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  Whats the average age of a new steel player? (Page 1)

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Author Topic:   Whats the average age of a new steel player?
Bob Smith
Member

From: Allentown, New Jersey, USA

posted 21 December 2002 04:07 AM     profile     
Im just curious, im 47 and started this year. Most of the guys i see playin around here ,(and theres not many)are at least my age or older. Just curious about the other new players! Are there any young people into this cool instrument? Bob
Bennie Hensley
Member

From: Yakima, Washington, USA

posted 21 December 2002 04:10 AM     profile     
Bob,I have been making noise on the PSG for just over a year. I am 58 years old. Bennie
Smiley Roberts
Member

From: Hendersonville,Tn. 37075

posted 21 December 2002 06:27 AM     profile     
Bennie,
Why have you not posted your e-mail addy,occupation,or interests,hmmmmm???
Are you hiding from the law???

------------------

  ~ ~
©¿© It don't mean a thang,
mm if it ain't got that twang.
www.ntsga.com
Leon Roberts
Member

From: Tallahassee,FL USA

posted 21 December 2002 07:05 AM     profile     
The only new player that I am aware of in my area is a 45 year old veterinarian. I helped him acquire a Sho-Bud Lloyd Green model with 3+5. He is a very good guitar and banjo player and I have high hopes for him. The man who sold the guitar also included all Jeff Newman’s videos and courses, so he should get started with proper instructions.
Leon
Bill Crook
Member

From: Goodlettsville, TN , Spending my kid's inheritance

posted 21 December 2002 07:07 AM     profile     
Be kind,, Smiley......
It's Christmas time.
Jody Carver
Member

From: The Knight Of Fender Tweed~ Dodger Blue Forever

posted 21 December 2002 07:29 AM     profile     
Add seven years to each pedal and knee lever
and follow the theory of the age of a dog.

The more pedals the older you are the less
the younger you are.

Im a non peddler

David Cobb
Member

From: Chanute, Kansas, USA

posted 21 December 2002 07:37 AM     profile     
Quit it Smiley or you'll blow Bennie's cover. On the subject though, the newest steeler I know personally in my neighborhood started a few years ago at about 63, ahem. He must be 70 now. I helped him with some stuff and he's hanging tight.
Anders Brundell
Member

From: Falun, Sweden

posted 21 December 2002 07:54 AM     profile     
There are several lap newcomers around 25-30 years old over here, but pedal steelers seemes to be older and a lot fewer. You proably need a decade to save enough cash to afford a full size PSG, or - rather - non pedals fits the younger pickers taste better - rockabilly and early rock style (Bill Haley, Elvis) is popular amongst large groups of younger people over here since a couple of decades.
I was a bit over 30 when I started pedaling; I was unemployed and down, and couldn´t afford a booze propelled suicide (liquor is very expensive here). Now I must agree with J R Mecille when he says "I have to play steel, to keep sane." Very well expressed!
But if any shop owner had known the mere existence of steel guitar when I was young (when Elvis, the Everlys, and later the british pop wave came), I should have gotten one instantly, ´cause I´ve always loved the that sound, also when I was a young and rebellious rock consumer.
Reggie Duncan
Member

From: Mississippi

posted 21 December 2002 09:37 AM     profile     
Between 55 and 60.
Ed Naylor
Member

From: portsmouth.ohio usa

posted 21 December 2002 10:39 AM     profile     
I don't know the average age- but I am building a Steel for a gentleman that is 88 years old. His first guitar.I was working a few weeks ago with a gentleman 92 that was "Steelin". Ed Naylor Steel Guitar Works
Mike Delaney
Member

From: Fort Madison, IA

posted 21 December 2002 10:59 AM     profile     
I was 44 or 45 when I got my first one.
Joe Henry
Member

From: Ebersberg, Germany

posted 21 December 2002 12:25 PM     profile     
I started at 34. Why do I always think that was too late?
Bobby Lee
Sysop

From: Cloverdale, North California, USA

posted 21 December 2002 12:30 PM     profile     
I was 21 when I got my first steel guitar.
Richard Sinkler
Member

From: Fremont, California

posted 21 December 2002 01:49 PM     profile     
I started at 16 in 1971. Of course I'm only 29 now

------------------
Carter D10 9p/10k
Richard Sinkler

[This message was edited by Richard Sinkler on 21 December 2002 at 01:50 PM.]

