The Electrosteel: An Electronic Instrument Inspired by the Pedal Steel Guitar

The Electrosteel is a new electronic instrument inspired by the user interface of the pedal steel guitar (PSG). The Electrosteel uses the interface concepts of the PSG (a bar in the left hand, plucked strings for the right hand, foot pedals, knee levers, etc) as a control paradigm for digital synthesis. The instrument allows performers with skill on the PSG to expand their sonic range, and creates a powerful new multi-dimensional way to control synthesis. This paper describes the development of the instrument and its custom embedded synthesis engine, with a focus on the design challenges posed by mapping an existing performer interface to a new instrument.