What Was Your Main Instrument Before Steel?

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 15 Jul 2013 8:10 am

Most steel guitarists played at least one other instrument before they took up the steel guitar. I suspect that a lot of us were lead guitarists, but I'm not sure. I was a rhythm guitarist - never very good at lead.

Storm Rosson · Post by **Storm Rosson** » 15 Jul 2013 8:50 am

I started on guitar both lead and rhythm played bass most of my "professional" life with maybe 1.5 to 2 yrs playing psg and guitar and vocals, both lead and backup

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 15 Jul 2013 8:51 am

I played lap steel and then migrated to rhythm and later lead guitar and bass. But, lead guitar was my main instrument. I would try to play pedal steel licks on guitar and finally realized the only way to play pedal steel licks was to have a pedal steel.

I bought a pedal steel, a Fender 2000, in Oct 1969.

Larry Rafferty · Post by **Larry Rafferty** » 15 Jul 2013 9:35 am

I may be the only one who played as a professional accordionist

for 33 years before I retired. During that period I would also switch off to guitar, piano, organ, or...for my own amusement...banjo

. I even tried the saxophone for a while.
I was 64 years young before I got my first pedal steel

. I took 6 years of weekly lessons on it.

Dale Rottacker · Post by **Dale Rottacker** » 15 Jul 2013 9:45 am

Larry, accordian was my first intstrument too, when I was about 7 or 8...then guitar, taught my younger brother to play bass, though I didn't play myself, and piano, only in the key of C, and then highschool when steel guitar hit me between the eyes, and that and piano are the main things since the mid 70's, and yet somehow, after 45 years of not playing bass, I'm doing a bit of that in church now as well.

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 15 Jul 2013 10:45 am

Buchla 200, then my Serge, shown here in my studio, at the time.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 15 Jul 2013 10:54 am

You coulda smiled...

Tim Greene · Post by **Tim Greene** » 15 Jul 2013 12:37 pm

I didnt see banjo as a selection

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 15 Jul 2013 1:25 pm

Drums. Then I decided to become a musician instead.

Mike Heugel · Post by **Mike Heugel** » 15 Jul 2013 2:37 pm

Bass for me.... Rock bands, metal bands, until retiring from my last band in 2008 : http://www.metalblade.com/battlecross

David Nugent · Post by **David Nugent** » 15 Jul 2013 3:01 pm

Tim...Allow me to be the first to respond (openly admit)to being primarily a banjo player before learning steel guitar. Feel that I am in good company however as both Bill Keith and Winnie Winston were award winning banjo players prior to writing what may be the most studied book written on learning pedal steel.

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 15 Jul 2013 3:27 pm

It really never occurred to me to include banjo.

Mark Simpson · Post by **Mark Simpson** » 15 Jul 2013 3:42 pm

I'm a recovering banjo player as well

Douglas Schuch · Post by **Douglas Schuch** » 15 Jul 2013 4:25 pm

OTHER: HARMONICA. Mediocre blues harmonica player, mostly playing when alone at sea on my boat. I did play 6- string guitar as a teen, and remember enough for it to help a little in learning steel.

I know at least one other forum member was a blues harp player too....

Jim Pitman · Post by **Jim Pitman** » 15 Jul 2013 5:00 pm

I know of two very good banjo players that migrated to pedal steel, Bill Keith and Gordon Stone. I'm sure there are quite a few more.

Bill L. Wilson · Post by **Bill L. Wilson** » 15 Jul 2013 6:36 pm

Supro Lap Steel in about '52 or '53, Guitar in '59, Pedal Steel in '74. And now that I'm retired, I play every weekend, even though I don't make any money, I'm still having fun, and enjoying life.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 15 Jul 2013 7:31 pm

Classical piano growing up, ca. 1960-1967. Guitar from '67 on, all kinds of guitars and styles. Learned the basics of blues harp back then also. Worked on upright bass for a period in college, 70s. Bluegrass banjo starting in early 90s. Pedal steel starting ca.1999. Working on drums recently, want to be able to make my own recordings without using drum machines or software-based drums. People have actually hired me to play drum gigs this last year, I guess they must be desperate.

Niels Andrews · Post by **Niels Andrews** » 15 Jul 2013 9:08 pm

Banjo? People actually admit to playing those? Accordion? Those Are only played in Polka and Mexican Bands. I can't recall the accordion on a major hit? There must have been one somewhere?

Howard Steinberg · Post by **Howard Steinberg** » 16 Jul 2013 3:20 am

Guitar for about 18 years before starting on steel.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 16 Jul 2013 3:31 am

guitar, still is..actually if I had to offer up an "order" for today it would be...

1Guitar
2Bass
3Dobro
4Steel
5
6
7
8
9Mandolin

Which tells you where I fit on the Mandolin thing !

David Nugent · Post by **David Nugent** » 16 Jul 2013 3:40 am

Niels obviously does not remember Pee Wee King's version of 'Tennessee Waltz' (who I believe is also the writer of the tune, band leader, and ACCORDION PLAYER!)

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 16 Jul 2013 4:45 am

Banjo? People actually admit to playing those? Accordion? Those Are only played in Polka and Mexican Bands. I can't recall the accordion on a major hit? There must have been one somewhere?

Here we go again. But banjo is much more popular as an instrument than steel - bluegrass is having no serious identity crisis and is much more popular in the mainstream than it was 40 years ago. Accordion is used in lots of styles - of course, polka and Mexican, but also Cajun, Western Swing (just watch the Time Jumpers if you want a great demo on how accordion fits in) and many Americana bands use them. I've played with an accordion for years.

Dick Wood · Post by **Dick Wood** » 16 Jul 2013 6:12 am

I've had some thoughts about Banjo's

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 16 Jul 2013 7:16 am

Maybe I phrased the question wrong. I didn't mean to ask for a history of what instruments people have played. What I meant was:

What was your main instrument when you decided to take up the steel guitar?

I consider accordion to be a keyboard instrument. Because of its acoustic nature, it's very common in today's folk-rock ("Americana") bands.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 16 Jul 2013 8:28 am

Jerry Garcia was a banjo player first...

The Steel Guitar Forum

What Was Your Main Instrument Before Steel?

What was your main instrument before you took up steel guitar?

What Was Your Main Instrument Before Steel?

bOb

I did include ukulele...

First Instrument.