Uploaded May 2013 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
"Charmaine" is a beautiful song from the classic year 1927. I am using my C6th pedal steel for the first time on YouTube. Lord willing, I would really like to record some more pretty things with the C6th pedal steel. I learned the basic song "Charmaine" from some TABS that I bought almost 20-years ago from Herby. You can see the TABS in the video sitting on my front E9th neck. I glance and read along when I get stuck once in a while. It's been awhile since I've played the C6th pedal steel. I missed it, which is why I was blessed by the Lord to buy this old Sho-Bud to add to my humble collection. Herby Wallace's C6th instruction course reference number is HWP-12 (the course teaches 6 songs from Herby's LP album HWP-1002. Really great music! I like to share as much information as possible about my music and videos, to help others if they perhaps are interested in playing steel guitar.
About 10 years ago I converted my Sho-Bud's C6th rear neck to A7th to play Hawaiian. I learned it from Basil Henriques, one of my favorite musical artists. It was a great choice, but I still missed my C6th. The answer was to purchase another used old Pro-II Sho-Bud and this is the guitar that you're hearing and seeing in these videos. Sho-Bud pedal steel guitars are still the envy of many guitar builders. Sho-Bud's have class. Most steel guitars today use parts from a box machined at a local machine shop. Every cut, bend and feature adds more cost, so most builders go cheap and pass the lack of quality onto the guitar owner. I hate sharp 90 degree edge knee levers that hurt the leg. Sho-Buds have tear-drop shaped knee levers that contour the leg's natural shape. That's classy!
I don't like what some builders refer to as "cookie-cutter-guitars." It's all stamped metal, throw together parts and low-budget work. I always recommend spending more and getting what you pay for. I don't like to mention guitar builders, I do have preferences, but I try to be respectful of the others, they're trying to build 'em better.
I like the raised fretboards. That is, you can see the edges of the fretboard physically rise up above the guitar neck, giving it a nice dimension. Again, classy! This guitar has both wooden necks and a wooden body. It's very heavy in the case... about 90 lbs! I can't carry it due to my (human) neck, but I can wheel it and carefully manuever it. Fortunately I never have to carry this love-boat anywhere. This is a stay-at-home guitar. I started playing lap steel (5 lbs) in public, and my neck loves me for it. I have Cervical Degenerative Disk Disease (CDDD) and all the trimmings that come with it. Ouch!
I really like the song, "Charmaine." It's dreamy. My C6th pedal setup is very simple. I have the 5 standard floor pedals and then only one knee lever (right-knee moving left, that is, RKL. This chord change lowers string 3 a half tone from C to B. This change is a must for any C6th pedal steel guitar. I don't have any other knee changes on this guitar for the C6th neck, but if I did add more knee levers, it would be to raise and lower strings 3 and 4 a half tone each (using separate knee levers of course). These changes allow the musician much more chordal possibilities and voicings, not to mention all the single string work that opens up for scales.
Yet, as I season as a musician I love simplicity, because it presents more challenge for the musician. I love watching Lloyd Green play. After 60 years of mastering the steel guitar, Lloyd still never ceases to amaze me with his unique and incredible style of playing. Watch all of the bar slants that Lloyd Does (Lloyd started playing steel guitar at age 9). He doesn't need knee levers if he ever decided to get rid of them. So with this mindset of simplicity, I am enjoying playing the C6the with only a single knee lever to work. The chord sounds are there, you just have to find a different way to play them. As a last resort, a single note can ALWAYS replace any missing chord. Most people think I'm kidding when I tell them to master playing just one string, and then watch how much their playing improves!
I'm using a high G note for my first string. Jimmy Day also uses a G. Bobby Seymour uses both a G and a D, depednding on the song. Buddy Emmons prefers the D for chromatic scales. Stu Basore has an interesting setup, using a high E on string one. This moves the F note to string 8 now, since there is no high G or D on string one. Stu puts his D note on the 9th string and a Low C on his 10th note. Really nice. You can hear him play online under "Legends Of The Steel Guitar" by Jim Vest (I think it's session number 6).
I hope you enjoy the song as much as I did playing it.
