Sept. 2015“Official Publication of the Southwestern Steel Guitar Association”

Billy Easton, Chairman

Troy Porter, Vice Chairman

Otto Shill, Secretary

Peggy Porter, Treasurer

Fred Justice, Events Director

This newsletter is published monthly from P.O. Box 1128, Globe AZ. 85502 and presents information for the members of the SWSGA, a 501(c)(3),non- profit organization.

Editor: Bill Tauson

2016 SWSGA SteelGuitar Show

! The 2016 show is scheduled for January 14th, 15th & 16th. Your Board of Directors are already hard at work to make this another great show.! M a r k y o u r calendar and watch for updates in the Steel Guitar ‘Rag’.

Board of Directors:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Southwestern-Steel-Guitar-Association/190941210922336?fref=ts

Events:2015 SWSGA

Fall Jam at theSheraton CrescentHotel in PhoenixNovember 14th.

Hello Everyone...

! This is a special edition of the “Steel Guitar Rag”, dedicated to the memory of Buddy Emmons. As I am sure you know, we lost Buddy to a heart attack on July 21, 2015. We are all feeling a huge loss of this steel guitar icon. Every time we sit down to play this instrument, his influence is apparent; his great music, his advancement of building techniques, his bringing awareness of the steel guitar to new genres of music, the development of new tunings and pedal changes, and the list goes on and on. Further into this newsletter, you will find some thoughts and anecdotes about this giant in our steel guitar world. His legacy will live on.

! Another great friend and guitarist, Al Bruno, died August 21, 2015, due to a respiratory ailment. All played lead guitar for many stars, worked for Dick Clark, Conway Twitty, and many others. He also played lead guitar in our staff band at the SWSGA convention a few years ago. Al was a wonderful man and we will miss him.

! Scotty’s International Steel Guitar Convention is being held in St. Louis on September 3rd, 4th & 5th. I will be there, representing the SWSGA, and will be playing on Friday afternoon. If any of you will be there, please look me up and say hello.

! Our fall jam has been scheduled for Saturday, November 14, 2015, at the Sheraton Crescent Hotel. We will be meeting in the Crestview Room, the building on the southwest corner of the hotel property. As always, we will be loading in around 8:00 a.m, break for lunch, and close around 4:00 p.m. Come and join in or just listen and enjoy. There’s no admission charge, and you need not be a member of the SWSGA. The only requirement is that you have a good time!!

! Our annual show is scheduled at the Sheraton Crescent Hotel on January 14th, 15th & 16th, 2016. Your directors are working hard to ensure that this show gets bigger and better every year. We are busy lining up the best in steel guitar players, teachers, vendors and all the things that go with our celebration of the steel guitar.

! We hope to see you at any or all of the activities going on in your SWSGA!

! ! ! ! ! ! ! Billy Easton, Chairman

Billy Easton & Buddy Emmons

! Although Buddy and I never hung out on a regular basis, we always stayed in touch.! In 1968, he loaned me a black push-pull Emmons guitar to play when I went to work with Buck Owens in 1969. That started a love affair with the “Emmons Guitars” and Buddy Emmons that has lasted over 45 years. I am doing a solo album on which I did one of Buddy’s songs called, “Blue Jade”. Buddy did get to hear the album in it’s rough mix state. He said that he really liked it. Rest in Peace my old friend!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! JayDee Manses

! In the early 80’s, I had picked up a new VCR camera and recorder. Buddy was giving a concert at Hopsinghs in Santa Monica, Calif. I got there early and was driving around, finally finding Hopsinghs, parked around the back and got out of my car loaded down with the new gear. Who steps out of the van next to me, BUDDY EMMONS. I had met Buddy before in Nashville so we exchanged pleasantries and walked in the back door together. The sound man saw me and thought that I was with Buddy so he asked me if I would like to take the audio input out of the sound board. I, of course said, “yes!” Due to my inexperience, I put the recording on extra long play and the recording came out a bit garbled. So it goes for good intentions.

