Why do all the hipsters play Williams?

[Tim Sheinman]

There's no doubt to me that typical Williams look a bit more like modern instruments (or even furniture) than more 'nashville' style instruments, e.g. Mica, deep sunburst, extavagant lettering etc.

They generally have clean lines of Williams guitars and a cool, minimal aesthetic which fits in well with the rock crowd.

When I was getting my ext. E9 made, I said to Bill I wanted it to look like a piece of Scandinavian furniture.

[Joel Jackson]

Maybe you should've shopped for a steel at IKEA. Might've saved you some money.

[Erv Niehaus]

I think one of the reasons that Williams guitars appeal to a lot of players is because Bill offers "lacquered" guitars at no additional cost.
He puts on a super hard finish that's impervious to almost anything.
Erv

[Ian Rae]

The finish is superb. It's a piece of furniture in its own right.

[Asa Brosius]

Leisz and Eric Heywood have played Williams' - Heywood found one at garage sale, and Leisz mentioned somewhere he finds they sit better in a pop mix- these two play on a lot of popular records and tour with artists that aren't specifically country- doesn't it make sense that people into that style/sound would seek those guitars? Did you also notice Lloyd Green fans favor LDG's?

[J R Rose]

Hey Tim, Well it looks nice, Plain and simple like Danish Modern so I guess you got what you wanted and that's the way it should be, it was your money. I hope you have many years of great picking on it no matter what style of music you are playing. I have all ways stated that the Pedal Steel Guitar can fit in with any style of music, the picker just has to open his mind to new outlets. And Williams is a First Class Steel, just ask Wally Murphy. He as played them for years and plays them well. Good Luck, J.R.

[Richard Sinkler]

They look great.who wants to play something ugly.

There are several other brands that look equally as good. I had a Williams 600 for a couple of years. Great guitar.

[Richard Sinkler]

I think one of the reasons that Williams guitars appeal to a lot of players is because Bill offers "lacquered" guitars at no additional cost.
He puts on a super hard finish that's impervious to almost anything.
Erv

That convinced me to buy the one I had.

[Herb Steiner]

The Webster definition of "hipster": a person who is unusually aware of and interested in new and unconventional patterns (as in jazz or fashion)

Being in my 70s and from Hollywood CA, I remember hipsters from the 50's and early 60's as the cognoscenti, into literature like Ginsburg and Kerouac, predominantly cool jazz fans, folkies who were into Leadbelly before the Kingston Trio hit, and citybillies who were into bluegrass before the Beverly Hillbillies and Bonnie and Clyde.

Though I had long hair and all that, I never considered myself a hippie, and always replied "no, I'm a hipster" when identified as the former; i.e. I never wore a peace symbol necklace over my Nehru jacket or burned sandalwood incense (well, maybe once ) and I went to precious few "love-in" concerts. I never considered "hipster" to be a putdown or have a negative conotation, except by the "squares" of course.

Cultural items chosen by hipsters immediately became "hip" to own or adopt, always before the general public became aware of and soon after became commercialized, homogenized, and diluted. Or, sometimes when things become rediscovered by hipsters, examples in the steel world being Franklin guitars, Bigsbys or wraparound Emmonses when they could be had for under $2000.

The definitive story is about the square who told Ray Charles that he was "hep" to what Ray was doing, and Ray's reply was "I'm hip you're hep."

[Pete Burak]

I hope to own a Williams someday.
Fwiw, I am pretty sure that if you groom your facial hair into what is commonly referred to as a "Soul Patch"...
You might be a Hipster

[Ian Rae]

Thank you, Herb - educational as always.

I'm not over-interested in novelty, so I'm probably safe. That includes facial hair.

[Mitch Drumm]

.............I remember hipsters from the 50's and early 60's as the cognoscenti, into literature like Ginsburg and Kerouac, predominantly cool jazz fans...........

Here's an early version from 1947 and the current version.

Trajectory up or trajectory down in 70 years?

I'm going to have to re-examine concepts such as self-awareness and irony.

[Jerry Overstreet]

[Herb Steiner]

I vote down, decidedly.

[Bill Ladd]

Here's an early version from 1947....

Thread drift - I’ve heard it said Harry “The Hipster” Gibson was the one who made up the word. So it might be fair to say “the original version from 1947.”

https://youtu.be/VlK0y8TlzUE

[Jim Cooley]

Does this mean Sir Mix-A-Lot is not a hipster?

[Stephen Rethmeier]

And I think it's a similar thing with other players being influenced by Greg Liesz (being maybe the most-recorded session player in the non-country genres).

Pretty much this.

I was introduced to Greg and pedal steel at a recording session I was invited to about 5 years ago. The producer was doing a record for my son-in-law and invited me to come down and watch/hear Greg play on 4-5 songs. They had him set up next to the board while they put his amp in a sound booth. As a result, I got to sit about 3 feet from him as he played. I'd never watched anyone play a pedal steel that close before and he made it look so effortless, I thought, "how hard can it be?" I signed up for lessons that week with John McClung. He helped me buy a used Carter Pro and I quickly learned how hard it can be...

Anyway, after a few years, I decided I wanted a 12-string extended and knew Greg played a Williams. I called Bill to discuss what it took to acquire one and he mentioned Eric Heywood, whom I also admire, also played one. Since we don't have the opportunity to play a bunch of different steels before we buy, I figured if it was good enough for them, it'd probably be a very low risk purchase. After owning for about 18 months still very happy with it. But if I could afford it, I would have a few other brands as well.

[Tom Mortensen]

Are all of the mentioned hipsters, playing wooden necks?

[Ian Rae]

Too traditional, surely?

[Erv Niehaus]

Don't call me Shirley!
Erv

[Pete Burak]

Looks like wood necks neck are part of the equation:

Eric Heywood on a Williams:

Barry Sless on a Williams:

[Hugo Knef]

Hmmm. I have 2 Williams s10’s and I just grew my beard..........

[Donny Hinson]

I’ve heard it said Harry “The Hipster” Gibson was the one who made up the word. So it might be fair to say “the original version from 1947.

I dunno, I always thought that "hep" (as in "hepcat") came before "hip" (as in "hipster"). A little searching tells that both terms came about in the early 1900's, and that the Oxford dictionary featured them in the 1930's.

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch ... -a-hep-cat

[Aaron Shively]

I think this post was directed at me specifically! My two hugest influences are heywood and leisz. When I saw they both played williams, I made a vow to save up and buy one. I’m not exactly hipster, but i am a little scruffy, love my third wave coffee shops, and gravitate to non-strictly-country pedal steel sounds.

[Jeff Mead]

BJ Cole still plays his Kline actively as well as his Williams.

Yes, also according to his website, he uses the Kline most often live and in the studio and he bought the Williams while on tour as a backup guitar. It is only the Kline that has a MIDI pickup fitted which he would probably use more on his progressibe/alternative stuff.