Last updated 8/03
See the photos of my new MSA Millennium pedal steel guitar, my brand new, beautiful, shiny, jet black, polished aluminum, woven carbon fiber-bodied, titanium rodded, high-tech marvel of a pedal steel guitar
As you can see from my musical history, a lot of my
musical life has to do with the pedal steel guitar, a strange and intriguing
instrument indeed.
A pedal steel guitar for those who don't know, evolved from the
Hawaiian guitar, the slide guitar, the Dobro, the electric lap
steel guitar. With several strings and usually multiple necks,
the strings are "fretted" with a steel bar. The pitch
of the string therefore can be altered by means of moving the
bar or, in the case of the Pedal Steel, by pressing a pedal or
moving a knee lever which in turn stretches or loosens the string.
I got interested in the steel by listening to 1970's country music
and Commander Cody. Later I learned about the full history of
the steel and got to truly appreciate people like: Buddy Emmons,
Doug Jernigan, Weldon Myrick, Hal Rugg, Lloyd Maines, and more.
Mr. Emmons is far and away my favorite steel player. No one has
his touch, his range, his use of the middle register in harmony
passages on the E9th, his sense of swing, his sense of humor. If there
is anyone who can prove, and has proved, that the steel is an
instrument that can shine in any musical genre, it is Buddy Emmons.
Other links with information about the steel: