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Author
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Topic: The Jeff Lever
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Bobby Lee
Sysop From: Cloverdale, North California, USA
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posted 15 April 2004 08:52 AM
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I don't think that Jeff Newman invented the "X lever" (lowering 5 and 10 to Bb), but he sure did a lot to encourage its use. It's existence on thousands of pedal steels is a direct result of his influence. I'm pretty sure he coined the name "X lever" as well (though I may be wrong).
In a lasting tribute to the world's greatest pedal steel teacher, I'd like to suggest that we start calling it the "Jeff lever", and abbreviate it to "J" on tab. What do you think, folks?------------------
 Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax |
Donny Hinson
Member From: Balto., Md. U.S.A.
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posted 15 April 2004 09:04 AM
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Not taking anything away from Jeff (he was a fine player, and a nice guy, too), but me and a lot of others used to call that one the "Brumley pedal", since we added it on thinking this must be how Tom did that famous "Together Again" turnaround.  Even if Tom didn't first develop the change, I think he should get the credit, since his little "move" inspired it! |
Robert Porri
Member From: Windsor, Connecticut, USA
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posted 15 April 2004 09:21 AM
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I'm pretty confused already.Bob P. |
Keith Currie
Member From: Shellbrook, Saskatchewan, Canada
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posted 15 April 2004 09:44 AM
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Yep I go with Donny on that one, it will always be the Brumley lever to me, even thouht I changed it to the g#s. |
Jerry Hayes
Member From: Virginia Beach, Va.
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posted 15 April 2004 09:55 AM
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I'll have to agree with b0b on this one!! I never used it until I attended a Jeff Newman seminar in So Cal in '78. I learned to play NightLife on the E9th and this lever was a part of it. From now on, MINE IS THE JEFF LEVER...............Have a good 'un, JH------------------
Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.
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Michael Johnstone
Member From: Sylmar,Ca. USA
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posted 15 April 2004 10:32 AM
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On my U-12 I have the B-Bb change on RKL and I think of it as a C6 change.But Jeff probably pioneered it's use on LKV and the extra long lever that spanned all 7 pedals,etc. Brumley BTW,played the lick in question with a trick bar/B pedal move,not w/the B-Bb lever like the rest uf us do.
-MJ- |
Erv Niehaus
Member From: Litchfield, MN, USA
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posted 15 April 2004 10:58 AM
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The first time I became aware of this change was on some tabs and tracks authored by Ron Elliot. This was several years ago.
Erv |
David L. Donald
Member From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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posted 15 April 2004 11:35 AM
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Hmm if TB used the lick 1st he gets credit for that, but maybe not the lever.If Jeff 1st added, or seriously mainstreamed the LKV B-Bb change LEVER then that works for me. The J Lever would be a nice tribute.
b0b cool idea.  |
Joey Ace
Sysop From: Southern Ontario, Canada
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posted 15 April 2004 12:37 PM
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The J Lever ?
Yes, it has a nice ring to it.
Much better than X or V.I like it. -Joey |
C Dixon
Member From: Duluth, GA USA
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posted 15 April 2004 01:19 PM
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The lever is absolutely necessary if one plays a Universal; since it is the same as the C to B lever on the C6 neck of a D-10.The reason it is used on the vertical is, unlike a C6 neck, one must hold the E to Eb lever engaged (when in the 6th mode). With the floor pedals and other levers arranged for E9th as well as B6th; coupled with the fact that the change is used with just about every pedal and knee lever; the really practical place to put the change is on LKV. Since Jeff notably explored and taught the U concept worldwide, the knee lever lowering the B's to Bb became and integral part of the tuning by the way his setup was arranged and used. Since Tom Brumley did not use a knee lever on "Together Again" when it was recorded (he sometimes does now), I would tend to go a long with b0b on this one and give the nod to "The J lever" It would also be a great and deserving tribute to unquestionably, the world's greatest PSG teacher. carl |
Terry Sneed
Member From: El Dorado, Arkansas, USA
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posted 15 April 2004 01:25 PM
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Hmmm, I thought Tom Brumley used B and C pedals for the steel break on "Together Again".  I don't have this B-Bb change on my guitar.
is it on most SD-10's or S-10's nowdays?
