Z-Chop Job

Jay Jessup · From: Charlottesville, VA, USA

Hi Folks,
Introducing my new/old 1982 ZumSteel S-12. I bought this guitar brand new from Bruce and it was delivered to me in Feb. of 82 in a B6 7+7 configuration and served me well five and six nights a week until I terminated my professional career later that fall. Since that time it has spent most of it's life in the case coming out occasionally to be changed to some experimental tuning or other. As I age I am getting into a 'less is more' frame of mind and recalled Zane Beck getting a whole lot of stuff out of only four pedals and five knees but I never could really figure out his tuning on paper so I put it on this guitar and over the winter and spring really became enamored with it. While cruising this forum last spring I discovered the work of superb machinist/designer and steel player Paul Redmond and after the convention this fall I sent him the guitar.
I wanted the guitar as short as possible and since all the changes were moved further to the right and I didn't have all the old style Zum pinned pull rods in the proper length Paul suggested designing new bell cranks and using stainless (as opposed to aluminum) rods. Everything you see on here that is not a Zum part Paul designed and built including the Kline style keyless tuner.
This project exceeded my expectations in every respect, what was already a good guitar is even better, shorter pulls, less cabinet drop and sounds as good as it always did. I know there are those of you that don't care for the looks of keyless tuners but the performance improvement they have allowed really makes this tuning easier to play. I also know that there are others of you that enjoy new things and different approaches so this if for you----plus I am kind of proud of it and wanted to show it off. Smile

Gary Cosden · From: Florida, USA

Jay - very nice indeed. It looks a lot like a Kline with those tuners! I'm impressed/jealous.

Geoff Cline · From: Southwest France

Fantastic! Looks like a long lost cousin...

Congrats on a fine "new" guitar.

Scott Howard · From: Georgetown, TN, USA

Beautiful !!! I prefer the looks of a keyless . To me it makes the guitar more uniform. Why does it need a extra 5 or 6 inches stuck out on the left side? Having played 3 of my guitars before and after the keyless conversion , I can honestly say they do play better.
In looking for pictures the other day I ran across a Zum I understood was originaly a keyless. I saved the picture . It was somebody that was working for Bruce at the time. Best I remember. Here is the link

http://www.dvanet.net/thumgallery.html

_________________
"The Oddball" A MSA Keyless with pedals to the right.

Paul Redmond · From: Illinois, USA

Jay - I was able to shorten your guitar 5.103" and trim the cast-on draft angle off the end of the neck casting all in the same setup on my mill. That allowed for about as accurate a "chop" job as possible, and I was able to attach the new tuner housing to the end of the neck. Due to the design of the endplate, I was able to tie the housing to it and the wood/mica deck. It doesn't get much more rigid than that!!! What surprised me was the fact that I had to actually lengthen the pedal travel a bit because after the conversion, the travels were too short and "fast"...you couldn't "squeeze" in the the action on the changer easily because the motion was so short. Some travels were reduced by about 40%, true testament that keyless guitars require less travel and effort to achieve the same results as their keyhead counterparts.
PRR

Jeff Hyman · From: West Virginia, USA

Hello Jay,

Is this what you played with The North Star Band? I've never seen this type of tuning setup, close up. Where do you insert the string? Is there any part that gets wrapped onto a peg? Another photo of this area would be a real bonus.

Hope all is well down your way.

Jay Jessup · From: Charlottesville, VA, USA

Scott,
That might be Doug Earnest's (Stage One steel builder) guitar. He did work with Bruce and does have both a keyed and keyless Zum and the way that wood on the front is, it definitely looks to have been made that way.
Jeff, it depends on when you saw us, when I started with them I had a D-10 Sho-Bud and transitioned to a S-12 MSA in the middle of our first album and that's what I played for most of the NSB years but this is what I played with them from the day it arrived in Feb 82 until our farewell gig on Labor Day of that year.
Did my close up photo of the keyless tuner show up in my original post? If I understand your question correctly note the string goes through a hole in the tuner arm then comes out the other side and is secured as it wraps around the allen screw on the top.
In my original post I really should have said that this conversion plays so well partly because of the keyless conversion and partly because of Paul's experience and ability. Two quick examples; if you will check out Zane's tuning, which b0b has in his tuning links, note pedal four has two very long pulls (high G# to A and high E to F#) and two short pulls (both lower G#'s to A) before Paul did his magic that was a very long travel pedal and those two lower pulls came in at the very end, he was able to shorten the travel for those long pulls while not making them too hard and put in an extra shaft for those short pulls so it all comes out in balance. Also on this tuning it's imperative that the two outside knee levers (LKL and RKR) work very easily in order to make playing it easy, while the LKL was never a problem the RKR (with two whole tone raises) was a little hard before and I would find myself slightly reducing the pressure on it with the resulting sour notes--now it's easy! Those that remember Zane will remember that while he always used this tuning he changed to a keyless and since I never knew him I can't say the reason for sure but I suspect he saw the playability advantages it offered for his tuning. I also should add that working with Paul is a dream for a project like this, he got into it as much as I did, you can tell he enjoys a challenge and once he figured out the solution he involved me to make sure we were on the same page so that leads to the result I got which as i said before exceeds all expectations in playability. Cosmetically I challenge anyone to look at this guitar close up and find any clue that says it wasn't made that way from day one!

Scott Howard · From: Georgetown, TN, USA

Jay
You are correct on that , it was Doug .

