How To Play PEDAL STEEL LICKS On Electric Guitar

[@randyrektor]

Who's got some pseudo pedal steel game?

[@geraldbrown2875]

I've always loved the sound of the pedal steel on the old country songs. Fantastic solo, you're a wonderful talented pedal steel and guitar player! 🎸 🇨🇦

[@randyrektor]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@fire831rescue]

Fire on the mountain steel intro on 6 string is a killer on the fingers. I can pull it off just enough. But only a couple of times before my fretting hand is killing me. One side note: thumb and fingers picks help get the authentic steel sound.

[@alexbaerg]

You are just such a ridiculously tasty player, always have been. This is my favourite video. Well done, brother.

[@randyrektor]

Ahhhhh man, thanks so much :) I've stolen more than 50% from you. Sorry not sorry.

[@alexbaerg]

I can't get over how thoughtful this solo is. This is ridiculously impressive.

[@randyrektor]

@@alexbaerg Thanks brother :))

[@maxmustardman298]

Im thinkin if a whammy pedal could give you those mechanical pitch shifts, of course it works on all the strings and not just particular ones

[@randyrektor]

That’s a cool idea! I’d love to see someone execute this well! It would be cool to see

[@pauldhiman5019]

Planning to try the Whammy DT - but I’ve heard it synthesises the sound too much…

[@NeonBlade]

Excellent! Thanks and greetings from Australia

[@randyrektor]

Thank you so much!

[@patrickhlavinka6364]

I find a cool thing you can do is bend into the change. Like if you did that Bsus2 shape and bend up to the third you can bend back into the original position over a change like B to F#. You don't have to move any fingers.

[@randyrektor]

Yes!! This instrument is insane for that very thing. Especially when you start voicing chords with only 2 notes at a time. You can almost play something on every fret that works with the right levers/pedals. Kinda nuts

[@pauldhiman5019]

Thanks for posting - love the licks. Very inspiring.

[@JustinDaining]

Super cool man

[@randyrektor]

Thank you!!

[@pilotdrift05]

I’m gonna use these techniques with the ehx attack decay pedal

[@randyrektor]

Oooooo I hope it works well!

[@pauldhiman5019]

At the start of the video you touch on the “tight” bend rhythm profile of the pedal steel. I’ve been listening to Clarence White’s bends with the B Bender… and trying to copy that rhythm - often a precise quaver rhythm… essentially a fast bend up or down… very rhythmic. In addition the natural vibrato “shimmer” of a pedal I have found demands left arm vibrato at almost all times when playing the licks - seems to give an authentic feeling to me at least as the player.

[@randyrektor]

That’s such a great point! It’s a lot of work, but when you really nail it, it feels so great!

[@jefflopinot9870]

Thank You!!! I have been looking for this explanation for a long time.

[@randyrektor]

Amazing! So glad it was helpful 🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@waynegram8907]

Randy Rektor, can you make more youtube video lessons showing a bunch of advanced pedal steel licks and bends on the guitar?

[@randyrektor]

Certainly something I’d like to do :) thanks for the suggestion, Wayne!

[@waynegram8907]

@@randyrektor that would be a big help thanks I will look for your videos on it

[@dipcovers]

Fantastic lesson, cheers from Mexico!

[@randyrektor]

Thanks, Emilio!

[@dluke7212]

Great video. Thanks for making this.

[@randyrektor]

Thanks for the kind words man!

[@mr.night_furyikangoreng6348]

Nice dude

[@randyrektor]

Thank you 👌👌👌👌

[@mr.night_furyikangoreng6348]

@@randyrektor np

[@arifmemovic3383]

Killer tutorial!

[@randyrektor]

Thanks so much!

[@BigEChord]

Very good lesson!!!

[@randyrektor]

Thanks! 😃

[@IndigoJo]

There's a version of Why Don't You Love Me by Hank Williams, by Richard and Linda Thompson where Richard does a quite good impression of a pedal steel on his Strat. Usually country guitar and pedal steel sound very different; the former uses a lot of bent notes but not so much the bent chords. What about using open tunings and a slide? I know that's a whole extra skill but they're both key to the pedal steel sound.

