Being from the “Jerry Byrd” school … slanting the bar is a way of harmonizing a melody while staying on the same 2 or 3 strings … preserving the “flow” of sound in a passage. I remember sending JB a cassette recording of a lesson … and received a reply stating “never give up the continuous sound for the sake of an extra harmony note” … in regard to me leaving a set of 2 strings to put in a three note chord on a different set of strings
I physically can't slant anymore … at least not as accurate and/or as fast as I need it to be … so the choice was to rework my entire playlist - jumping around the fretboard to find straight bar positions & using different “grips” (which I suck at) to harmonize the melody … or … abandon the harmony and just play the melody up and down a string, preserving the “flow” …
Also, my neurologist (who specializes in Parkinsons) isn’t happy with the progressive lessoning of motor skills in my left hand and he wants me to use that hand as much as possible (in everyday life) ...
So I put my digital “whammy bar” away … and have adopted a technique using a "rolling vibrato" with an EG Smith dobro bar ...
This certainly isn’t ideal but it's either that or just hang it up for good … so it’s down to “one note” playing with an occasional straight bar strum …
Fab to hear and see you! Inspirational. I’m fighting my own battles with neuropathy in my feet making playing pedals a challenge, so I empathize with the effort
That sounds wonderful, Rick. I much prefer that "new" vibrato to your whammy bar. I think it was Herb Remington who said that the left hand is so important because it connects directly to the heart.
Your playing also brings to mind those gorgeous single string melody lines of Dick McIntire, and I think we often forget that the steel guitar is first and foremost a melody instrument.
Very impressed with the adaptive "rolling vibrato" - especially from the guy that drilled into me the correct way to hold a bullet bar several years ago. Sounds great. You continue to inspire.
… and get them on my YouTube channel … 