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Topic: multi-chord copedant |
J. D. LaBash
From:
Mississippi, USA
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Posted 18 Aug 2008 11:24 am |
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| I once passed on the opportunity to buy a multi-chord (maybe it was spelled multi-kord) guitar and Oahu published arrangements for this early version of the pedal steel. Does anyone know what the tuning and pedal changes were? From my dim recollection, they did not even remotely resemble mainstream pedal steel copedants. |
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Danny James
From:
Summerfield Florida USA
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Posted 18 Aug 2008 2:07 pm
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The copedants for Harlin Bros. 6 string 4 pedal Multi-Kord is as follows low to high (low bass tunings)
A tuning (no Pedals ) E--A--E--A--C#--E
Below starting with the pedal nearest to you. (low to high)
A6th tuning--E--A--F#--C#--E
D7th added 9th --D--A--F#--A--C--E
E tuning ----E--B--E--G#--B--E
C#mi.7th------E--B--E--G#--C#--E
This was their standard tuning in which they taught their students and their sheet music and instruction material was based on.
Harlin Bros. also made Multi-Kords with 6 pedal 6 string, 6 pedal 8 string, & double necks with the above arrangements, with pedals on only the neck nearest the player. |
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J. D. LaBash
From:
Mississippi, USA
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Posted 18 Aug 2008 2:36 pm Thanks and further questions
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| Thank you for the information. I thought that by the time the Multi-Kord came out, high bass tunings (possibly with more strings to get the bass) were pretty widely adopted as standard. Maybe that contributed to the lack of acceptance of this instrument. Maybe if it had offered the widely used, more modern tunings it would still be in use. Can you tell me when the Multi-Kord came out and when it stopped being made and compare that with the timing of the addition of the pedals leading to the modern pedal steel? Did the changer mechanism work like the ones on modern instruments? Could the copedant be changed like it can be on modern pedal steels? |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 18 Aug 2008 2:48 pm
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| Hmm---looks like some of those links are busted. Don't know what happened. |
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Danny James
From:
Summerfield Florida USA
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Posted 19 Aug 2008 7:05 am
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J.D. If you can go back to the archives I think all of your questions have been answered. 
Jay Harlin's patent I believe was in the 1940's. I believe they built Multi-Kords up into the 60's.
The changers are completely different than the modern pedal steels. They were advertised as a Hawaiian pedal steel guitar as opposed to country steel. In those years Hawaiian music was very popular.
As far as tunings,-- Jay Harlin's Multi-Kord changer was much easier and quicker to change copedants than any pedal steel that I know of being made today. I have always said this feature should be incorporated into our modern country pedal steel guitars. With modern technology I cannot figure out why someone hasn't been able to do this. |
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