Quesney Gibbs
Member

From: Anniston, AL

posted 21 December 2002 03:35 PM     profile     
I was a rock musician in the DC area and played a Fender Jazzmaster for years. I took up the steel at the age of 31. Go figure that.
Scott Howard
Member

From: Georgetown, TN, USA

posted 21 December 2002 04:41 PM     profile     
My son started learning last year after I started playing again.I have been back at it about 2 years this time.I am 40 he is 19 now 18 when he started and passing me at a rapid pace.
Bennie Hensley
Member

From: Yakima, Washington, USA

posted 21 December 2002 05:16 PM     profile     
Smiley, believe it not I AM THE LAW, that's why I am hiding it! Bennie
Bob Smith
Member

From: Allentown, New Jersey, USA

posted 21 December 2002 05:21 PM     profile     
Well from the replies here, i guess it looks like any age is a good age to start. I wanted to try it 25 yrs ago and didnt have the b*lls to do it then. (guitar seemed much safer then) Anyway, ive been at it since last May and im havin a great time with it. bob
Joey Gaskins
Member

From: Newbern, North Carolina, USA

posted 21 December 2002 05:46 PM     profile     
I got my first steel for Christmas last year, I too was 47.
Jim Whitaker
Member

From: Hamilton, Ohio, USA

posted 21 December 2002 06:35 PM     profile     
48 here & loving and hating every minute of it !!??

------------------
JIM
"Carter SD10" "74" LTD & NASHVILLE 400, Profex II "55" Esquire, "63 Epiphone, "63" Precision,
"71" Jazz


Pat Irvin
Member

From: Kansas City, Missouri, USA

posted 21 December 2002 06:47 PM     profile     
I'm 30 and I just bought my first PSG 4 months ago.

I would not have bought one if I had not have found this site. Though the learning process is slow, it would have taken me 20 years to gather the information I can gather here in one day.

Keep up the good topics.

PI

JACK HEERN
Member

From: MURPHYSBORO,IL. USA

posted 21 December 2002 11:15 PM     profile     
Pat
Some of the stuff you learn on the forum might not teach you to play. But you can always put it on your garden and raise a bumper crop
jp
Michael T. Hermsmeyer
Member

From: Branson, Mo 65616 USA

posted 22 December 2002 03:53 AM     profile     
I started playing steel in 1984 at the tender age of 17, on a brand new Sho-Bud Pro I and a Pak-A-Seat and whatever amps I had at the time. I didn't know there was a difference until many years later.
My first instrument , oddly enough, was the drums. I started playing them in the 4th grade in 1975, I was 8 years old. At that time, I didn't even know what a steel was.
Thanks to the only two players I knew in Southern Illinois at the time, Fred Rushing and Jim Alexander, and a few years later, Scotty in St. Louis, the steel has become my main instrument and has kept me busy for almost 19 years now.
Thanks guys.
Michael T.

------------------
UTILITY MAN PRODUCTIONS
'73 EMMONS D10 FATBACK, '92 EMMONS D10 LASHLEY LEGRANDE,
'85 DOBRO 60DS, '95 DOBRO F60S,
'95 MELOBAR CUSTOM, 1955 FENDER TRIPLE NECK STRINGMASTER. EVANS, FENDER, PEAVEY,
and MESA BOOGIE Amps.

Bill Fulbright
Member

From: Atlanta, GA

posted 22 December 2002 04:25 AM     profile     
After 40 yrs of playing guitar I "snapped" and started playing PSG at age 49....just a pup. Even after knowing about Doug J. and Buddy E., even after having an LDG Bud for a while in the '80's the light didn't go on.

Duh. What a bullheaded rock!

Well, I am better now. 2 years and a Mullen D-10. I think I am on the right road now...it makes playing regular Jazz Guitar/Blues a real breeze in comparison!!

