Robert Randolph rig rundown

[RacerX]

Wanna blow yer minds? Check it out (Chovied, I know you're gonna dig this)...

[neighbor664]

I knew it, the fart chair is the secret!

[Mr. Foxen]

Car speakers is interesting. I know the car door speaker in the Gorilla amp Sonance guitarist writes with really aids its icepick to the ear quality. AIDS being the operative term.

[Mr Neutron]

Robert Randolph is  a monster.

[Chovie D]

Have watched it several times trying to cop some of his VP and wah technique but cant even get close.
another ten year of practice maybe.

I wish he had demo-ed some of the effects he didnt, like the pog 2 and dynamic filter(auto wah)
good vid tho.

[VOLVO)))]

I've been diggin' on this for a long while. I really dig his sounds. 

[RacerX]

Have watched it several times trying to cop some of his VP and wah technique but cant even get close.
another ten year of practice maybe.

I wish he had demo-ed some of the effects he didnt, like the pog 2 and dynamic filter(auto wah)
good vid tho.

I've already started rolling the bar back & forth on the lap steel when I want a tighter, more controlled vibrato. It never occurred to me to do anything but move the whole bar back & forth. I also see that I'm not the first to set up my lap steel in open C.

[clockwork green]

Good pedal steel players make the rest of us "regular" guitarists look pedestrian and Robert Randolph is one of the best. Good to see a pro like him still having fun.

[neighbor664]

Good pedal steel players make the rest of us "regular" guitarists look pedestrian and Robert Randolph is one of the best. Good to see a pro like him still having fun.

Amen!

[RAGER]

Dude is a total monster player.  Got that attitude too.  i would bet the car speaker stuff is pure hoax.  I love that stuff.

[Metal and Beer]

I haven't watched the clip but I agree he's fantastic..

[RacerX]

At least watch far enough to try to wrap your brain around how he's got that 13-string tuned.

Amazing. He's got bits & pieces of all sorts of chord variations on that fucker.

[Chovie D]

Have watched it several times trying to cop some of his VP and wah technique but cant even get close.
another ten year of practice maybe.

I wish he had demo-ed some of the effects he didnt, like the pog 2 and dynamic filter(auto wah)
good vid tho.

I've already started rolling the bar back & forth on the lap steel when I want a tighter, more controlled vibrato. It never occurred to me to do anything but move the whole bar back & forth. I also see that I'm not the first to set up my lap steel in open C.

Open tunings on lap are really common racer. These sacred steel players have such a great tone and amazing fluidity in their bar hands. They've been playing since they were kids in church so its not surprising how natural it seems to come for them. RR learned from the campbell brothers...heres a quick lesson racer. dig the left hand.

[clockwork green]

Derek Trucks has been using car speakers for a long time.

[Chovie D]

funny you mention Trucks. He is into sacred steel and uses alot of their techniques, jams with em, etc. he has that same fluid sound in his left hand, im so jealous of it...dig this incredible solo...

[VOLVO)))]

I straight up cannot play slide standing up. I play over the top, because I'm undisciplined and learned with it on my lap, and for some reason, no matter what strap I use, or how I position it, fuckin' things ALWAYS neck dive. hate it.

[RacerX]

Have watched it several times trying to cop some of his VP and wah technique but cant even get close.
another ten year of practice maybe.

I wish he had demo-ed some of the effects he didnt, like the pog 2 and dynamic filter(auto wah)
good vid tho.

I've already started rolling the bar back & forth on the lap steel when I want a tighter, more controlled vibrato. It never occurred to me to do anything but move the whole bar back & forth. I also see that I'm not the first to set up my lap steel in open C.

Open tunings on lap are really common racer. These sacred steel players have such a great tone and amazing fluidity in their bar hands. They've been playing since they were kids in church so its not surprising how natural it seems to come for them. RR learned from the campbell brothers...heres a quick lesson racer. dig the left hand.

Nice. There's another stupidly simple idea that I wouldn't have come up with myself: just lift the bar to stop the stings w/the left hand. Coming from regular guitar, muting with the right hand has always been my "go to" method.

Tell ya what, Chovied—I've gotten this far on lap steel without lessons, but I can see where they might turn on a few more lightbulbs in my attic. That said, I can now play Gilmour's lap steel solo from "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" and rock the hell outta "When the Levee Breaks," so I'm getting a bit more fluent.

[Chovie D]

Have watched it several times trying to cop some of his VP and wah technique but cant even get close.
another ten year of practice maybe.

