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Topic: The Bellingham Universal |
Bruce Burhans
From:
Bellingham, Washington, USA
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Posted 22 May 2005 6:56 pm |
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Hang onto your bars, ladies and gentlemen, that wackjob
from Bellingham Washington is at it again!
Presenting:
The Bellingham Universal
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28" Scale (Or thereabouts: longer than normal for good
bass reproduction and a longer fretboard) - 14 strings
Triple-Raise/Double-Lower Changer
E9 = 1,2,3 Pedals; 9,10,11 Knee levers
(E9 pedals underlined)
B6 = 4,5,6,7,8 Pedals; 12 Knee lever
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I've added two non-standard changes, to pedals
belonging to each tuning, but using strings devoted
to the opposite tuning:
The lower D# to D for the E9 amd The D down to C for
the B6 tuning. Just seemed a waste to have only one
change on a pedal.
Vertical knee-bars (left for down and right for up)
control the volume. When the left bar is pushed all the
way up, the volume is off and the right bar is all the
way down. Total vertical movement of about an inch.
_____________________________________ front of instrument
12 fret
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================= ================= volume bars
|_______________| |_______________| axles (on back
of instrument)
When your heels are on the floor, and one of the bars
is at its lowest point, it is just above your knee
(adjustable for the individual).
[This WORKS and it works WELL. I have built a prototype
and put it through its paces. It's mickey mouse compared
to what the finished product will be like, but it still
works GOOD.]
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The pedals are in two tiers, staggered, like a piano
keyboard. Total width of pedals less than that of 7
pedals in a normal setup, with the 12th Fret bracketed
by pedals 6 and 7.
The upper tier of pedals ("black keys") overlap the the
lower tier. You can play each row seperately or you can
play any 2 adjacent pedals:
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Or any 3:
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With one foot.
(Just like a concert organist could with their bass
pedals, although THEY would have no reason to do so
because the result would be a terrible dissonance.)
e = String used in E9 tuning
b = String used in B6 tuning
12th Fret
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
- - - - - -
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----------------------------------------------
e G#| A
eb F#| G
e E| F# D# F
eb D#| E D
eb B| C# C# C# A#
eb G#| A A# A#
eb F#| F
e E| D# F
b D#| D D
e D| C
eb B| C# C
b G#| A#
b E| F D#
b B| C# G#
So there's a TRUE universal, with 6 strings less than
a D-10. And with an ENORMOUS field of enhanced
possibilities resulting from the ability to switch
from one to the other instantly, use parts of each
simultaneously, and from the ability to make dozens
of combinations of 6 changes at once due to having
both feet free for the pedals and the 'piano keyboard'
arrangement of those pedals.
I'm offering this a possible STANDARD pedal steel
guitar.
What a beginner would buy (and possibly never modify!).
All the changes to get anyone through the tabs for all
the beginning to intermediate courses and then some;
(understatement).
Yes, I've straightened out the Chromatic Strings.
It has to happen someday...
So what do you all think? (besides that I'm a nutcase,
I mean :-)
There COULD be up to 19 pedals (10 in lower tier and
9 in the upper), and 15 would be easy, if there are
any critical changes you think I have left out.
Bruce in Bellingham
------------------
Sho-Bud S-10 Pro-I 3+5 -- http://tinyurl.com/65rcv
Wooden Steels Rock!
[This message was edited by Bruce Burhans on 22 May 2005 at 08:13 PM.]
[This message was edited by Bruce Burhans on 23 May 2005 at 12:47 AM.] |
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Keith Cordell
From:
San Diego
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Posted 22 May 2005 9:48 pm
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You are a sick man, Bruce. Really. I would recommend a 12-step program but you'd find a way to put pedals on it...
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Sierra S8, Rickenbacher T-Logo Bakelite lap steel, Peavey Delta Blues, Regal Dobro, Teese RMC2 Wah, Proco Rat, Lap Dawg bar
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Bruce Burhans
From:
Bellingham, Washington, USA
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Posted 22 May 2005 10:41 pm
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Keith Cordell,
That's just great! Why don't you write Al Petty and
tell him the same thing.
quote:
Jerry Hayes posted 18 May 2005 10:04 AM
Gary mentioned Hal Rugg doing it [volume control] with
him bar someway, I remember years ago when I was in LA
that Al Petty who fronted his band playing Beach, Va.
steel standing up had some sort of volume control on
his bar. I never got to see it but I heard about it
from a couple of people. Al was a genius about things
like that so I believe it. JH in Va.
That was on: Previous SGF Topic - Click Here
What band do YOU front, Keith?
