How it all Started

The life long obsession with music and  guitar, started at a very early age. Influenced in the early 1970s by country music and rock & Roll music. Listening to my father lean and practice instrumental music on his steel guitar. Witnessing many rehearsals in our lounge room with some of Australia's biggest names in country music was inspirational. With music and iconic themes from all the greatest movies of the day played on the steel guitar such as, Blue Hawaii, Bali Hi, 55 days at Peking, Adventures in Paradise, Tammy, and many more. Then there was the country music. Every Saturday morning dad would listen to and record every show hosted by Bob Kingsley's American Country Music Count Down. With Hits from Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wyentte, Patsy Cline, Charlie Pride and countless others. We still have the cassette collection that he recorded. Then there was that record. You know the one. The one that makes you stop in your tracks and listen. For me it was Loyd Green's Shades of Steel. In particular his cover of here comes the sun. I was hooked from the start. Dads steel was not the popular E9 tuning of all those Nashville records we loved. It was an older 8 string A major or A6 tuning. HE had a very different sound. I fist started learning the steel guitar when I was around 5 years old. My father had a Gibson Consolette double neck 8 string Pictured bellow in black & White.which, He allowed me to learn and practice on. I soon realised that i was limited without pedals but perceived and learned many instrumental from ROB.E.G and most of the Hawaiian themes that dad was playing.  Once and a while dad would leave his Fender 400 Pedal steel set up and covered, perfectly tuned. He would often come home to find it in an alternate tuning after I would secretly mess with it trying to get that Nashville sound. One day it was revealed to me that this would not be possible on this guitar. I soon became frustrated with it and did not return to the steel for a long time. It was a sunny Saturday morning when dad pulled out a record loaned to him and lowered it on to the platter of our Nova tech hifi systems turn table. There was a new sound I had not herd before. It was the Shadows. Apache rang out across our living room. I tried desperately to play it on the steel guitar. I got it down but could nit get that sound. I would need a proper electric guitar. Where would I get the parts to build one. The Gibson had everything I needed so I dismantled it and used the tuners and pickups, A fence paling, Some nails and the strings of the Gibson to make a crude guitar. I leaned Apache not for note but it was terrible. after surviving a good old fashion hiding and some recovery time, I pestered my dad for a real guitar. He caved and bought a very nice Westone Electric with two humblers but it had no tremolo. I leaned a bunch of country songs by Moe Bandy Randy Travis, George straight and many more. It was a great guitar. I also learned all of the Shadows big hits but, without a tremolo I would never achieve that sound or feel.  Dad was gifted a strat copy from a work college and it worked out great. I finally had the right guitar. I soon craved the tone. I went digging around looking for something to give me the Echo and reverb I was hearing on those old records. I stumbled across dads old Vox Tape echo which I had heard before and loved. HE had not used it for years as he went to a boss pedal. I figured it was min for the taking.Convinced by a friend who was into electronics that we could make it better, We proceeded to mess with the unit until it stopped working.We had moved the voltage selector and applied 24 volts . We let the smoke out. It went back under the bed where it stayed for many years. It would be decades before I would have the knowledge and experience to Repair it.
​To Be continued