it doesn't sound that good. I guess what I'm saying is, it is better to start on something decent and go from there.

John gives good advice not to jump in too quickly, if you could try one out for a while before buying you will know if it's going to work out for you, very generous offer from Great Mother there.

I came from guitar about 10 years ago, I consider myself a decent guitarist and have been playing most of my life and it wasn't an easy move to pedal steel. It's a steep learning curve and in the beginning it takes a lot of determination and perseverance before you start to get anywhere, that was my experience anyway. Playing with picks took me months to get to grips with, volume pedal technique, blocking, man it's a hard instrument to play.

But you know, once it starts to come together, the feeling is so sweet and rewarding, you just can't stop playing the damn thing and emptying your bank account on a regular basis. This is GAS on a different level

Good luck with your journey, hope you have a good one

JohnDavisStringsHere wrote:Wes, I replied to your email dont be too hasty, learn a little bit about it before you jump in,spend some time with a player if you can.

Hi John, thanks for replying to my email. I've been learning as much as I can from internet resources for a while now, but there's only so much I can take in without having an instrument to apply it to. I've found a teacher here in Birmingham (Stewart Johnson) who's happy to give me an introduction to the instrument so I can get a feel for it, and he lives just a ten minute walk from my house. I guess that would be a fine place to start.

Great Mother wrote:Hi Wes,

I've been dabbling in steel for the past several months and will soon be upgrading from my Sho-bud Maverick beginner model. It's been a good model to get me used to the basic principles, and more importantly, to get me hooked!

Anyway, I live in Birmingham so would be happy for you to borrow it as a "try before you buy" when I have my new model to see if PSG is something you want to throw some money at - it'd also be nice to know another local steelie!

Take care,
Jess

Hi Jess. That's incredibly generous of you, thank you Please let me know when you have your new model sorted if this offer is still on the table. One thing I've noticed already is how supportive and kind the PSG community seems to be!

It's good to hear you're hooked on it already. Have you been teaching yourself? Where about in Birmingham do you live?

Jif wrote:Hi Wes, welcome to the forum. I started off on a GFI student, 3 pedals and 2 knee levers, I very soon was looking at getting something a bit better, it did allow me to get the gist of what was involved, however it could very well have put me off altogether as it was not the easiest of things to play. Comparing it to guitars, it's like your first guitar has it's action set too high, the strings are too heavy and it doesn't sound that good. I guess what I'm saying is, it is better to start on something decent and go from there.

John gives good advice not to jump in too quickly, if you could try one out for a while before buying you will know if it's going to work out for you, very generous offer from Great Mother there.

I came from guitar about 10 years ago, I consider myself a decent guitarist and have been playing most of my life and it wasn't an easy move to pedal steel. It's a steep learning curve and in the beginning it takes a lot of determination and perseverance before you start to get anywhere, that was my experience anyway. Playing with picks took me months to get to grips with, volume pedal technique, blocking, man it's a hard instrument to play.

But you know, once it starts to come together, the feeling is so sweet and rewarding, you just can't stop playing the damn thing and emptying your bank account on a regular basis. This is GAS on a different level

Good luck with your journey, hope you have a good one

Hi Jif, thanks for the warm welcome and advice

It makes sense to me get something decent, when the time is right anyway. Your guitar analogy rings true - I almost gave up early on due to a poor quality instrument that was hard and uninspiring to play. When I got something better that sounded good and stayed in tune, it inspired me to play more and I knew any shortcomings were my own.

I'm expecting a brutal learning curve but excited by the challenge. I guess there's not much that's transferable from the guitar, except theory and some slide technique; intonation, vibrato and string muting.

I can only imagine how immensely satisfying it must be once it all starts to come together!

Best,
Wes

Hi Wes and welcome to the forum.
Keep in the loop with john and take up that offer from Jess!
You'll soon know if you have some aptitude for PSG. You may not know how well you're going to be, but pretty soon you'll know if you want to make it.
It's not so hard to get good sounds out of a decent instrument. Once you've picked a bunch of strings, pushed a couple of pedals and done an octave gliss - you'll know!
A pal (a guitar/banjo man, who at least had some important experience with picks) who had no real inclination towards steel guitar, once sat behind one of mine and within a few minutes produced a sound that was not unpleasant.
History: I was on stage with my first PSG after about 4 months; not good at all by proper playing standards, but three chords and that (magic, it seems!) octave gliss and the audience didn't know or care!
Best wishes and keep in touch with us on your journey. Tony