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Jim Palenscar

! In the late 60’s, the band I was with attended the DJ convention in Nashville. We were visiting the “ShoBud Company” where instruments were set up and we were invited to play. The steel was a keyless ShoBud prototype. I was trying to figure out the tuning when an arm reached over my shoulder and helped me with the tuning. I looked up and it was BUDDY EMMOMS!!! He was so helpful and friendly. Needless to say a real shock and a lasting memory for me. He was and always will be the inspiration for my musical endeavors.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Frank Carter

! Like everyone else, I followed Buddy Emmons as closely as I could and revered everything he ever played. I first saw him at a county fair in Arthur, Illinois in the early 1960’s when he was playing for Ernest Tubb. He had the first ShoBud I ever saw and after the show, I approached him and asked him about it. He was very generous with his time and information. I told him I would be in Nashville in the next few weeks and he advised me to see Shot Jackson. Well, I did hook up with Shot at the old ShoBud store on Broadway. He said that I could meet him at the stage door to the Opry that night, which I did. He took me backstage and left me there all evening. I was in a rehearsal room with the Texas Troubadour band and watched as Buddy put a high G# string on his ShoBud just before going onstage. I met him several times after that, but that night backstage at the Opry is forever emblazoned in my mind.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Billy Easton

In Memory of Buddy Emmons! Without a doubt, Buddy’s contribution to the steel guitar world is so vast, that it’s difficult to put into words. So many people touched by such an influence. So many wonderful stories.

! There are many great steel guitar players, but there was something unique about Buddy’s playing. His touch, timing, creative ideas and challenges The list goes on and on.

! For many years to come, Buddy will be remembered every time we hear a song, graced with his steel guitar. And every time we hear his unique playing sound and style, we’ll stop and say, “that’s Buddy!”

! It would be difficult to include all the great comments and stories about such a man. Below are just a few. I encourage you to visit the Steel Guitar Forum and enjoy more of them.

Buddy Emmons

Page 3 Steel Guitar ‘Rag’

Hi fellow steelers, John McClung here (aka Mr. Twang / Professor Twang) coming toyou from Olympia, WA. For questions about this lesson, or inquiries about privateSkype lessons, write to me at: steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net, or phone me at310-480-0717. I welcome suggestions for topics for this column!

http://steelguitarlessons.com

Buddy Emmons: an appreciationIt’s already been a month since the passing of

steel guitar legend and genius Buddy Emmons,but the void he leaves behind feels larger to menow more than ever. !at’s because I’ve beenlistening again to his many re -cordings, watching youtubevideos, and re-reading some ofthe many tributes to Buddyonline. !e more I read, the moreI learned about what a multi-dimensional talent Buddy trulywas.

Here are some great write-upsabout Buddy and his importanceto the steel guitar:

Buddy himself writing about his ideas forpedal steels:http://www.buddyemmons.com/TEGuitar.htm

Tributes from various sources:http://nodepression.com/article/buddy-emmons-appreciation

http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2013/08/25/peter-cooper-on-music-a-salute-to-steel-guitar-pioneer-buddy-emmons/

http://www.npr.org/2015/07/30/427800540/buddy-emmons-the-pedal-steel-guitarist-who-taught-everybody-to-play

Info on all aspects of Buddy’s life and playing:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Emmons

E9 history with Buddy chiming in:http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/002738.html

I somehow wasn’t properly aware of some key

Professor Twang’s E9 Grab Bag!

technical innovations that Buddy came up with:splitting a single “Bud Isaacs” pedal into our now-standard pedals A and B; adding the “chromatic”strings on the high end of E9; and perhaps most

important, his engineering ideasthat led to revolutionary pedal steelchangers that could both raise andlower a string, as evident in Sho-Bud steels, then later in Emmons

“push-pull” steels.He was also an early user of a D

note as the highest pitched stringon the C6 tuning, replacing thehigh G note which he found too

thin-sounding and didn’t use much at all.I tend to think of the lever change lowering

string 6 from G# to F# as an Emmons change,though I’m not sure if that’s historically accurate.