I wish he had demo-ed some of the effects he didnt, like the pog 2 and dynamic filter(auto wah)
good vid tho.

I've already started rolling the bar back & forth on the lap steel when I want a tighter, more controlled vibrato. It never occurred to me to do anything but move the whole bar back & forth. I also see that I'm not the first to set up my lap steel in open C.

Open tunings on lap are really common racer. These sacred steel players have such a great tone and amazing fluidity in their bar hands. They've been playing since they were kids in church so its not surprising how natural it seems to come for them. RR learned from the campbell brothers...heres a quick lesson racer. dig the left hand.

Nice. There's another stupidly simple idea that I wouldn't have come up with myself: just lift the bar to stop the stings w/the left hand. Coming from regular guitar, muting with the right hand has always been my "go to" method.

Tell ya what, Chovied—I've gotten this far on lap steel without lessons, but I can see where they might turn on a few more lightbulbs in my attic. That said, I can now play Gilmour's lap steel solo from "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" and rock the hell outta "When the Levee Breaks," so I'm getting a bit more fluent.

I dont think there's any harm in youtubing up a couple quick lessons , especially regarding technique. Using a bar and fingerpicks is very different than a regular fretted instrument so theres gonna be alot of useful technique you wouldnt necessarily think of on your own coming from guitar. For lap steel , since there are so many stylistic variations, its also a great idea ot check ut big name players in differnt styles. For rock, David Lindley is one of the best, Sacred Steel or blues =Campbell bros, Chuck Campbell is amazing, for country Cindy Cashdollar, Hawaiian=Jerry Byrd. Jerry Byrd is probably the most estemmed lap player ever, I cant stand his music tho.
Stones albums are great to jam to, AL perkins and Ry Cooder do some ghreat stuff with the stones from the Mick taylor period and beyond.

If I may be so bold as to suggest anothe techinique to pay attention to, one of the other things to take away from that vid I posted is, on lap steel in a blues or sacred steel style(rock basically), you often just play one string up and down as opposed to using multiple strings across the neck. Try playing melody lines up and down on just one string. Stuff like "amazing grace" or "when the saints come marching in", as corny as they are work great for practice. The idea is that you are learning to play a melody line, then you can add expressive flair to it, do it any song with a melody line. Its a beautiful way of playing steel. So often I'll just repeat the melody line of the singer, nothing more,  and people weep . Also you dont have to alternate your picking fingers when doing this. Use whichever finger (or thumb) is your strongest finger picker. You'll notice the cat in the vid uses his pointer...dobro players will use their thumb...whatever's strongest.
good luck Racer, theres a shit ton of info out there on the net, gobs of tab, might as well give it a peek.  

[jibberish]

man, these guys blow me away. y'all are onto something really slick here. rock on.

[Mr Neutron]

I straight up cannot play slide standing up. I play over the top, because I'm undisciplined and learned with it on my lap, and for some reason, no matter what strap I use, or how I position it, fuckin' things ALWAYS neck dive. hate it.

nothin wrong with playing over the top.

[VOLVO)))]

Im happy we have so many players here. Its kinda awesome.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[Chovie D]

I liked this vid...hammerons and pulloffs are cool on a steel. i havent been able to get pinch harmonics down using fingerpicks yet...this guys got it goin on

[VOLVO)))]

I modded all my thumb picks to be really shallow, so i could still use the meat of my thumb, he's doing literal pinch harmonics. Using the thumb to pick the note, and pulling out the artificial harmonic with his index. I can do them with just fingers, it' like snapping your fingers, but slightly more refined, if that makes any sense?

[RacerX]

Woh! Dude's fast.

I found I couldn't deal w/ the thumb pick, so I already have the pinch harmonics down because I get 'em the same way I do on guitar: I use a flat pick between the thumb & forefinger and follow with the meat of my thumb. For the lap steel, I add two fingerpicks (middle/ring fingers).

I have been working on the single string stuff a lot lately when practicing along with tunes/backing tracks. I've always had a pretty good ear, but that kinda shit really puts it to the test.

Two other important things I have learned:

1) Vibrato is my friend

2) A bit flat doesn't sound too bad, but even a smidge sharp sounds like ass. Refer to #1.

[VOLVO)))]

I can't use the picks on any other fingers other than my thumb. I need to feel to keep the dynamics. I've got sausage fingers, but I can do dainty things with them. hahaha.