I have a LKV that lowers the 5th string a half tone.I don't use it much. would that be a good place to put that change? |
bob drawbaugh
Member From: scottsboro, al. usa
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posted 15 April 2004 01:28 PM
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AS KING(of my music room) I proclam the lever formaly know as the X lever to hence-forth be know as the J lever. ANY QUESTIONS, good have a nice day. |
Jim Eaton
Member From: Santa Susana, Ca
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posted 15 April 2004 01:40 PM
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Terry, that is the change in question here!
Most guitars have both 5 & 10 lowering 1/2 tone (B-Bb), so you already have half of it.
I have it on LKV on my Fessy and to tell you the truth, I can't remember the last time I used the 10 stg lower, but 5th stg is a keeper IMHO.
JE:-)> |
Paddy Long
Member From: Christchurch, New Zealand
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posted 15 April 2004 01:43 PM
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Yes my understanding was that Tom Brumley used the B pedal to finish of that little lick - dropping down one fret. With the Jeff lever you can do it all without moving the bar!! I go with JEFF - it was him who introduced me to it so its MY Jeff lever anway !! |
Peter
Member From: Cape Town, South Africa
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posted 15 April 2004 01:44 PM
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I think the manufacturers should be involved in this process of naming the levers in their manuals. It would set a standard for the next generation of players as well as reinforce the idea for the veterans. ------------------
Peter den Hartogh
Emmons 1978 S10-Fender Artist S10-Remington U12
Hilton Volume Pedal-Gibson BR4-Guya "Stringmaster"
MusicMan112RP-Peavy Rage158
My Animation College in South Africa
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Keith Currie
Member From: Shellbrook, Saskatchewan, Canada
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posted 15 April 2004 02:57 PM
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If you look in the back of Winnie Winstons Pedal Steel Guitar book at the setups, you will see Zane Beck and Tom Brumley as well as Buddy had that change, and it that book Jeffs setup didnt have, so I dont think it was a Newman lever in the begining. Some others had it back then as well. |
HowardR
Member From: N.Y.C.,N.Y.
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posted 15 April 2004 04:44 PM
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Hmmm, a question of who has leverage. Methinks I will stay out of this one. |
Chuck Martin
Member From: Mc Lean, Virginia
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posted 15 April 2004 05:39 PM
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Not sure who added that lever but my guess is that it was simply called the "X" lever because it was just that, an eXtra lever. |
Al Marcus
Member From: Cedar Springs,MI USA
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posted 15 April 2004 06:04 PM
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I think "J" lever is better than "X" lever so I go along with Bob on that.I have a Carter S12 with that long "J" lever and it is used like the C to B lever on a d10 C6 and also on the E9 side. It is so long that you can use it wwith all 7 pedals if you need it. I think that Jeff was the first one that had a LONG "J" lever installed on his U12.....al ------------------
My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/ |
Bobby Lee
Sysop From: Cloverdale, North California, USA
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posted 15 April 2004 06:12 PM
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As I said, I don't think Jeff invented it, but his courses certainly popularized it in a big way. I was in Jeff's class in St. Louis last fall, and it was included on many of his charts. This class was aimed largely at beginnners. He used the lever extensively, and considered it an essential part of the standard copedent.
I learned "Together Again" the way Tom Brumley played it, with the B pedal, by the way. Did Jeff teach it with his 'X' lever? It wouldn't surprise me.
You can't patent the obvious, and perhaps this lever is an obvious change. But would it be on every manufacturer's standard tuning chart as LKV if not for Jeff Newman's courses. I really doubt it.
When the Carter-Starter came out, I asked John Fabian why it had that change as the 4th lever. He told me that it was there because all of Jeff's material included it, and the beginning steel player should be able to work his way through Jeff's courses.
------------------
Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax |
Joey Ace
Sysop From: Southern Ontario, Canada
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posted 15 April 2004 06:59 PM
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quote:
" Did Jeff teach it with his 'X' lever?"