All of this is in addition to his musicalinnovations and versatility. Do you recall the "rsttime you heard his “Steel Guitar Jazz” album?Released in 1963 when Buddy was just 26 years ofage, did it make you want to throw in the toweland give up playing? I’m grateful I didn’t hear thatuntil I was already well on my steel guitar path,which began in 1972, I’m pretty certain I wouldn’thave had the guts to tackle the instrument, withthe bar set that high.

Ironically, it was other Emmons tracks thatseduced me into loving the sound of pedal steel,which then led inevitably to playing pedal steeland emulating “THAT sound.” First it was JudyCollins’ “Someday Soon;” followed by “WichitaLineman” on “Suite Steel: !e Pedal Steel Guitar

continued !

Steel Guitar ‘Rag’Page 4

Album”—a great 1970 album of largely originalwork by Emmons, Rusty Young, Sneaky PeteKleinow, Red Rhodes and JayDee Maness (sadly,never reissued on CD as far as I know).

I was fortunate to be able to meet Buddy whenI helped Tom Bradshaw produce a BuddyEmmons concert in Los Angeles in the summerof 1981. I was just another star-struck steelplayer, but I studied his playing closely, tryingto !gure out how he could play so clean and fast.He did give me a clue a"er the show, explaininghow his ring !nger shadows his picking middle!nger, doing a lot of his right hand blocking.When I played my own gig that night, I wasinfused with Emmons “Zen”, and got as close asI’ve ever been to being able to play with Buddy’sspeedy and clean technique.

All of us have favorite steel players and idols.Buddy will always be at the top of my personallist of heroes; his originality, technique, taste,tone, meter, pitch and musicality are, in myview, unmatched.

Despite our great loss, we must remember tobe grateful that Buddy le" such a wonderfullegacy of excellent and inspiring recordings. I’mespecially thankful that the Big E took the timeto write great instructional material, and evenfor a spell chimed in o"en on the Steel GuitarForum online, where he generously shared withthe world many of his “secrets” as well as hispersonal history with steel guitar.

Bobby Lee, Steel Guitar Forum creator andwebmaster, had a great post about Buddy I’dlike to close with:

“It’s hard to explain to outsiders what BuddyEmmons means to steel guitarists everywhere.It isn’t just that he was the world’s greatestplayer. He showed how everything we imaginein music is possible. He redesigned the instru -ment itself to remove all limitations on what itcould do. On record, he turned routine 3-chordcountry songs into sonic masterpieces. It seems

to me that anything he attempted, he per -fected...He was very intelligent, a succinct writerwith a wicked sense of humor.

And his steel playing, of course, was alwaysperfect.”

Rest in peace, Buddy, we thank you for all youdid to show the true potential of our belovedmusical instrument.

Till next time…play perty!Professor Twang

Professor Twang’s E9 Grab Bag!

Buddy and me, at his L.A. concert, 1981.

For the concert, my band Elvis Montana backedup Buddy. L to R: Norman Stepansky, bass; FrankMichels, guitar; Buddy Emmons, steel; John McClung, promoter; Dennis Je!ries, piano; SonnyPugar, drums.

Ax Ron ??????? By Ron Pruter Welcome to my latest addition to this fine publication. Please Email me atronprutermusic@outlook.com and I’ll try to answer your questions, eachmonth, as space allows. Questions like, what’s a comp, what’s a split, whygauged rollers? You name it. Sounds like fun. I’m looking forward to your questions.

! First, I want to thank the late, great Buddy Emmons for his huge contribution to the pedal steel guitar. Both his mechanical ingenuity and playing which I suspect, in my life time, will never be matched.

The basic types, differences and some interesting ways to wire them. The main two are double coil humbuckers and single coil pick-ups. The first one offers quite a bit of versatility and hum (noise canceling). The second is known pretty much for it’s bright, cutting clarity.

! In general, pick-ups are constructed by wrapping thousands of turns of hair like wire around a magnet. The number of turns and the material of the magnet are two important factors in deciding what the pick-up will sound like. In general, the more wraps, the more powerful it will sound at the cost of high end loss. Some times to compensate for the loss of highs, stronger ceramic magnets are used. I’m a firm believer in Alnico magnets which are a blend of aluminum, nickel, and cobalt. It is said to be, “The Musical Magnet”. BTW, also said of it’s use in speakers.

