To reverse or not to reverse? That is the question

Gianni Gori · From: Livorno, Italy

Well, I'm not Hamlet but I have been wondering this since I started playing pedal steel guitar a few years ago...

Here it is my copedent:

As you can see, on my right knee I have the levers allowing me to raise and drop the E strings.
When I bought my guitar I found it set this way and it took a while before I realized it was a quite unusual configuration.
I have seen that many of you have sort of reverse set up, with both of those levers on left knee; others raise E's with LKL and drop them with RKL...

I feel comfortable with my setup but I do think that if so many players use a different one there should be a good reason. Maybe I'd better change it now, before I get way too used to a weird configuration.

I am going to add a Franklin pedal in a few and it could be a good occasion for changing the whole levers setup.

Would you do that?
And... why?

Bent Romnes · From: London,Ontario, Canada

Hi Gianni.
My MSA Classic(even the same color as yours) was set up with the E/F- E/Eb the same way. I am thinking that maybe that was the standard of the day (1976 -ish)
Nothing wrong with that set up if that's what you prefer.
To change it because you are installing a Franklin pedal doesn't make much sense either. The Franklin is used alone, so for that it won't matter.

You did an excellent re-finishing job on that MSA!
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Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

I think that half-tone stops (such as D/C#) are better on the right knee. If a half-stop is on the left knee, I find it too difficult to hold at half-position while I mash the pedals, especially as I move from one pedal to another.

Also, you might use half-stops on the F# to G# pulls. Just tune string 1 or string 7 to pull to G instead of G#. Maybe that will provide a half stop on string 7 or 1.

Gianni Gori · From: Livorno, Italy

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

If you are comfortable playing it and it works well, I see no reason to change it. I never change my copedent without a compelling reason for the change. Sometimes the reason is musical, sometimes it's ergonomic, sometimes it's mechanical.

Our musical reflex actions are hard to change. When I changed my E lowers from LKR to RKL, I made horrible loud embarrassing mistakes on stage for several years. When we're under pressure, we want to be able to rely on our instincts, reflexes and training. It's easy to change your guitar's copedent. Changing the deep rooted grooves in your brain is a much bigger challenge.
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Gianni Gori · From: Livorno, Italy

Right b0b,
that's why I am asking you if there's a good functional reason for changing...
If a change is needed I'd beter do it now, before those "grooves" get too deep! Very Happy

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

The musical reason, for me, was to get the E raises and lowers on different knees for a smooth full-step change in the F lever positions. But there are many people who don't feel the need for that change (including Buddy Emmons!). Your mileage may vary.

The ergonomic reason that Earnest mentioned is a good one, if you use a half-stop lever. I don't have any half-stops in my copedent, so it doesn't really apply to me.
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Jim Eaton · From: Santa Susana, Ca

I have my E-Eb & E-F on my LKL's over standard ABC pedals and to me this keeps all the changes for Major & Minor chords on that side of the guitar with the RKL's being the extensions used with those positions. As b0b said, it's all personal preference, but this is how I think about them in my set up. YMMV.
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Bo Borland · From: South Jersey -

Gianni, There is no reason to change if you are comfortable with it. I have been playing the same copedant since I started.

Dave Grafe · From: Hudson River Valley NY

I have that setup on one guitar and not on the other. My old ShoBud Pro I has only these two levers (Eb and F) on RKL and RKR respectively. I intentionally purchased a second (3+5) guitar with the more conventional copedant (including the E string changes on the left) so that I would be at ease when playing other people's guitars and it has proved to be a worthwhile move.

I kept the right knee changes intact on the other guitar because the action is so much faster between them (extremely handy when moving between the dominant 7 and 7+9 chord positions, used a lot in some musical genres), due to the fact that the right (volume pedal) foot does not have to rotate but remains in a vertical plane, while the left foot must be able to rock the A and B pedals freely without the resulting horizontal motion of the left knee striking the levers and knocking the E strings out of tune. For this reason the left knee levers must be spaced farther apart than the right ones, regardless of which changes are engaged by them.

So the trade-off is between speed on certain changes and functionality of others. It may be interesting to know that many of my Alaskan steel playing friends have the E raise on LKL and the E lower on RKL, essentially the old ShoBud configuration. This is a decent enough compromise to consider as well.

Tony Glassman · From: The Great Northwest

I think your set-up is just fine as is. The only three arguments I can see for changing are.

1] the half-stop issue mentioned above

2] the F and Eb levers on the left knee are more common, so it might be statistically an advantage when asked to sit in on other player's guitars.

3] I think the F and Eb lever are the ones used most. Not being on the volume pedal, the left knee contacts the levers at a lower spot yielding an easier (albeit longer) throw. This may be slightly less fatiguing over the course of a whole night.

Gianni Gori · From: Livorno, Italy

One of the reasons why I'm wondering if I should change is your argument #2 Smile

I don't have that many chances to play other people guitars but should it happen I bet I would be in big trouble! LOL

Some months ago I was told "your left leg is aready so busy with pedals... leave your E and F levers on the right!". It did make sense to me.
But it's also true that using volume pedal and the E or F lever at the same time may not be the most comfortable thing in the world with my setup...

Paul Sutherland · From: Placerville, California

Gianni: I have the E lower lever on my right knee going right, same as you. I haven't found any problems because of my leg sitting on the volume pedal. (My E to F lever is on the left knee.)

However, if you were playing a double neck, or were thinking you might some day, I see an advantage to having that lever on the left knee.

If the E raises and lowers are all on the left knee there is generally no way they can be called upon to also pull changes on the C6th neck. As a result, those critical changes (the E raises and lowers) work more reliably and with less lever pressure. I use the E lower lever more than any other lever, and I don't want the lever to be any heavier than necessary. Most double necks have the right knee levels working both necks. It's real easy for the right knee levers on a double neck to get overloaded. My guitar was set-up that way. I eventually disconnected the C6th pull that was on the lever, and the guitar plays much better. I was willing to sacrifice a little on the C6th to get a better feel on the E9 lever. After all, no one makes any money playing C6th.

If you are not thinking about going to a double neck, I would leave things just as they are.

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