Looking for a wider range of harmonies and voicing I have once attempted pedal steel, but wound up taking a break back with the C6, which is nearly weightless and requires zero setup to play, but it was still limiting.
I mostly play melody lines, mostly in a 3 person improv basement band, and can happily find all the notes I need for melodies anywhere I need on the neck, so I get some range, but I'd like to add more complex harmonies than are within my personal range on that fixed neck.
So I ordered a 6 string 2 pedal 2 knee pedal steel to start back on.
I've still got a GFI Expo E9 keyless in the attic, but I'm also still thinking, lighter, less complex, try to learn all I can within these limitations, and meanwhile ...
Bill McCloskey, member here, tells me about the Alkire tuning, Eharp guitars, and I think, wow, that's fascinating, I'll bet I can build one of those. I built my C6+5. Lap steels are easy.
But I put the tuning on a spreadsheet, watched a bunch of YouTube - this is a fascinating tuning. No pedals, no setup, weighs nothing - and then ...
Found an Alkire Eharp for sale here on the forum. Bought it. It'll probably be here before the new pedal steel.
So now I can stretch my brain and body in multiple directions at once.
And I keep looking at the Eharp tuning on a spreadsheet, thinking about chords. I think the ramifications are fascinating, even when only spread along 4 frets.
This is a heckuva ride for an old guy. I'm having fun.
