What a Trip!

On May 19, I flew into San Diego and headed up to Oceanside to meet Jim Palenscar at his store, Steel Guitars of North County. After seeing what great stuff he had in the store, we sat and talked for 5 hours. Jim completely "gets it." I showed him some videos he hadn't yet seen and we covered lots of topics: costs, new markets for the PSG, reviving the instrument, string gauges and tuning, half-pedaling, etc. Everyone told me Jim was a wonderful human being and I can now attest. His enthusiasm about the project means a lot to me.

The next morning I drove to Yuma, AZ and met with Frank Carter from about noon to 4 pm. What a fantastic time. Frank is also a great human being and fascinating to talk with. He builds beautiful PSGs with innovations that are wholly his own. The mechanisms that he's developed for pedal and lever action are impressive in their design and meticulously built. We talked about what would need altering in his design to be able to accommodate sensors and the special pickups needed for a Pagliere Steel Guitar prototype. It shouldn't be difficult.

All the worries I had about mounting sensors and pedal action and so on are gone. Some small questions remain, but I believe that after I talk to Dave Beaty in Phoenix, I'll be most of the way there.

...

The following day, another visit to Frank's house and shop, from about 9 am to 2 pm. We talked more, brainstormed more, designed more.

Drove to Phoenix where I stayed with my old college roomies, David and Susan. I hadn't seen them in about 40 years! Catching up with them was great. The following morning, I drove to Telonics headquarters. Dave Beaty gave me a tour of some of his amazing accomplishments in the field of telemetry for wildlife research and management. Jaw-dropping. Later, we sat and talked about PSGs, his Telonics amps and volume pedals, and design issues for the Pagliere Steel Guitar. A five-hour visit!

After this trip, I have a clear vision of this project coming together to revolutionize PSG playing.