[@randyrektor]

That’s definitely a way to do it! I’ve never liked this method because it really misses out on the bends. One of my favourite parts of the steel is that some notes can be sustained while other bend. That’s really hard to do with a slide. In my opinion, that’s more of the lap steel sound, but also a very cool technique! I also never have the energy to tune my guitar differently lol! I’m lazy

[@jakevanbuskirk1706]

The 1 minute countdown was wildly helpful for my preposterously short attention span. Not even being sarcastic here.

[@randyrektor]

Thanks dude. I have to give myself rules or I get carried away.

[@sludge1298]

So glad I found your channel. Thank you so much for this! Much appreciated, brother.

[@randyrektor]

Thanks for watching :)

[@wyattheitkamp55]

One thing that would really help is having some kinda string bender on a tele. A lot of them are expensive but there are some cheaper options that don’t require any crazy modifications. It allows you to get a little bit more of that mechanical bend sound you were talking about. I haven’t gotten one yet but it’s something I’ve been looking into. Just a thought but great vid btw

[@randyrektor]

Ahhhhh yes! I looked into shipping my guitar off to have one of those internal G benders put in. It was torn thinking of someone hollowing out my tele! Haha I think one of the surface-mount ones would hurt my feelings less lol

[@wyattheitkamp55]

@@randyrektor yeah I totally understand that. Look into Glaser benders. They are kinda expensive but it is the most non invasive option if you want to use a strap activated bender. But there always a lot of top mounted ones to look into. So many options it makes it hard to decide lol

[@randyrektor]

Yea there are a lot lol! I was looking into McVay benders, the same one Brad Paisley uses. I figured if it's good enough for him to put in his original 60s tele, it's probably reasonable hahah mcvaybenders.com/pricing-and-specs

[@nathanprice7596]

3:02 better call Saul

[@kenholt2625]

Effects...? Light verb and delay? Volume pedal sounds like a must. Using a Gretsch as I begin... Thank you. Ken

[@randyrektor]

Ooooo that sounds great! Yea I tend to use a compressor, light slap delay and a spring reverb. Pretty subtle, but the volume pedal is a must! Let me know how it sounds on the Gretsch!!

[@notmychannel8289]

@@randyrektor I think the Gretsch is going be magical once I start to put some of these licks together. I'll get a volume pedal. Any particular one you'd recommend? The Bigsby may play into this as well. Thanks again.

[@randyrektor]

Oooooh yes!!! The bigsby will be such a cool addition to really replicate the tuning bends and such! Too cool :) I’ve used the Ernie ball jr and Ernie ball. Both are great! A real bugger to replace the string mechanism on the inside when it breaks, but they are super rugged! I’d buy used for that reason :)

[@k9road]

...Yes... lots more easy licks please... big `Hello` from Ireland...

[@randyrektor]

I’m always down for some more guitar riffs! Thanks for watching 👌🏻👌🏻

[@euleoguedes]

Valeu Randy! Esse video me ajudou bastante

[@randyrektor]

Léo, muito obrigado por assistir.

[@VirtusLenon]

Thank you so much! Planning to make a country record and include a pedal steel guitar, luckily there’s a trick, thanks to you man! Also could you cite some bands that includes pedal steel? Like you’ve mentioned on the last part of your video, quite not sure if I heard it right hehe

[@randyrektor]

Ooo for sure! I would check out anything with Brent Mason on guitar. He does a lot of pseudo pedal riffs. Some of my favourite for pedal steel, Brad Paisley (poppy pedal steel), Eason Corbin, most country from the early 2010s to be fair. Hope this helps and best of luck with the session!!

[@olejason]

Nice work dude!

[@randyrektor]

Thanks man! 🙌🏻

[@diEgita]

Class !

[@randyrektor]

Thanks man!

[@diEgita]

@@randyrektor Sure! D That’s what I do : i do daily videos and weekly Studio Albums 　 so basically what u see on youtube is always a rough recording o what i then edit and produce for my albums like: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioDMhmWVrLpjrM0 thats the actual live recording and thas what i do out of it then: diegita.bandcamp.com/track/lila

[@randyrektor]

Dude that’s awesome! Nice locations too!!

