Sidekick #3 pedal will not work correctly...

Todd Weger · From: Safety Harbor, FLAUSA

As mentioned in a previous thread, I was given an MSA 'Sidekick' a couple nights ago, and I worked on getting all the adjustments done yesterday enough to get the P1, P2, and knee lever all working right. P3 is another story, OTOH. First is that the hook end of the rod is for some reason, too short, and falls out of the slot. There is quite visibly not enough 'hook' to stay grabbed on. Not sure why. The other issue is making P3 raise strings 4 & 5 both a full step. I can get it to raise #5 correctly, but #4 will only get to maybe a half step. Tried doing the things that were laid out in another thread, but got frustrated and just gave up on that pedal.

I live in the Tampa/Clearwater, Florida area. Is there anyone I could take it to to work on? That that pedal be altered to do something different?

Thanks!
TJW

Michael Hutchison · From: Indianapolis, USA

Hi Todd,

Perhaps everything is too tight and the finger is hitting the wood before it gets to F#? In this case no amount of adjusting the pedal will help. You'll need to adjust the collar behind the RKR bellcrank so that it doesn't hold the finger so close to the wood. Once you get it approximate by moving the collar around, you'll tune the raise at the keyhead, the neutral using the RKR travel stop (finger screw in the side of the lever bracket) and lower at the end of the changer.

Todd Weger · From: Safety Harbor, FLAUSA

I'm not really sure of how to adjust that collar..? When I press P3, and look down where the finger moves, I can still see 'daylight' (albeit, just only a 1/16" or so) between it, and the wood. I did fool with it earlier, and did something (not sure what) where I was able to get it to raise to F# - hooray! But I celebrated too soon, because then I couldn't get string 4 to lower quite enough to D#, even with the changer screw all the way out. Arrrrgghhh...

So, it was either have that wonderful II minor chord with P2+P3 working right, BUT not have the knee to lower those root notes to D#; OR... have the knee lever, but not have P3 available. Mad

I know there's probably some fine line adjustment tweaks to each setting I need to make, and I've started and re-started from scratch now about four times, but can't seem to get it right. It's that danged string #4 that keeps messing me up!

Mad

How do I get that 'finger' to move back further, and still have enough room to 'dial out' that stop screw at the changer to get it to go low enough to D# proper? It just barely could get there with P3 working all properly, but not enough to be in tune with string #8?

Thanks again!
TJW

Todd Weger · From: Safety Harbor, FLAUSA

...and the collar is the piece wrapped around the rod with the allen screw, correct? And what I need to do is loosen that, and move it along the rod in the direction of the tuning keys (i.e., away from the changer)? Do I have that right?

This is why I stuck with lap steel for so long. Embarassed

Thanks again for all the help!

TJW
PS: btw, I went to school at IU back in the stone ages in Bloomington. Sure do miss summers up there. My time in B-town was great.

Michael Hutchison · From: Indianapolis, USA

Here is a picture (from another thread)

The red square is drawn around one of the rod collars. They are adjusted by loosening the black set screw, sliding left or right, then tightening the set screw. By coincidence, it happens to be the very one that we are talking about here. Get under the guitar and operate the knee lever. Watch the aforementioned collar (the exact one highlighted in the picture). Does it hit the bellcrank immediately to the right (closer to the changer) of it at any time when you are operating the knee lever? If so this is what is keeping the string from lowering.

This is where it gets tricky, because there has to be enough room between this collar and it's associated bellcrank, when at rest, so that the string can drop all the way to Eb, yet it needs to be close enough that P3 can raise the same string to F#. Ideally, when the knee lever is operated, the collar should very nearly, but not quite, touch the bellcrank for P3.[/img]

Todd Weger · From: Safety Harbor, FLAUSA

Thanks, man. Yeah, I sort of looked at it all, and reasoned that would be the collar, and I also figured out the bellcranks. I got under there, and made your adjustments actually about 3 hours ago, but I've been adjusting, fighting, adjusting, adjusting, fighting, adjusting... ever since! There's some serious major adjustment here that I'm not getting, because when I get P3 adjusted right, I still can't get the thumbscrew to tune right, nor the drop to D# knee. Just missing some important piece of the puzzle. I got it free, and someone had disengaged the pulls for strings 10 and 8, plus all kinds of things were off. I spent the better part of Wednesday working on it. I've been at it since this morning, and I'm done for today (got a gig later). But I will attempt to go at it again tomorrow.

I hear you on the micro adjustments of where these collars need to be. I just have to get my patience back, and try her again tomorrow. If I can't get it right, I'll just take to someone and say "please make it all work, and then show me what you did!" Laughing

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