I also want to say having changed a few over to keyless myself ,it is hard to believe how much it changes the pulls . I first converted a push / pull Emmons and had to shorten every change. Been a keyless fan every since.

Interested in your exact tuning as I am doing a single 12 now and leaning to the less is more idea as well. MSA also and it is going to be my experiment guitar , tuning wise .

That is one pretty Zum you have !!!!
_________________
"The Oddball" A MSA Keyless with pedals to the right.

Jay Jessup · From: Charlottesville, VA, USA

Whoops, I thought b0b had that tuning listed but he doesn't. Click on the Beck Musical Instruments site then on the copedants tab there. The very first tuning listed is Zane Beck's 1977 tuning and that's what I started with. I have made two very small additions to it, one is adding a low E to F# raise on to the LKV and adding a second RKL which only lowers the high B string 1/2 tone. I am considering adding a few splits to it but other than that I have found most everything I have searched for so far and don't feel like I will need anymore stuff on it. Two things about this E13 tuning that will seem odd to most having learned E9 first, there is no E in the middle in the open tuning and all the strings are in order all the way across.
As far as the looks, I will replay Paul's comment to me on getting it all together-- "It looks like it was meant to be that way". I think one of the key's is that it started with a well designed and built guitar---thanks Bruce.

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

JJ, Beautiful guitar!
Paul, always enjoy seeing your work!
Jeff, here's a pic of a Kline keyless from a different angle. Put it together with JJ's pic, and you should see how they work.

Brian Herder · From: Philadelphia, Pa. USA

Jay (and Paul)- That guitar looks really great.. it actually has a more balanced look too it end to end, than most factory keyless guitars. One thing- wouldn't winding the strings clockwise around the locking screws make it easier to get them secure? I want one!

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Brian,
I was told when I bought my Kline, to always wrap the strings counter(anti)-clockwise. The theory being that string tension would be always in the direction of "tightening" the screw, and that a clockwise wind would always be threatening to "loosen" the screw. But, I've seen guys do it both ways, and there never seems to be a problem.
Another neat thing about the Kline-type tuners is that you don't have to cut off the strings. Just wiggle them back and forth a few times, and they snap right off!

Brian Herder · From: Philadelphia, Pa. USA

John, I just figured that tightening the screw would make the string want to squirt out the side.. but what you say makes sense.

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

I never had any "squirtin'" problems Brian! Smile

It seemed, 20 years ago, that almost everyone in Northern Ohio had a Kline! I've never seen anyone wind the strings differently.

Scott Howard · From: Georgetown, TN, USA

John
I have never heard that about the counter clockwise . Makes sense and I may try it next time. I like the fact that you just wiggle it a few times and it breaks off clean as can be.
I have never seen a Kline but they sure look good in pictures.
_________________
"The Oddball" A MSA Keyless with pedals to the right.

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Scott, I could go on and on about Klines! But,,, this thread is about Jay's beautiful guitar, and Paul's masterful work. I think it's just great that Paul is making a Kline-style tuning head. It's a wonderful design.

Dennis Olearchik · From: Newtown, PA

"It looks like it was meant to be that way". Smile

Jay Jessup · From: Charlottesville, VA, USA

Hey Brian,
Is your avatar that Sho-Bud you refinished? It looks real good whatever it is!
Also thanks for asking about the string direction as that's one discussion I don't recall having with Paul--a little counter intuitive but if it's worked for years I'll try when I need to change strings!
John,
Paul and I discussed several different approaches to keyless and since I already had the pedals and levers in their current position and I wanted the guitar as short as it could be made he thought the Kline style would be best, he has several different keyless tuners he has make in the past and while he was very familiar with the Kline system I believe this is the first one he has made from scratch.

Brian Herder · From: Philadelphia, Pa. USA

Jay- That is indeed the old Bud I redid. Feels like an old pair of sneakers and sounds great, but I just got back from schlepping it to a gig for about 5 notes.. what a waste of a perfectly good hernia.
I NEED a small keyless.

Jay Jessup · From: Charlottesville, VA, USA

Hey Brian,
Well if it's a small, light keyless you need then I recommend a S-10 GFI. I bought one about 5 years ago to test out the keyless concept. The side benefit is that it's extremely easy to make changes to without buying new rods and such. While not leading edge technology they work and sound just fine and if you can score a gig bag to carry it in then even less to schlep!!
Say hi to brother Rex for me---does Edwin still live in the Philly area?
Jay

Paul Redmond · From: Illinois, USA

John - You're 100% right on re: the CCW winding of the strings on the tuning arms. Winding them CW is tanamount to using a left-handed lockwasher under the head of a right-handed screw. You may get it to hold, but don't blink!!!
PRR

Chris Lang · Posted 13 Dec 2009 7:33 am

Sheer beauty and mechanical excellence! That is one sweet looking ride. That keyless tuner is magnificently designed.

Wish I had one!

Hard to beat a Redmond build.....

Very Happy

steve takacs · From: beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)

Paul Redmond is a genuine alchemist in my estimation when it comes to asking that major changes be made to a pedal steel. He also keeps meticulous notes on his work, so if you have a question, he dips into his secret alchemist archives and provide a quick and helpful answer. Also, when he does the work, he keeps you informed at all times and gives possibilities from which to choose when you make the final decisions.

This, was my case when he changed my Kline Extended E9 12 string into a universal with more changes than I thought possible, & his own style lever lock and string two half and full tone drops. There was much more I could go into. In addition, he is a truly nice person. steve t

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