! The most obvious way to tell the two apart is to count the coils or the rows of pole pieces. Sometimes the pole pieces are adjustable screws and sometimes just metal slugs. BTW, some pick-ups don’t use individual slugs but use a bar or plate turned upright instead. The famous Bill Laurence 705 is a classic example.

! Some options are: (A) Series/Parallel (B) Coil select (C) In Phase/Out of Phase

Definition of sound: (A)=Series the typical humbucker sound. Big, loud, full noise canceled.! ! (A)=Parallel-Less output, bright, similar to single coil, full noise canceled.! ! (B)=Bridge coil on alone-classic single coil sound, no noise canceling.! ! (B)=Neck coil on alone- A little less bright than above. No noise canceling.! ! (B)=Both coils on- as (A) if in series, which is the standard.! ! (C)=In Phase would be like (A) in series, but out of phase sounds very ! ! ! interesting. Very nasal. Midrangey. It does cost you volume but you can ! ! ! bring the volume back by adding a volume control creating an ! ! ! adjustable amount of “out of phase”. Very cool.

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! KEEP ON STEELIN‘ Ron

(Not that type)! Today we’re going to talk Pick-ups.

Page 6 Steel Guitar ‘Rag’

http://steelguitarcafe.com/sgrHear Kevin play the lick @.....

Kevin’s Kromaticshttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Goodrich-Sound-LLC/1662157547348052?fref=ts

! The Emmons Tone.......The Emmons Setup........In the Style of Emmons......The Emmons Guitars.......Where and how do you begin to acknowledge the impact of Buddy Emmons. His tunings and the music he brought to our instrument is probably unmatched. Over here at Goodrich, we were very hopeful that Buddy would start playing again. We were sent some noisy pedals to repair from Buddy. He wrote us back a real nice note. So sad! For me, to actually pick out a Buddy Emmons gem to show here was nearly impossible. Where do you begin? Everything he played was worthy of study!

! Well, I decided to show the cute little turnaround he plays in his classic, “Orange Blossom Special”. He plays it in A but I tabbed it in C. Not easy to play at his tempo. I hope you enjoy this and remember to keep those fingers in the strings!

! We posted a spectacular live version of Buddy’s SS Cool on our Facebook Page. Probably his best outro of that ever heard, let alone video taped. Crazy great! Till next month......

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Steel Guitars

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Mullen Guitar Co. Inc.11906 County Rd. MMFlagler, CO 80815

Ph. 970-664-2518Fax 970-664-2519

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“Trader’s Corner”

For Sale:Hilton volume pedal-$125.

Call Daun (Don) Suarez: (520) 682-6609.

(Trader’s Corner is available to paid members at no costs.Contact the editor with your items.)

Mr. TwangJohn McClung

Pedal Steel GuitarSessions! Casuals! LessonsDobro! Lap Steel Vocals Guitar

Cell 310-480-0717Email: steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net

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Steelguitarlessons@earthlink.netwww.steelguitarlessons.com

For Sale1975 “MSA” S-10 4 x 4 Rosewood with mica trim in white, super sustain with an Emmons style pedal, with case, $600.

2007 “Excel” S-12, 7 pedals & 5 knee levers, black mica with chrome trim, with case......$750

Both in good condition. Contact Jimmy Fox (928) 692-4223.

Page 8 Steel Guitar “Rag”

Steel Guitar Instructors:Troy Porter in Globe Az. is available for E-9th instruction at any level. Call Troy at (928) 425-5520.

Daun Suarez is available for beginning and intermediate instruction in the north Tucson/Marana area. Call Daun at (520) 682-6609.

Rich Brennion is available at all levels for E-9th instruction in the Tucson area. Call Rich at (520) 661-5682

Blackie Taylor, at “Blackie Taylor Music”, in Riverside, Ca, is available to teach all tunings, pedal and non-pedal guitar, dobro, reading music, etc. Blackie is located at 5950 Mission Blvd., Riverside, Ca. from noon to 6:30 P.M. (951) 686-4010.

John McClung teaches E9 lessons in his Olympia, Wa. home studio, or online via “Skype”.Call John at (310) 480-0717 or email him at, “steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net”.