"Charmaine" is a beautiful song from the classic year 1927. I am using my C6th pedal steel for the first time on YouTube. Lord willing, I would really like to record some more pretty things with the C6th pedal steel. I learned the basic song "Charmaine" from some TABS that I bought almost 20-years ago from Herby. You can see the TABS in the video sitting on my front E9th neck. I glance and read along when I get stuck once in a while. It's been awhile since I've played the C6th pedal steel. I missed it, which is why I was blessed by the Lord to buy this old Sho-Bud to add to my humble collection. Herby Wallace's C6th instruction course reference number is HWP-12 (the course teaches 6 songs from Herby's LP album HWP-1002. Really great music! I like to share as much information as possible about my music and videos, to help others if they perhaps are interested in playing steel guitar.
About 10 years ago I converted my Sho-Bud's C6th rear neck to A7th to play Hawaiian. I learned it from Basil Henriques, one of my favorite musical artists. It was a great choice, but I still missed my C6th. The answer was to purchase another used old Pro-II Sho-Bud and this is the guitar that you're hearing and seeing in these videos. Sho-Bud pedal steel guitars are still the envy of many guitar builders. Sho-Bud's have class. Most steel guitars today use parts from a box machined at a local machine shop. Every cut, bend and feature adds more cost, so most builders go cheap and pass the lack of quality onto the guitar owner. I hate sharp 90 degree edge knee levers that hurt the leg. Sho-Buds have tear-drop shaped knee levers that contour the leg's natural shape. That's classy!
I don't like what some builders refer to as "cookie-cutter-guitars." It's all stamped metal, throw together parts and low-budget work. I always recommend spending more and getting what you pay for. I don't like to mention guitar builders, I do have preferences, but I try to be respectful of the others, they're trying to build 'em better.
I like the raised fretboards. That is, you can see the edges of the fretboard physically rise up above the guitar neck, giving it a nice dimension. Again, classy! This guitar has both wooden necks and a wooden body. It's very heavy in the case... about 90 lbs! I can't carry it due to my (human) neck, but I can wheel it and carefully manuever it. Fortunately I never have to carry this love-boat anywhere. This is a stay-at-home guitar. I started playing lap steel (5 lbs) in public, and my neck loves me for it. I have Cervical Degenerative Disk Disease (CDDD) and all the trimmings that come with it. Ouch!
I really like the song, "Charmaine." It's dreamy. My C6th pedal setup is very simple. I have the 5 standard floor pedals and then only one knee lever (right-knee moving left, that is, RKL. This chord change lowers string 3 a half tone from C to B. This change is a must for any C6th pedal steel guitar. I don't have any other knee changes on this guitar for the C6th neck, but if I did add more knee levers, it would be to raise and lower strings 3 and 4 a half tone each (using separate knee levers of course). These changes allow the musician much more chordal possibilities and voicings, not to mention all the single string work that opens up for scales.
Yet, as I season as a musician I love simplicity, because it presents more challenge for the musician. I love watching Lloyd Green play. After 60 years of mastering the steel guitar, Lloyd still never ceases to amaze me with his unique and incredible style of playing. Watch all of the bar slants that Lloyd Does (Lloyd started playing steel guitar at age 9). He doesn't need knee levers if he ever decided to get rid of them. So with this mindset of simplicity, I am enjoying playing the C6the with only a single knee lever to work. The chord sounds are there, you just have to find a different way to play them. As a last resort, a single note can ALWAYS replace any missing chord. Most people think I'm kidding when I tell them to master playing just one string, and then watch how much their playing improves!
I'm using a high G note for my first string. Jimmy Day also uses a G. Bobby Seymour uses both a G and a D, depednding on the song. Buddy Emmons prefers the D for chromatic scales. Stu Basore has an interesting setup, using a high E on string one. This moves the F note to string 8 now, since there is no high G or D on string one. Stu puts his D note on the 9th string and a Low C on his 10th note. Really nice. You can hear him play online under "Legends Of The Steel Guitar" by Jim Vest (I think it's session number 6).
I hope you enjoy the song as much as I did playing it.