AAAHHHHH!!! Expansion!

------------------
Bill Fulbright
Mullen D-10 8x7; Gibson ES-165; Peavey Vegas 400;
ICQ# 2251620 My Music Site

Scott Howard
Member

From: Georgetown, TN, USA

posted 22 December 2002 06:14 AM     profile     
Just a thought here but one reason some players may not start so young is the cost.I am sure my son would not have started if my guitar was not sitting there.Another is the junk most kids listen to now.In the last 2 years I bought a Sho-Bud and 2 Mullen steels from guys in thier 50's who gave up after a year or so of trying to learn.
Bob Smith
Member

From: Allentown, New Jersey, USA

posted 22 December 2002 06:26 AM     profile     
I hear ya Scott , I thought about the expense thing too. I went into a music store about a month ago and a young salesman(about 21} approached me and asked if he could help me.I sked if they sold any pedal steel acessories and he didnt know what i was talking about. After i explained he said "OH Yeah" i think i saw one once. bob
Michael Garnett
Member

From: Fort Worth, TX

posted 22 December 2002 08:40 AM     profile     
Most kids my age, even the ones that listen to "Country" music don't even know what a Steel Guitar is. I started almost exactly a year ago to the day, and I'm 23 now. I grew up listening to good music, and wanted to play the steel just after hearing what it sounded like. I'm obviously the exception to the rule, and got into a great deal and bought myself one as a Christmas present. (Thanks Jake!)

So far as I know there's only one other steel guitar player in the College Station area, and he's played less than me. Also 23, he's wanting to make music a career. Myself, I started playing piano since before I can remember, probably around age 5. Kept it up for around 9 years, and threw in a year of organ also. I think I wouldn't have a chance at being any kind of good without the ear I've acquired for music over the years.

And If I hadn't been in the situation I was financially, I know I wouldn't have been able to afford one. I just planned ahead and saved up for it. Not too many people my age do that now, etiher, come to think of it.

The average age of steel guitar players is increasing, I think simply because it's not a staple of the modern "Country Music" with middle-aged boy bands singing.

------------------
"The Not-Quite-So-New Guy"
Carter D-10, no BCT
Peavey Deltafex
Nashville 400
----------------------

Bill Moore
Member

From: Manchester, Michigan

posted 22 December 2002 08:54 AM     profile     
I just watched Robert Randolph's Austin City Limits show, my God, the young man is a genius of showmanship and even though it wasn't country, I'll bet he can play great country if he chose to. He is in his early 20's, I guess, so there are some young people on the way. I started at age 38, now I'm 57, still trying.

------------------
Bill Moore...
my steel guitar web page


Bill Llewellyn
Member

From: San Jose, CA

posted 22 December 2002 06:47 PM     profile     
Well, I started at age 44, three years ago. (I won't tell you how old I am now.)

------------------
Bill L | My steel page | Email | My music | Steeler birthdays | Over 50?

Gordon Borland
Member

From: San Antonio, Texas, USA

posted 22 December 2002 08:37 PM     profile     
I bought my steel at age 46 Iam 56 now. I used to go vist Jerry Blanton in San Antonio when I was in High School. Jerry was building steel guitars at the time. I played a three pick up Airline archtop electric guitar and had a brown Fender deluxe with no reverb. I still have the amp. At the time steel guitars to me were something I never thought I could afford much less play. They were for only a special few chosen people.


MSA D10 CLASSIC, PEAVEY NV400, PEAVEY ADDAVERB, SOME CHORDS AND A BATTERY.