Margie Mays is available for teaching non pedal, all tunings, E9th pedal steel and learning to read sheet music. Call Margie in Mesa at (480) 807-5443, or email her at, “margiendon@aol.com”.

Rick Schmidt is available to teach bass, non-pedal steel, and pedal steel guitar, both E9th and C6th tunings in the North San Diego County area, Prescott Arizona, or online via, “Skype”, specializing in improvisation and harmony. Call Rick at (951) 442-9621 or email him at, “questforgigs@gmail.com”.

Fred Justice teaches steel guitar in the Phoenix/Mesa area. Call Fred at (480) 986-2599 or (480) 235-8797, or email him at, “fredsmusic@q.com”.

Chuck Lettes teaches pedal steel guitar, (E9th and C6th), and lap steel lessons in the Denver, Co. area. Contact Chuck at (720) 545-4803, “clettes@comcast.net”, or his website, “chucklettes.com”.

Contact Billy Easton (702) 280-9557 and your listing will appear here!

480-986-2599 fredsmusic@q.com www.justicesteelguitars.com

Color Bar Labeling Option

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Black and White Pro Labeling Option

Lightweight, Approximately 35 pounds + EQ unit (Equippedwith the Telonics 15” NEO Speaker).High output level available on demand, 500 Watt Power Ampsection.Studio Pre-EQ parallel effects loop with adjustable SEND andRETURN levels to accommodate any EFX unit(s)(Rear panel mounted).Special “Blend” EQ control for personalizing your tone oradjusting for venue (Once properly adjusted, volume and blendare the only adjustments generally used).

(Shown with Standard Protective Metal Grill)

www.telonics.com (480) 892-4444 ext. 102

Special Power On/Off circuit to minimize “pops” and speaker damage.Super quiet Mute circuit with LED indicator.Overload LED indicator.Buffered tuner output (jacks on both front and rear panels).Remains active when mute is on.Pre-EQ insert for 3-wire Pot Pedal hook-up.Auxiliary stereo input for home practice or solo gigs with front panellevel control. For CD/mp3 players or a second effects return.Also routed to DI for recording.Built-in electronic reverb with front panel level control andremote control jack.New built-in “BRO” effect with remove control jack,Telonics “BRO” bar included.New master Wet/Dry fader – controls internal effects and parallelefx loop.New Pedal Switch jack on rear panel. Allows switching “BRO”and Reverb remotely.Balanced XLR Direct output for live venue, stage or studio use.Includes ground lift switch.New Analog DI modeling for Direct out.New high output headphone amp with separate volume control.Can be used as a second effects SEND.Superb string separation at all volume levels. No Muddiness!All pure analog, main signal chain. No digitization of your sound thruA/D or D/A converters.Warm tube-like, even-order harmonic sound with crystal clear highs.Ultra low noise – studio quality.Exceptionally high headroom.Front Mounted Power Amplifier on-off switch for studio use.Highest Quality Telonics NEO Speaker (12 or 15 inch).New highly abrasion-resistant outer surface, durable Baltic Birch ply construction throughout. Made for years of trouble free use.Proudly made in the U.S.A. by musicians and engineers.www.telonics.com

The Steel Guitar “Rag” is the Of!cial Publication of the Southwestern Steel Guitar Association.

www.swsteelguitar.com

Please feel free to contact any memberof the Board with questions or concerns:

Billy Easton, Chairman, (702) 280-9557, beaston@cox.net,Troy Porter, Vice Chairman, (928) 200-1624, troyporter@cableone.net,

Otto Shill, Secretary, (602) 684-9228, oshill@cox.net,Peggy Porter, Treasurer, (928) 701-1488, peggyporter@cableone.net,

Fred Justice, Events Director, (480) 986-2599, fredsmusic@q.com.

Regarding this newsletter,or material for future issues, contributing articles, photos, etc,

contact: Bill Tauson, Editor, (562) 652-9977 or email at, “swsgaeditor@icloud.com”.

***Invite a friend or fellow musician to join the SWSGA!***

P.O. Box 1129Globe, AZ. 85502