Видео

Thanks for dropping by. That’s right. The idea has always been to develop a real pedal steel guitar, just fly-by-wire. The first part assures that there’s need to learn new technique that’s different from any PSG. The second, that a lot of headaches are eliminated (adjustments, re-rodding to change copedents. As for affordable-to-students … that’s a tough (better put, likely impossible) one. As explained on the FAQs page of the website, paglieresteelguitars.com, the design, development, and assembly of the necessarily complex PCB at the heart of this easily makes up for the reduction in how much machining is involved. Certainly lighter weight. Thanks for your interest!

Thanks for commenting! Ah, the screen…. I’ve gone back-and-forth countless times on screen related issues. You can read about some of them on the website. In any case, since the OnePSG is still in the prototype stage, the screen was placed in the body (for a number of reasons) where it is currently located in the body (for a number of reasons), and the ultimate solution for the position of the screen has been left for a little later. As for accidentally touching the screen and changing something in the middle of playing, that actually happened to one player (his left palm touched the screen) when the Alpha Prototype was demonstrated in Nashville. So, I went home and programmed a small lock icon in the upper right hand corner, tucked in close to the bezel (firmware upgrade!). It’s a toggle. Touch it once and nothing can be input on the screen until it is touched again to unlock the screen. The screen is also dimmable. A vertical screen on the back apron up against the player’s stomach would be strange. For it to work at all, it would have to flip up, and then we get into some kind of sturdy mount for a 7” screen that could withstand thousands of flip ups and flip downs, not to mention how the cables run to it…. Anyway, as I say, later for that, after the coming Beta Prototype is done.

@@paglieresteelguitars you could go completely radical and just create an app for your smartphone that Bluetooth’s to the instrument. Positive grid does that with their amps. I connect my phone to my amp and can add all kinds of effects and foot pedal simulations from my phone. That might save you a ton of headache as you don’t have to install a screen or display on the actual instrument. Everybody has already got a phone🤷‍♂️.

As described on the website’s FAQs (since it’s such an often asked question), it was a conscious decision to not use a smart phone. For one thing, one of the main design principles in the entire project was that this was to be a self-contained pedal steel guitar. No external gear. For another, there’s no saving of headaches involved in maintaining a separate app for at least two phone operating systems. Imagine being at the mercy of OS upgrades. Imagine a new iOS version is released, introducing an incompatibility, and you can’t play your guitar until the dozens of developers on the Pagliere Steel Guitars software development team get around to fixing things. Thirdly, there’s enough software development time already in the project that another app on another platform does not sound like a lot of fun for the team. Oh, did I say dozens on the team? I meant just the one person. ;) Actually, the first and second reasons are the main ones. You can be sure that the company that makes the amp you’re talking about has more people on salary than the average PSG builder. Certainly more software devs ;)

@@paglieresteelguitarsyeaaaaa I’ve never thought about that. So would you be able to send out software updates to instruments if bugs are found, you want to make improvements, or add features? Or would they be stuck how the customer receives it? Ive heard a lot of people ask about price and I know that’s just such a hard thing to put a number on at this point because of all the work to go into this. But on a more basic level, who is this aimed at? Obviously it’s ideal for pros but I could see this being a very accessible option for beginners. Not having to dish out the extra money for an extra neck and all the extra rods and other fabrication while still being able to play multiple tunings at the push of a button sounds wonderful! Plus there really isn’t any rigging with this anyway as it’s all digital. You probably could guess but I am not a steel player. However I am dying to get into it and have taken a massive dive into the steel community. That’s I found your amazing work. I guess the question I’m asking is do you think going digital will save costs and make the instrument more accessible to people looking to get into this beautiful instrument? One last thing, I’m a newbie who’s been eyeing pedal steels and looking to purchase one soon. So take my ignorant opinion with a grain of salt. But my solution to the screen dilemma would be making an armrest pad that folds down over the screen while you’re playing. And potentially make it removable entirely if a player wants to change tunings mid song. Because when I finally make a purchase I would prefer my instrument to have an arm pad if it’s a single neck. But like I said I don’t really know anything. I will say, if your instrument is within my budget man you’ve sold it to me. I don’t know how you can beat something like this and the fact that it’s still a prototype is even more incredible.