Matt Brydges
Member

From: Renfrew, Ontario, Canada

posted 22 December 2002 11:13 PM     profile     
Well, I'm a new steeler at 21 and having a blast! Mind you, most friends my age had never even seen a picture of one before mine. Everyone always asks "what is that thing?!"
Matt
Ricky0ne1
Member

From: West Peoria, IL, USA

posted 23 December 2002 12:24 AM     profile     
Was 20 when I first said "I'm gettin me a damn steel"... was 47 when I actually did it... made more sense than my dear old dad's bagpipes... hehehe
Bob Smith
Member

From: Allentown, New Jersey, USA

posted 23 December 2002 04:55 AM     profile     
Man, lots of great replies ! Keep em comin! Hey Matt, i would like to borrow about 25 yrs off of somebody and start where your at! But im havin a blast at it too. bob
Gerald Menke
Member

From: Brooklyn, NY, USA

posted 23 December 2002 07:14 AM     profile     
Hmmm...I also played a Jazzmaster through Marshalls and Oranges for years before becoming obsessed with steel guitar and buying one nearly three years ago, let's see, I guess I was 30 then. My biggest regret? That I didn't start earlier!!

Gerald

Brian Wetzstein
Member

From: Seattle, WA, USA

posted 23 December 2002 10:51 AM     profile     
I started last year at 26. Can I get 20 years experience without 20 years of hair loss?
David Doggett
Member

From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

posted 23 December 2002 10:57 AM     profile     
Well, it seem like the original question was how old ARE beginning steel players today, not how old WERE they back in the day. Most steelers, beginning or not, are 50 or beyond it seems. A lot of people seem to think that means the steel is a dying instrument. I don't think so. Even though there were times in the past when steel was more popular than now, if you listen to a country station, you still hear steel on most songs (but not all). And if you watch CMT on cable, you see some young steel players in some of the videos. Also, there seem to be a lot of steel manufacturers still cranking them out for those who can muster up the big cash.

One might ask if country music itself is dying out. Well, yes, it's been dying out since the '50s (when rock'n'roll hit), yet it's still here. I would think that as long as there is country music, there will be steel guitar, and country music seems indestructible. It definitely changes slower than any other kind of music.

Anyway, I came up from Mississippi to Nashville at the age of 26 in '72 playing Dobro and slide guitar. I had several years of lessons on piano and sax when I was growing up. In '73 I traded a metal body biscuit cone Dobro even on a used Sho-Bud Maverick from a session player named Bobbe Seymour. In those days he looked like the photo on his Uptown tape, and played more than he horse traded. A steel player from Bristol named Charlie Gore took me and the Maverick over to Sho-bud. Up in the attic where they did the repair work they had a big pot of venison stew from a Shot Jackson hunting trip. They rebuilt the Maverick undercarriage and added a knee to give me 3 and 2.

After a year or so of playing in rinky-dink clubs in Nashville and Knoxville, I quit and went back to school (it wasn't the playing at night that bothered me, it was the construction work during the day). About a year ago I got the old Maverick out and started playing again. I just got an Emmons E9 S12 P/P that I am rebuilding, and I just closed a deal on a used S12U Fessenden. We'll see what happens.

I think a lot of steelers start in middle age because 1) you need to already be a musician with a good bit of musical knowledge and a good ear to even attempt steel, and 2) the damn things cost a lot. It's a pity, because so many of the great steel geniuses of the past (and present) started very young.

Stella Mask
New Member

From: San Antonio, Texas, USA

posted 23 December 2002 11:00 AM     profile     
Boy do I feel better now.... I just started, I'm 28 and I was worried that I was too old!
Bob Stone
Member

From: Gainesville, FL, USA

posted 23 December 2002 11:18 AM     profile     
In the House of God "sacred steel" tradition it's probably about 10, maybe 12--no kidding.
Mike Perlowin
Member

From: Los Angeles CA

posted 23 December 2002 12:02 PM     profile     
I started playing steel at 33. I'll be 57 next month.

There seems to be a resurgence of interest in the steel among teenagers. Our fellow Forumite Abraham is 17 now? Here in California 12 or 13 year old Derek DePlussey is showing tremendous potential, and 2 years ago Johnathan Culpepper, who was I think 14 at the time (I could be mistaken about that), blew everybody away at the convention.

I hope this trend continues.

Roy Ayres
Member

From: Starke, Florida, USA

posted 23 December 2002 12:46 PM     profile     
Started at 13 on Dobro, now at 73 on D10 8+4

[This message was edited by Roy Ayres on 23 December 2002 at 12:46 PM.]


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