[@diEgita]

@@randyrektor thx a lot for watching man, i aldo do weekly full lenght albums :) checkout on bandcamp spotify or a other plattforms if ur interested :)

[@jamessut5555]

Wow 😮 amazing, i love it 🥰👌👌👌💖 thanks for the video 💖

[@randyrektor]

Thanks for watching James! 👌🏻👌🏻

[@jamessut5555]

i feel lucky that i found you 💖😇🍀

[@TONY-gs7gf]

Thanks man ❤

[@randyrektor]

Any time!

[@wby0001]

Just the lesson I was needing. Thank you so much! Also, your guitar is beautiful! What sort of tele is it?

[@randyrektor]

Awesome, glad it was helpful. Thanks man, I fell in love with it the second I saw it. It's a '62 Reissue American Custom Tele. I've had it since around 2010, I think.

[@darrelloxford7101]

Can you do more lessons with pedal steel and guitar riffs I have to benders on my guitar ones a b and other is a g and can you still translate them

[@randyrektor]

Oh very cool! I’ve always wanted to add benders to my tele! That’s awesome

[@wodenoftheangles3339]

Hi. I need to do some of this for an EP I'm doing. What type of effects pedals do you use for this? I'm assuming a touch of delay? any reverb? I gotta try and get these sorta sounds on my Les Paul. lol Also, you mention using a 'middle pick-up'? Did you mean 'middle position'?. Thanks and cool vid.

[@randyrektor]

I use a couple things. Usually a compressor to flatten out the dynamics a little and get some sustain, then a spring reverb and a relatively slappy delay with only 1 or 2 slaps left pretty quiet. It’s mostly just spring rev. And yes! My bad, middle position worked best for me. The bridge also sounds nice too

[@wodenoftheangles3339]

@@randyrektor Okay great, I'll try that. Thanks for taking the time to reply - 'appreciate it.

[@randyrektor]

@@wodenoftheangles3339 Thanks for watching :)

[@markowalski1]

Is it still a fretboard if there are no frets? Or a fingerboard if it's not fingered?

[@randyrektor]

There are fret markings but no frets. The strings sit about an inch above the fretboard

[@randyrektor]

Oh I get your comment.. lol fair question

[@uprightboy]

Nice job bud.

[@randyrektor]

Thanks Burney!

[@pilotdrift05]

Could you retune your guitar to something else? Open tuning maybe

[@randyrektor]

Yeah some people do open tunings to achieve something similar. It would work well for a second guitar, but it feels like a lot of work to learn those tunings, and it will never quite be a pedal sound. You can get close though!!

[@marcoscamillo6606]

Excellent...I've used a similar technique on a song of my band /watch?v=lQ6mHfXRKvY what about the tone for pedal steel? What people use on the original instrument? Guitar amp, reverb, delay? Tremolo? Thanks.

[@randyrektor]

Nice playing man! A lot of people are using a nice preamp, volume pedal, some people are using a compressor to pull out a bit more sustain, and usually some delay and reverb. The old Peavey amps with reverb were really popular back in the 80s. Pretty simple setup! I've actually never used a trem on one, but that would be a really cool sound!

[@illusorymail]

Jump to 4:30 for the actual topic that is reflected in the title

[@hammer86_]

Does it get any cooler than pedal steel licks on a tele? No. No it doesn't. One cool tip I saw was from one of my favorite guitarists, Bill Kirchen, who reverses the switch plate on his tele to make it easier to do volume and tone swells, as seen here /watch?v=w5Rfv0dQttM

[@randyrektor]

Ooo thats a really cool idea. So he's doing it all with his hands? That takes some next-level coordination!

[@johnzucco3559]

Buy a B Bender??

[@randyrektor]

Yeah I’ve thought about it but I don’t want to mess with my guitar.

[@johnzucco3559]

@@randyrektor I haven't seen a cheap alternative either!!

[@randyrektor]

Yeah I really considered getting one of those McVeigh benders (may be wrong with the name). Same one Brad Paisley uses, so I figured it would be a safe bet.. but then basically the cost of a new pedal steel after shipping and installation. So pricey!

[@johnzucco3559]

@@randyrektor Exactly but I am tempted to get a lap steel to start off with and go from there, but, I do have a Line 6 Variax Standard and store a C6 tuning on it. That opened up a lot for me. I was like 'Wow, that makes it so much easier!!"

[@randyrektor]

I went the exact same route! I got a cheapy ‘Rogue c6’ lap steel. It was a clunker, but it got the job done!