where do you put your e's

Scott Appleton · From: Ashland, Oregon

Some like there E's on one knee ether right or left .. Jeff Newman told me once at a steel guitar seminar on my Uni to put the E to F on the left right and the E to Eb on the right left .. that way you can transition from one change to the other cleanly.
What do you all think ..

Dave Hopping · From: Aurora, Colorado

All my guitars have the E half-step lower on RKL,and the half-step raise on LKL.

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

You should first read this thread - http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/007769.html

This has been discussed a lot over the years since then. Someone usually winds up just pointing to that thread anyway. I don't think anybody could sum up better the philosophies behind each approach (E's both on left vs., e.g., E=>F on left, E=>Eb on right) better than Buddy Emmons and Paul Franklin. More recent threads - http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=213364 or here - http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=160728 - and there are lots more.

I personally raise E to F on LKL, lower E to Eb on RKL. I started with both E's on the left, and after reading that original thread, I switched my setup around and tried every which way for a period. Ultimately, Paul's approach and reasoning seemed to work best for me (and that's the strongest argument I'd even begin to try to make for this approach). Finally, I should note that I play a 12-string E9/B6 universal sometimes and a D-10 sometimes, and I think E=>Eb lower on the right knee is a bit easier to rationalize for the universal. Still, I think it's worth playing around with this particular setup feature a bit. I actually had to mess around with this for a while before I really could draw a conclusion for myself.

Lyle Clary · From: Decatur, Illinois, KC9VCB

I played Day set up for 35 years with the E - E flat LKL. I did not have E - F. When I got my Zum D10 it was set up Emmons and I learned to play all over again. The E lower was on the RKL and the E - F was on the LKL which I find really convenient. When I ordered my new Zum Encore I had Doug mirror the E9th of my D10 except had the Franklin pedal in the 0 position at Doug's suggestion.
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Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

I play Emmons pedals, LKL is E--F, but my E--Eb is RKR.

I used to play the old style MSA copedent with both E's on the RIGHT leg. That also made a lot of sense...as all of the non-E string pulls on LK could be used with either E raise or E lower.

Anybody want to discuss the drivers between E--Eb on the RKL vs. RKR ?

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

Wesley Medlen · From: LaCygne,Ks

I like mine on the left LKL E-F LKR E-D# That let's me make arun down from 4-5-6 LKV to LKR to AB down when appropiate
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Darvin Willhoite · From: Roxton, Tx. USA

I lower the E's on my RKR and raise them on the LKR. My first steel was set up with the RKR like that, and I didn't raise the E's to F until I had been playing several years. The LKR just seemed like a good place to put it. Works for me.
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Henry Matthews · From: Texarkana, Ark USA

I put mine on left knee since to me they are probably the most used knee lever, so they won't interfere with my volume pedal.
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Skip Edwards · From: LA,CA

My take on this one...
I'm an advocate of having your E levers on your left leg.
You pretty much want to be able to use your E raise and lower levers in different ways in combination with your other 2 levers... that is, one KL raising string 1 a whole step, along with string 2 a half, as well as lowering your 6th a whole, or raising your 7th a whole (whichever you prefer)....and one lever lowering string 2 a whole step and dropping string 9 a half.
If you split your E levers between two legs, you lose the advantages of having those combinations.
The rationale for having your E levers on your left leg - at least the way I see it - is when you have a vertical lever on your left leg that lowers your B's a half step, you get to use that vertical in combinations with that lever that raises 1 & 2 (which is very cool), as well as the lever that lowers 2 & 9.
JMHO...

Wayne Neal · From: Ohio, USA

I like em on the left.(emmons)...like was said in the last 2 posts. Smile

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Bill Bertinot · From: Burlington Ky

For example; I like the E raises on LKL, and E lowers on RKL 'cause one of my favorite combos is to lower the E's while pressing AB and vertical knee. Great for diminished chords and runs.
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Dale Rottacker · From: Walla Walla Washington, USA

Dale Rottacker · From: Walla Walla Washington, USA

You shouldn't post from a stinkin phone....I'll have to fix the last post when I get home on a computer.... Confused

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John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

E-F on LKL
E-Eb on RKR
Been using it for 30+ yrs. Works fine for me.

Georg Sørtun · From: Mandal, Agder, Norway

My "norm" is E>F on LKL and E>Eb on LKR, as I often combine E>Eb (LKR) with G#>F# on RKL and I can't find a better way to get that combo.

OTOH, on one of my "lab-rats" I have E>F# on LKV, which in combination with E>Eb on LKR produces a perfect F. I found that going seamless between E, F, F# and Eb, and combine any of these E changes with G#>F# on RKL and/or pedal A & B, wasn't very hard when I had full movement in my left leg.
Right now, as my left leg is healing from removal of blood-clots (and more) and I can't play at all, I am not so sure how well these complex pedal/lever combos will work.

Brett Lanier · From: Madison, TN

Franklin's setup makes a lot of sense having them on opposite sides while having the 2nd string lower on the opposite side as the E lowers. I've had it both ways, a couple of times... I've had them both on the left for a while now though. It makes the most sense since I don't lower the fourth string.

Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

When I acquired my pull-release D10, which is maybe 50 years old, it had Day setup and just one knee lever, E-D# at LKL. This worked well with the B pedal for the 7th chord. I updated it by adding E-F on LKR and got quite used to it that way. Later I added right knees to raise 7 and lower 9.

When I rebuilt the underside, in order to prepare myself for maybe playing a universal, I swapped it all over (RKL-D#, RKR-F) and it took very little time to get used to. Crucially, I didn't find that it interfered with the volume pedal, which seems to worry some people.

I can quite see how it would be nice to be able to bend the 3 note in the A/F chord down a tone smoothly like you can in the pedals-up and pedals-down positions. But with both Es on the same leg, when you're in a B6 position (with D# engaged) you have both the S7 and S9 changes available on the other. (That's not to say I might not try splitting the Es at some point, but right now I'm enjoying playing too much to want to take it all to bits again.)

In the end, I guess it depends what music you're required to play and what personal stamp you're trying to put on it.
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Dick Wood · From: Springtown Texas, USA

I played with E-Eb for 16 years on the LKR and then one day I switched them to the RKL and it only took a short period to re-adjust so it's all what you get used to.
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John Scanlon · From: Jackson, Mississippi, USA

Another left-knee-E guy here - basically because 1) that was the way my fixed-copendent, starter guitar came, and 2) that was the way most instructional material assumed your setup was. My next and current guitar is not a fixed copedent, but has half-stops on the right knee, both directions, so I didn't see a need to move them over. Not too late to change, but I doubt I will.
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Lee Dassow · From: Jefferson, Georgia USA

E's on the left on my steels. Tennessee Lee
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