The plan is for firmware updates (bug fixes, new features, etc.) to be done through USB. Thanks for the question; it prompted me to add it to the FAQs page on the website. You can read it there. Who is this aimed at? There's a question. I don't know that the OnePSG would be any more accessible to a beginner than a traditional PSG. And, based on the Prime Directive (it's still just a pedal steel), it's not any easier to learn to play. Cost-wise, I don't think it will be that much different than a new regular PSG. Why? This is also on the FAQs page: whatever money is saved in not having complex machining, will be easily made up for by the costs of circuit board design and assembly and software development and management. Since it's still in the prototype stage, I'm not venturing a price for a "product" yet. Personally, I've never understood putting a pad on a single neck steel, keeping it double-wide just for a pad. Yes, people will argue that it places the knee levers closer ... -ish, and that they want their forearm to rest on the pad. Piano players don't do that, and why would you want your hands restricted in any way by the friction on a pad. Anyway, people have their preferences. I suppose if someone really wants a pad, they could put a pad on either side of the screen. Of course, not having the screen there would be better (as we discussed before, maybe having it detachable and mountable, say on a leg ... though that invites band members to bump into it... ;) ). It would be better because all the weight from the extra width and the longer endplates to accommodate that width would go away. I've always played a Universal. One neck. Single width. Knee levers are fine. I don't want my arms on anything. In any case, that's all to be determined.

Typo: All Hat and No Cow!

Hello! I commented on a couple of posts on the Steel Guitar Forum, one of which you had commented on. It answers your question as do several other comments there. The website, paglieresteelguitars.com, also answers the question and many others. You should definitely visit the website, especially the FAQs page. There you will see that the project is in the Beta Prototype stage which means it's still under development. There is no "product" yet, and therefore no price. We're still cranking away...

Thanks!

Thank you for your interest! Check the website's FAQs page for info on when one might be coming.

Thanks for stopping by. As for doing the pitch-shifting mechanically but with some kind of potentially programmable servo to tighten and loosen strings, that is already being done or investigated. When I started, I wanted to go further and separate physical string tension from the notes heard (since string tension will always limit how far a tuning can be changed). That's always been my goal. As you can imagine, doing so would remove all kinds of issues with the design of the traditional instrument (ease and immediacy of changes, range of intervals, weight, etc.). The intro video has some audio artifacts, and yes, fixing it all is complicated. As for making nice sounds ;) have you checked out the video, on the website, of Buck Reid messing around on the Alpha Prototype? Of course we continue to work on eliminating all issues. We're currently in the Beta Prototype stage, working on the electronics redesign and software. Always work to be done on software ;)

@@paglieresteelguitars Excellent! I'll check out the other videos. I've always been interested in this sort of thing and nerd out when I see someone innovating like this. I hope this project will be a success and you can get everything fine tuned (no pun intended). 👍

Check out the website (paglieresteelguitars.com) for the status of the project (currently Beta Prototype stage). The FAQs page talks a bit about how close it might be to a "product."

Thanks for dropping by. Over the years I've seen people post about servos as a way to create programmable string tension changes. I think there are posts on the Steel Guitar Forum talking about servos as far back as at least 2011. For some reason servos never quite spoke to me. Still too mechanical? Not sure. Certainly one would still be limited by string tension. But over the years as better real-time pitch-shifting algos and the availability of powerful microcontrollers came along and as I became of aware of them (I was a software guy, but not an embedded systems programming guy), it seemed like a way to go. After some heavy learning, it seemed the right way to go. ;) And yes, I wanted to make a true pedal steel, sound-wise and manner of playing-wise. That's how the project began and took me over. Definitely a passion project; everyone knows there really ain't no money in the pedal steel guitar world. As for developments, you can always visit the website, paglieresteelguitars.com . Also, if you can sign up there for the very occasional short email updates. In any case, thanks for your interest.

