Tom Hammel on SoundBetter

My approach is to find out what you want for steel guitar on your song, whether it's straight up country or something more ambient. I then work to complement the lead vocals and other instruments with the goal of doing what's best for the song.

I've been playing pedal and lap steel guitar the past 12 years in the folk, country, rockabilly and swing genres. I have done session work on albums commercially released by bands from the Pacific Northwest including Jesse Waldman, The Dovetails, Dan Challis, The Tired Sunday Choir, Horse Opera, Joe Charron and others.

I've built up a studio and instruments with some great sounding equipment and can produce a high quality recording in the format of your choice.

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Interview with Tom Hammel

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: The album "Mansion of Ghosts" by Jesse Waldman in which I recorded pedal steel for 3 of the tracks on the album. Worked with a great engineer/producer and the artist who provided great feedback and the turned the result into something that I'm proud of.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Rehearsing pedal steel guitar with my band DerbyTown to get ready for a gig
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Digital. Easier to work with and you can now get a more analog sound if you want by adding plugins to your digitally recorded sounds
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I want my clients to be happy with the results of my work and promise to redo as necessary to get them what they want.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Creating something from nothing.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: When can you get me a take of your playing? I generally try to send something within a couple of days
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: Many people don't have an understanding of the range of music that pedal steel can cover
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What format would you like the songs in? Are you looking for something more laid back and ambient, or upfront with more playing
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Be clear about what you want. Sample songs with a similar sound or playing are often helpful.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Rootsy!
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I would love to work with Canadian alt-country band Blue Rodeo since they are such skilled songwriters
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Don't overdo things in the mix, let each instrument have its place, and let the song breathe with space where necessary
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Country and folk
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Coming up with licks to fit a song.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I like to support the feel/emotion of the song as pedal steel is very emotive instrument. I also make sure to support the song and not get in the way of the vocal and/or other instruments.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I typically run through the song a few times before recording, then I like to put down at least 2 or 3 initial takes that I can send to a client. I'll continue working revisions with the client if needed until they are satisfied, then I will carefully edit the track to ensure levels are consistent and there are no extraneous sounds.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I use Cubase Pro with an 8 channel Presonus 8-channel interface. I use one of the new Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb Amps which has an amazing sound.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: I get inspired by the pioneers of pedal steel guitar, like Buddy Emmons and Speedy West, as well as some of the newer artists that are killing it today, like Paul Franklin (Vince Gil)
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Pedal steel recordings, on both E9 and C6 necks. E9 is definitely the more common since it's used a lot in country and folk music. I use the C6 neck for western swing and some jazz.