In Jeff's "Together Again" Woodshed Workshop he teaches it using only the A and B pedals. His notes say that's the way Tom did it in the original recording. |
Keith Currie
Member From: Shellbrook, Saskatchewan, Canada
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posted 15 April 2004 07:38 PM
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Well I guess we should find out who first added a A pedal , B pedal and so on, if we name one we should name them all, some one had to be first I guess. |
Paddy Long
Member From: Christchurch, New Zealand
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posted 15 April 2004 09:03 PM
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Keith we already have the Emmons setup and the Day setup to cover that -- but I really like my Jeff lever !! WHat about a Lloyd lever, and a Curly lever on C6th !! |
David L. Donald
Member From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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posted 16 April 2004 03:56 AM
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quote:
When the Carter-Starter came out, I asked John Fabian why it had that change as the 4th lever.
He told me that it was there because all of Jeff's material included it, and the beginning steel player should be able to work his way through Jeff's courses.
That's a pretty strong endorsement.
If the change is used in another way a pedal or RKR etc, other than than LKV, then it can be called what ever. The Brumley Pedal for example.But if it is LKV, then the Jeff Lever seems both appropriate and a fitting tribute to it's main populaizer. The Lloyd lever is clearly F lever (w/pA)
There was a thread on this a few weeks back. http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/007456.html The "Franjlin Pedal" was used by BE before, but it seems Paul REALLY made it fly.[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 16 April 2004 at 04:09 AM.] |
Winnie Winston
Member From: Tawa, Wellington, NZ
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posted 16 April 2004 05:47 AM
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Well... I think the way ALL knees and pedals are named does nothing to help us understand what the pedals do. If I had thought about it deeply I wouldn't have even named them R (raise) and L (lower) in my book-- but used something like what Jimmie Crawford came up with.
Long ago I was working some with Jimmie Crawford. A guy who had been at Jeff's school came by for a lesson with Jimmie. Jimmie did something and the guy said, "how'd you do that?" So Jimmie said, "I start at the 5th fret on the 5th string slide it back to the third and raise it a whole tone." The guy said, "Do I have a pedal that does that?" And Jimmie realized that, even after a week with Jeff, the guy did NOT know what his pedals did.
That's why Jimmie developed MUSYM-TAB. To get people away from thinking about A and B and E, F, and X...
What that lever does is very simple-- it lowers the 5th string a half tone. Does it lower the 10th too? On my guitar it does.
Until steel players start thinking about what the levers and pedals really do, they are all going to be stuck playing licks and not be able to understand what the instrument could do musically.
Just two days ago I was sitting noodling at my steel and I came across a real interesting position to phrase something. But to get to the last note was an awkward switch of strings. Could I do the same thing on the strings that I was already playing? All I had to do was move that down a half with the bar and then lower the other note a half tone from there. Could I do that on my steel? All I had to do was realize I wanted the 7th string lowered a half, and I knew where to get it. I didn't have to think about F, or E, or X-- and if I did it wouldn't matter because what I needed wasn't one of those. But I *did* have it on my guitar.
At a workshop once, Jimmie Crawford asked me to play a chromatic scale in the open position. Ok... highest note is A, then G#, then G (which I can get in two places, then F#... etc.
Jimmie asked, rhetorically, "how do you know how to do that?" And I said, "Because I know what the pedals and knees do." End of lesson. And you don't get to know that by thinking about "lever X"End of rant. JW |
Joey Ace
Sysop From: Southern Ontario, Canada
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posted 16 April 2004 07:00 AM
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Amen Winnie! So true.
But since many letters are now standard (especially A,Band C) it is the student's responsibility to learn what they do.Of course the teacher must make them aware of this responsibility. Jeff understood this, at least in recent times. I attended his last seminar, in Dallas, and I clearly remember him saying, "in my tab the lever that raises your 4th and 8th string is called F, some people call it D, it really doesn't matter what you call it. What matters is that you understand what it does."
