Best to get a seat on the stage with the band I guess, be part of the show.

I was amazed at the quality of the music. There was hardly a bad song, let alone a bad player. Just about everybody had some interesting angle on the steel guitar that separated them from the others. The legends all lived up to their billing, and there were a few great surprises (for me, anyways).

I was especially surprised by Randy Beavers, of whom I'd heard, but only through a couple of mentions in the Forum. His set blew me away (his duets with Russ Hicks were fantastic also). His tone and his ability to coax all sorts of sounds and styles you wouldn't expect from the standard E9 tuning really set him apart, in my books. I love music that doesn't sound like the usual E9 cliches--like his arrangement of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.

But when it was "straight" E9, I was no less impressed. Weldon Myrick's set was really moving. I can't imagine that crying E9 stuff sounding much better than that.

Doug Jernigan should get the Carpal Tunnel Award for his blistering speed picking. And that tune of his where he plays on both necks at once is gorgeous. He looks so relaxed and happy when he's playing. He doesn't screw his face up to make it look like it's really hard, he just sits there looking contented. He's the steel guitar Buddha.

I really liked Winnie Winston's style, too. He plays wonderful arrangements of some really good songs.

Meeting Don Helms was a highlight. The man whose sound helped shape some of my favorite songs of all time, sitting in front of me telling me a story.

Sarah Jory and Joe Wright were the crowd pleasing acts I was expecting. Super pickers and great showpeople.

It was fun to hear various tributes to Speedy West. I LOVE those songs, and the players did them justice (special mention to Bobby Caldwell, whose freakishly good guitar playing made the entire show that much better).

The non-pedal highlights were the amazing feel and swing of L.T. Zinn--my favorite Hawaiian player of the show--and Kayton Roberts' jaw dropping, absolutely inspiring run through all sorts of songs and styles--my favorite all-round non-pedal player at the show.

Oh, and everything they said about Bill Stafford's ability to play Hawaiian on a pedal steel is 100% correct. Somehow he manages to play music with mostly the A and B pedals that doesn't have a hint of country in it. It left me scratching my head a little (he makes great use of E9's built in A6 tuning, and uses the pedals and an occasional knee to add appropriate movement to the notes; it's fascinating to watch).

Arguably the best part of the weekend, for me at least, was Buddy Charleton's set. Hearing him and Bobby Caldwell trade fours on those really fast swing tunes made me giddy. I wish he'd had more time.

I bought way more stuff than I meant to, but I don't regret it (I only regret having not taken out enough money from the ATM the first time, to avoid paying that approx. $5+ service charge more than once...).

From what I could tell, every pedal steel being made was good. It looks like it really does come down to one's personal preferences and priorities. Each guitar had something that made it special. If I had to pick, I don't think I could based on mechanics and construction. Based on sound, I think that many people would probably like the Zumsteels. On stage, I thought the Zumsteels sounded pretty good--very strong, clear tone--but keep in mind just about every guitar had something in the tone to recommend it. From my limited experience of Emmons push-pulls, the Zum sound seems to lie somewhere in that direction (please, no arguments!). They project a real strength and clarity. I'm not sure if it's the tone for me--there were other guitars that had a kind of... richness (warmth, maybe?) that I really liked--but there's no denying that it works well on stage. Strength and clarity.

Steel guitar heaven, all weekend long. Not much sleep, though...

-Travis

P.S. I bought a six-string Twister bar, I can't wait to get home and try it out...

[This message was edited by Travis Bernhardt on 05 September 2004 at 03:51 PM.]

I totally agree about Randy Beavers sounding great and about the sound being poor off to the sides of the stage.

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1985 Emmons push-pull,S-10 Marlen,Evans SE200,Hilton pedal

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

I had trouble hearing the audio--not the steel--whenever I was at either SIDE of the room. I notice that down the middle of the room the audio sounding much more crisp and clear. I mentioned this to Bill Furguson on Saturday morning and, although Bill doesn't run the audio, something was changed shortly thereafter that improved the audio to the sides of the room.

It's a tough job to satisfy so many sets of ears and so many opinions. I had a great time again this year.

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HagFan

Brad Sarno

The musical quality was stellar, no matter if you like C-6th jazz playing, E-9th country stuff or non pedal Hawaiian styles, there was a good balance of everything.

Of course it was great to meet a lot of forumites in person (Donna, David, Roy, Travis, Brad, Tony and, of course, the "Irish Gang"!), from the posting I also see that I missed a lot of you, well, probably the next time...

I too noticed that the crowd seemed to be a bit smaller than in the last years. If that had something to do with Lloyd and Buddy not playing, I simply don't understand that. Keep in mind that we all have to support the community by attending those shows and honoring the people who invest months and months of work to put everything together - without them we would not have the chance of complaining about this and that here because there would not be a show!

Thanks to Scotty and the family for putting it all together!

Kind Regards, Walter

www.lloydgreentribute.com
www.austriansteelguitar.at.tf

For those of you who haven't been to the St. Louis show, the room is of an oval shape with the stage located on one of the long walls. The ceiling is very high as well. I don't know when the hotel was built, but if you have noticed, there is a small array of speakers that are suspended permanently above the stage. This particular array of speakers was most likely placed there when the ballroom was constructed('60ish?). This is a very small speaker array that would in no way be suitable for the steel show as we know it today. But, maybe this array was satisfactory for the acts that may have used this hotel in the early days. Now to my point.

When a show with a full backup band with a possibility of up to 8 members is assembled in a large stage area, much power is needed so that all bandmembers can be mixed properly. Case in point, Ron Elliot doesn't play very loud, whereas Herby Wallace and Doug Jernigan play very LOUD onstage. Ron Elliot is easy to mix with a backup band, but when the steel is very loud from the bandstand every other instrument has to increase in volume. Then, you have attendees complaining that the overall volume is too loud! Believe me, because of the seating arrangement this does happen and this is just the tip of the iceburg of some of the problems that arise. When the volume of the steel guitarist is louder than the rest of the band, then you have to turn him/her off completely in the FOH mix and hope that he/she doesn't get any louder. It kills the attendees in the first few rows. Basically, they are uncontrollable from the mixer position.

From my perspective, the mix is at its best from the FOH mixer position(and I think that every person would have to agree to this). However, there are times when you have to compensate(volumewise) according to the artist.

As you might note in the following posts, some attendees heard the mix fine, while others stated the some of the players onstage don't play as loudly, therefore making it hard for the other bandmembers to hear.

If you've ever tried to mix a show where there are twenty or more performers with different preferences in their monitor mix, it can get pretty hairy to say the least. You can experience a bad direct box, microphone, microphone cable, etc. that can cause the performer to not hear the mix that he needs to perform to his/her potential.

The bottom line is that, that particular shaped room is a very difficult venue to mix. At the console, the sound was great and that is the position from where the sound is mixed.

Mike Brown
Peavey Electronics Corporation

I think that Brad knows how hard this room is to mix and his opinion is appreciated.

[This message was edited by Mike Brown on 07 September 2004 at 01:47 PM.]