I don’t think this will put PSG companies out of business. The analogy isn’t perfect, but electronic keyboards didn't put piano makers out of business, and electric guitars with B benders didn’t put acoustic guitar makers out of business. As for cost, this question gets asked a lot and so it’s answered on the FAQs page of paglieresteelguitars.com.

Yes. I wondered about it nearly 40 years ago. It just took someone crazy to do it. ;) But seriously, thanks!

Ha. No offense taken. And as you can tell, the video was merely an introduction to the project, not a demonstration of my inadequate playing. The first page of the website, given in the demo video, includes a short video of Buck Reid playing the very same prototype. Several other greats played it that same week.

Bonkers indeed. I’ll have to add that description to the website! As for wanting one, the project is currently in the Beta Prototype phase so it’s difficult to say when it might become a “product.” Check the website every now and then to see how things are progressing. You can even sign up at the website to get on the list for the occasional official update email, if you’d like.

It does in the sense that real-time pitch-shifting of picked strings is a thing. I don't know exactly what digital signal processing (DSP) math/software algo(s) they use. For the DSP, I'm using a library from Jeff Snyder. The library has a lot different effects but most of the pitch-shifting algo pieces were ported from some code originally written by Katja Vetter.

Will it sell to PSG players? Darn good question. I've more or less always thought that PSG players were an overly traditional group. But the comments on here and on the website are almost all positive. So, if nothing else, it's changing my mind for the good. Maybe PSG players aren't quite as experimental as 6-string guitar players, but I think most PSG players can see the advantages of this design enough for it to be attractive. Plus, there are more and more younger players and that's a great thing. As for the technology, I can't really know what math/software algorithms Antares uses, but in a sense it's the same: real-time pitch-shifting of a picked string's output. This project, for its pitch-shifting, uses the pitch-shifting algo from Jeff Snyder's audio DSP C code library. The library has lots of different DSP effects. The pitch-shifting in particular was ported from some original code by Katja Vetter.

There are definitely knee levers. Currently five pedals and five levers, though there is capacity to have more at some point in the future. As for whether it is digital, there is really only one aspect of the OnePSG that is digital: the actual changing of string pitches. (In fact, the original working name for this project was “Digitally Pitch-Shifted Pedal Steel Guitar”. I do my best to convince people not to call it a digital pedal steel ;) ) Regular strings, magnetic pick ups, pedals, and knee levers. That’s all the same. The laws of physics being what they are, one can’t do digital audio processing without at least some latency. In real time audio processing of course you aim for the shortest possible latency. Of all the pedal steel greats who have played the alpha prototype, only one even mentioned it, and in passing. It is effectively imperceptible. And that's the first prototype.

Pots can wear out, encoders seem perfect for a number of reasons but for anything with the resolution needed for this project astronomically expensive. Hall Effect sensors are great. A bit bouncy in their output, but with some smoothing they seem to do fine. Moreover, since they work with nothing touching anything, not only is there nothing really to wear out, but they feel like magic (magnetism is like that).

This video is of the proof of concept, and ... old. Check out the more recent videos, if you haven't already: the "Intro" video of the Alpha Prototype and the one of Buck Reid playing the Alpha.

Currently, the "physical" open strings (as opposed to "virtual" open strings of any particular copedent chosen) are tuned to (from 1st string to 10th): G4, F4, E4 C4, A3, G3, E3, C3, B2, Bb2. The gauges are what they need to be for the strings to feel like normal pedal steel strings when picking. Therefore the tension is really about the same for any 10-string pedal steel. The pitches chosen aren't really arbitrary. Instead of going into the rationale for the pitches (and gauges) here, I've put it on the FAQs page of the website.

Thanks!