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C Dixon
Member From: Duluth, GA USA
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posted 16 April 2004 07:22 AM
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Winnie and Joey are correct. However the point b0b brings up is; should we not take this opportunity to award Jeff because of his incredible contribution? It is simply a tribute and befitting I believe to honor him forever in this way. Bud Isaacs, Buddy Emmons, Jimmy Day, Bob White, Ralph Mooney, Lloyd Green and Paul Franklin all have pedals and/or knee levers named after them. Why not use this sad time to award yet another? True as b0b says, Jeff may not have been the first, just as the above many not have been, but most feel he is the one who brought it to the forefront. For those of you who wish to know how Tom got "that lick" on "Together Again". He simply slid down one fret (after picking strings 3 and 5) and engaged the B pedal as the notes sustained, then back up one fret releasing the B pedal. Then repeating the action one more time as he completed the lick. Tom says, "You can get that lick by lowering the B to Bb, but it does not have the exact same sound." I agree totally. It is considered by many to be THE greatest lick ever on the PSG. And interesting story about that lick and the subject knee lever. I was telling Tom that players have argued with me about him using a knee lever to get the lick. Tom replied, "They argue with me!!!! But it would have been quite a trick, since the guitar I used on that recording had NO knee levers on it!" carl |
David L. Donald
Member From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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posted 16 April 2004 07:28 AM
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Winnie good point.
I do think in those terms also for sure.I also try to think What chord or scale degrees are created by level pedal combinations.
So the Jeff lever is the AB minor lever for me
It is a Bb5 lever with my Crawford open minor lever But I NEVER think of Jeff as a "Minor Cat". But on a TAB it is usefull for space reasons to have a single letter that means the same thing. |
Bill Llewellyn
Member From: San Jose, CA
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posted 16 April 2004 08:04 AM
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On my MSA U-12, this F or X (J?) lever is a wrist lever and is for split use only, that is, it is tuned to be used in combination with the A pedal to produce a C on the 5th string (it does not effect the 9th string even though the A pedal does). If I push it without the A pedal down, the 5th string goes somewhat flatter than Bb, so it's not usable by itself. Incidentally, I've just recently discovered the use of this lever with B+C or C pedals. Lovely chords. ------------------
Bill, steelin' since '99 | Steel page | My music | Steelers' birthdays | Over 50? [This message was edited by Bill Llewellyn on 16 April 2004 at 08:06 AM.]
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David L. Donald
Member From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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posted 16 April 2004 09:18 AM
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Bill,
Ricky Davis advised me to put a raise rod from the same bellcrank as the Bb's for each B to Bb lower,
then add just a touch if it to bring them back into tune when not used with AB down. Works just fine.Then these notes are very usable as a bV of your open chord.
If you lower your III too bIII and VII to bVII
There are losts of passic chords you now get. |
Tony Rankin
Member From: Miamisburg, OH USA
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posted 16 April 2004 02:17 PM
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I think it is a great idea to honor Jeff in this way! |
John Drury
Member From: Gallatin, Tn USA
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posted 16 April 2004 03:23 PM
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B0b,Great idea! Jeff lever it is. John Drury
NTSGA #3 |
Len Amaral
Member From: Rehoboth,MA 02769
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posted 16 April 2004 03:24 PM
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For the U-12 players, you may want to lower string 5 (B to Bd) only with the X lever and not string 9 as it would conflict with the "Boo Wha" pedal. |
Terry Sneed
Member From: El Dorado, Arkansas, USA
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posted 16 April 2004 06:54 PM
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Jeff Newman's courses helped me tremendusly, so I vote Jeff lever.The reason I don't use my LKV,( lowerin B a half tone) much, is because I can get the same sound with string 4 E raised to F and down one fret from my 1 chord, and a similar sound using E to F and adding the B pedal down 1 fret from 1 chord. both give me a 2 chord. it's just a little easier to hit those combinations, than to take my foot off the pedals and lift my knee to hit my LKV.
I think I said that right I know one thing for sure. the "together again" steel break sure sounds perty usin pedals B and C . Doug Beaumier does it that way in his B and C pedal course.
As Jeff Newman used to say "it's perty vanilla if you ask me"[This message was edited by Terry Sneed on 16 April 2004 at 07:03 PM.] |
Jeff Hogsten
Member From: Flatwoods Ky USA
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posted 16 April 2004 09:45 PM
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bob never said he invented it but made it more popular, I dont even use it. Can you ever know for sure who was the first to use it, Jeff did more for steel than anyone I know of, I wouldnt care if we renamed the A pedal the Jeff pedal. Great idea, he deserves a tribute like that Jeff Hogsten[This message was edited by Jeff Hogsten on 16 April 2004 at 09:47 PM.] |
Emmett Roch
Member From: Dripping Springs, Texas
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posted 17 April 2004 06:56 AM
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Naming it the "J" lever is a small, but very good, way to honor The Teacher. |
Bobby Lee
Sysop From: Cloverdale, North California, USA
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posted 17 April 2004 10:32 AM
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There is no "official" lexicon of the steel guitar. It's hard to get steel players to agree on anything. There are nearly as many variations on the E9th as there are players.
