Paul Franklin / Vince Gill, Premier Guitar

[bigredbass]

Here's an interview from the online PREMIER GUITAR with steel master Paul Franklin and guitar hero Vince Gill.  They've recently put out their duo project BAKERSFIELD, their tribute to Buck Owens and the 'Bakersfield Sound', a hard country California blend.
 
I've included this as it's a rare look at how a pedal steel guitar works, for those who've heard one but never worked around one.  Amazingly, listen for the spots where Paul lists the tuning of each 10-string fretless neck, plus the dumbfounding array of pitch shifts assigned to the various strings (and he doesn't list all of them in his conversation).  Guitars like his typically include pedals, knee levers that straddle each leg that you press to the left or right to perform their throw, and even leg lifts over your legs for more options.  Good night ! ! !  
 
Paul's also amazingly fortunate in that his Dad builds most of his guitars, which has allowed them to skunk-works a few projects:  Paul has a 'Pedal-Bro', they built:  a maple box with a spruce top, a Dobro resonator assembly with pickup, and pedals !
 
And, oh yeah, that Gill kid's pretty good too ! And I think he'd sound great with a Little Darling.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phDJy_IiR1Y&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL13D7650D1E3388E9
 
J o e y

[David Houck]

Very enjoyable video!  Thanks!
 
On the subject of the Bakersfield sound, back in the mid-90's or so I picked up Bakersfield Bound by Chris Hillman and Herb Pederson, which is a wonderful take on that genre.

[pace]

Nice link, Joey.  
 
Paul is so humble that he doesn't even mention that the 4th pedal on his E9 neck is named the Franklin change.... after him of course! It's a change that drops strings 10 & 5 from B>A, and string 6 from G#>F#. It's easily the most popular change for the E9 neck beyond the standard Emmons 3 pedals / 4 knees.

[hankster]

Thanks for posting this.
 
Pedal steel players are the true gearheads of the music world - they are like auto mechanics crossed with musicians.  I sometimes attend the Texas Steel Guitar AssociationJamboree in Dallas with my brother, who is a steel player, just to hang out and listen and play guitar with some of the pickers who hang out there. It's a great show for non-steel players, because there is a ton of complicated musical gear, lots of people talking about it, but nothing for a non-steel player to buy!  And the steel players are a very small but very friendly club, they will spend all the time in the world talking to you about their craft.  It truly is an amazing corner of the musical world.  And when you hear Buck Reid kick into Donna Lee you know it isn't just about country music, either.