Looking for “Pedal Steel Guitar: The Manual of Style” — Does a PDF Still Exist?

[Chao Kang Lee]

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to track down a copy of “Pedal Steel Guitar: The Manual of Style” by Winnie Winston and Jimmie Crawford. The book has been out of print for years, and the used copies that occasionally appear are extremely expensive and difficult to find.

Before I continue searching, I’d like to ask:
Does anyone know if a PDF version of this book exists, or if it was ever officially released in digital form?

I’m not asking for anything that would violate copyright. I simply want to confirm whether a legitimate digital copy has ever circulated, or whether the only versions that exist are the original printed book and vinyl.

This book is legendary in the pedal steel community, and I’d love to at least be able to see it, study the material, and understand its historical importance. Any information or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Bill McCloskey]

I picked up a copy a few years ago on the forum. I'm unaware of any PDF copies. You may want to try posting something in "wanted to buy"

[Wesley Parish]

That's something that interests me as well. He says in his website that he used a different notation system than the Pedal Steel book which was ordinary tablature. I'd be interested to see examples of this notation. I mean, I can read tablature, I can read sheet music in at least three of the clefs, but I'm not sure I understand what he's saying in his web page about the Manual of Style:
https://julianwinston.com/music/the_manual_of_style.php
to wit: "Jimmie had also conceived of a new tablature system which he called "Mu-Sym-Tab." It relied on using regular musical notation (sharp, double sharp, flat, double flat, and neutral) to show which strings were moving."
I can picture an ordinary staff (g (treble) clef as is usual in guitar music), with numbers below the staff to indicate which strings are being picked, and numbers and letters in the staff to indicate which pedals, knee levers are being pressed; but I'm not sure that is what this quotation refers to.

[Per Berner]

img20251202_18362439.jpg

The Mu-sym tab system was very clever and fully non-copedent-dependent, if that's a word. The symbols just explained which strings should be lowered or raised and by how much, regardless of which pedal or lever is used. But I don't think anyone else ever used it...

BTW, a printed copy with a CD sold on Reverb for around $30 not long ago... Mine is a first edition with the ultra-thin 45s, bought from Jimmie at a seminar in Sweden when the ink had hardly dried...