Thanks very much. The design and building has been quite a ride. Before I started the project, though I had been a software guy for years, I didn't know anything about embedded systems programming or electronics or digital signal processing or wood working or metal machining. Of course PCB design and assembly, wood, machining are done by others, who know what they're doing. The DSP is a software library I'm using. So, I'm doing the general programming and coordinating everything. The project has been fun ... and expensive.

Thanks for your comment. There is some similarity with the Variax: digitally pitch shifting the pitch of physical strings. Our patent, issued in 2018, however, is on the software "algorithm" used in the OnePSG for handling pedal steel guitar copedent-specific issues: starting with physical strings, implementing a copedent with its virtual open strings, pedal and lever changes, "sweetening", virtual capos, etc. For lots more info, you can always check in at paglieresteelguitars.com. You can also sign up there for the occasional update email. Thanks again for your interest!

Thanks for your comments. I totally understand being wary of electronics. Toasters, MIDI keyboards, Airbus and Boeing passenger jets. It's all electronics. And sometimes they fail. My regular steel amp has acted up, my computer has died. The question is whether something can be built that is reasonably protected from certain kinds of failure. That's about the engineering and the build. In a sense, even if this design were never to be on tour, banged around, etc., would it still be of value? Some people have told me that they would love this because of the (lack of) weight. I, as you say, find the most compelling aspect to be the possibilities of experimentation with copedents. We're currently in the Beta Prototype stage, ever-improving!

I see. Yes, that’s a different kind of instrument/tool with a different purpose. I wanted to build a true pedal steel guitar but one that replaced mechanical string tension changes as a way to change pitches. I decided early on that, to make a pedal steel that didn’t require a player to change anything about their technique and that had strings, pickups, etc. I didn’t want MIDI or WiFi or Bluetooth or …. Do check out Jeff Snyder’s Electrosteel project.

You can find a discussion of related thoughts in the FAQs on the website: paglieresteelguitars.com .

You get to see the Matrix glitch!

Ha. It’s crazy but it might just work!

Yes, it is still in development. We’re in the Beta prototype stage. You can learn more at the website: paglieresteelguitars.com . The site will be public soon but in the meantime, you can request the password from the site. You can also get on the updates email list there (the updates don’t go out too frequently). EDIT: The website is public now: paglieresteelguitars.com.

Sorry for the late reply. I think it’s cool too ;) You can learn more at the website: paglieresteelguitars.com . The site is not quite yet public (you can request the password from the site) but should be fairly soon. And you can also get on the updates email list (no worries about clogging up your inbox, the updates don’t go out very frequently). Thanks again.

It’s designed to allow up to 12 strings. I’ve always been a U-12 player, so I just had to design it for up to 12. I decided to make a 10 string for the prototype because most players would more easily relate to that.

Some people like the idea of the lighter weight guitar. I like the idea of experimenting with copedents. But yes, a backline with a pedal steel has always seemed impossible. But now one PSG (pardon the pun) can work for just about any number of players.

Others have asked about that same thing. It's complicated. On one hand, from the beginning, it's been the intent to make a pedal steel (that is ... really like any other). On that premise, it's not the instrument's job to do modeling, have lots of effects, or do lots of "post-production". That will be the job of amplifiers and effects units and DAWs and such. On the other hand, the pickups are remarkable. See cycfi.com for details of the Nu pickups. Since they have a completely flat frequency response from 20Hz to above 20kHz (that is, all frequencies are there to mess with), one could filter out whatever is needed to arrive at the profile of any pickup. (I leave amp modeling to amp modeling. I know essentially nothing of that). In fact, Joel, who runs cycfi.com has done that, not to mention emulate different pickup placement (e.g., bridge, neck, and even 12th fret!!). I would like to at least have per string volume, EQ, and distortion adjustments. Talk about string separation. Right now, it's all about getting from prototype to ... something.

That's pretty crazy! You could even put an evertune bridge on it.

Absolutely amazing, Imagine what would Buddy say on this invention.

Making much progress. The software and electronics are ready and the body is built. All that's needed now is to put them together for a fully functional prototype. Hope you're doing okay.