Common usage is the only way to change the vocabulary of the steel guitar. I urge everyone who agrees to this tribute to start using it immediately. It you make charts or tab with letters ABC for the pedals, start using the letter J as appropriate. If you are posting on the internet or talking about the use of the lever, start calling it "the Jeff lever".
I plan to make a sweep of my b0b.com web site for this change of nomenclature. Manufacturers who publish their "standard" copedent charts could do the same. It's just a small change, but if it catches on, it will add some small measure of immortality for Jeff Newman here on Earth.
God bless him. We miss him so much.------------------
Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9)[This message was edited by Bobby Lee on 17 April 2004 at 10:34 AM.] |
Winnie Winston
Member From: Tawa, Wellington, NZ
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posted 18 April 2004 04:21 AM
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Been thinking about this. Pedal steel is a very strange instrument, and part of it is its separation from music in general. Certainly one can play music ON it, but conveying what is played is next to impossible. Almost every other instrument conveys itself through musical notation. There are very few that convey through tablature. Even the guitar (which has had tabbed arrangements for some things) is generally done through musical notation with additional notations to whether what is written is in first position, etc...
Pedal steel occupies a unique niche in that unless you know the tuning and pedal setup used, musical notation will get you nowhere.
Which brings us back to honoring Jeff by naming a lever after him. Occasionally there are devices named for the inventor (Bigsby tremelo, Keith pegs [banjo]), and you have systems named for someone (like Boehem). Of course we have whole instruments named for someone. I have never heard of some major functioning part of an instrument named for someone. You don't hear a harpist talking about having "the Mozart pedal" or a piper talking of having "the O'Shaughnessy key."
The B to Bb change existed long before Jeff had it. It is an obvious change if one thinks of the E9th tuning and says, "wow. If I lowered the B I can get a flatted fifth right there." It is also an obvious change if one looks at taking a C6th and dropping it to a B6th (the C-B knee lever).
When I did my book in 1976, I asked players to share their set-ups. Out of the 33 I got in the book 1/3 (11) had the B-Bb change in the E tuning. Jeff was NOT one of them.
As I said, I talked to Jeff quite a bit around the time he decided to move to a universal tuning since I was already playing around with one, and when one start to play with the concept of two tunings in one (E9/B6) the B-Bb change happens quite naturally. And THEN what happens is that once you have it on the instrument, you start to find all sorts of other ways of using it.
The important thing that Jeff gave us was the idea of using a single tuning-- it was not just an E9th and then by pressing a knee it became a B6th. He started to understand it as a total spectrum. And THEN he started to instruct in it. And THAT'S where he started to really use the B-Bb change.
I think calling the lever the "Jeff Lever" is NOT a quality enough way of honoring him in the big way he deserves-- because he gave us more than that. He gave us the "Newman Universal" his way of looking at a combined tuning that brought it from a theoretical idea ("wouldn't it be nice having a tuning I could do it all on?") into a concrete reality that people are actually using.
Forget the naming of the lever. That's small potatoes.
The "Newman Universal" is a more fitting tribute to this influential man.JW[This message was edited by Winnie Winston on 18 April 2004 at 03:29 PM.] |
Jim Smith
Member From: Plano, TX, USA
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posted 18 April 2004 04:29 AM
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quote:
The "Newman Universal" is a more fitting tribute to this influential man.
I've always associated Jeff much more with popularizing the whole Universal concept than just one knee lever change. I'm with you Winnie!  |
bob drawbaugh
Member From: scottsboro, al. usa
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posted 18 April 2004 06:13 AM
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Winnie is right. So now we can call the lever, the J lever(Jeff Lever) on the Newman Universal. Thanks for setting us stright Winnie. |
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