Bruce in Bellingham.
P.S.
There are NUMEROUS pedal steel players out there with 10
and 11 pedals. I've added ONE more.
You are making NO sense at all.
------------------
Sho-Bud S-10 Pro-I 3+5 -- http://tinyurl.com/65rcv
Wooden Steels Rock!
[This message was edited by Bruce Burhans on 22 May 2005 at 11:56 PM.] |
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 23 May 2005 4:10 am
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Bruce, Keith was just being drole,
you took it seriously...??
Do you have an pictures of this rig?
It sounds VERY interesting to me.
I doubt it will fit in a aiirplane over head rack though 
Buddy Cage is going for a 10 and 14 right now, so you're not to far out.[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 23 May 2005 at 08:39 AM.] |
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Bruce Burhans
From:
Bellingham, Washington, USA
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Posted 23 May 2005 4:20 am
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David L. Donald,
Keith was _kidding_?! That boy is drier than the surface of
the moon!
If that's so, Keith, then accept my apologies, please. I can
deal with it if I can _see_ it :-)
-----------
quote:
Buddy Cage is going for t 10 and 214 right now,
so you're not to far out
Could you translate that for a novice?
And thanks for setting me straight.
Bruce in Bellingham
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Sho-Bud S-10 Pro-I 3+5 -- http://tinyurl.com/65rcv
Wooden Steels Rock!
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 23 May 2005 5:57 am
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That's pretty good, Bruce. But, in the interest of advancing the instrument, I'm developing something even better!. It's a single-neck, one string pedal steel guitar! Since it's a one-string pedal guitar, it will be tuned to "E", and the chromatics aren't necessary, or even possible. (That also eliminates those "pesky" 9th and 7th notes.)
Wait! Before you laugh...just listen to the standard features!
It'll have 18 floor pedals, 17 knee levers (dual "Crawford clusters"), a special one-string changer with 7 raises and 8 lowers, and, it'll have a 37" scale! The fretboard will have 37 or 38 frets...I haven't really decided yet. It will feature 5 pickups, standard, (George-L Pentad, Lawrence, Wallace, Stringmaster, and a Shields repro), and a built-in tuner!
So...although this guitar does have the dubious distinction of having only one string, it more than makes up for it with all it's other features.  More standard pedals, more pickups, a longer scale, and a changer with 8 raises and 7 lowers! And, since all pedals activate the same string, "cabinet drop" is automatically compensated for!!!
I'm also thinking of (possibly) offering a double-neck version. The 2nd neck (also with one string), would be tuned to "C". So you could do those great Emmons' single-string moves on the outside neck, and then switch to the inside neck for those Chalker-type single string runs!
Of course...
that one might show some cabinet-drop.  |
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Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 23 May 2005 6:11 am
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Sorry Donny,
some dudes back in the 15th century already had a patent on this idea.
Check it out.
(What do you bet they would have been playing steel if it had been around!!??!!)
Dan
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Dan Beller-McKenna
Durham, NH[This message was edited by Dan Beller-McKenna on 23 May 2005 at 07:11 AM.] |
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 23 May 2005 7:43 am
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Donny, you have been looking at Carl Dixons secret plans again... tsk tsk.
Bruce, sorry I missed my typos.
Rules dyslexia does....
10 and 14 ( corrected above.)
PS Donny was kidding too....
ooh we ARE serious this week LOL |
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 23 May 2005 9:38 am
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| What, no knee levers? |
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Karlis Abolins
From:
(near) Seattle, WA, USA
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Posted 23 May 2005 9:51 am
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Bruce, I am curious about the 28" scale. You mention the possibility of Bass support. Although you have a longer scale, you don't add the lower octaves you would need to do Bass effectively. What other factors did you use for the long scale length? You would have to use modified string gauges to get the same notes. I used the string calculator on the 4 top strings and came up with .010, .011, .013, and .014.
When I first saw your post, I thought you were following Ed Packard's 14 string tunings but you have laid out the two standard necks with 14 strings.
I commend you on your efforts to take the pedal steel to new horizons.
Karlis |
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Bruce Burhans
From:
Bellingham, Washington, USA
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Posted 23 May 2005 10:52 am
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Donny Hinson,
Shoot! And there I was thinking I was on the cutting
edge.
I should have been logical! One string for every neuron
in my brain :-)
Karlis Abolins,
I didn't mean "bass support" literally. Just good strong
fundamentals in the upper bass range.
Cello, not Double Bass. And the gauges you suggest look right.
Will google Ed Packard.
Thanks. I have the advantage of being a novice. I haven't
really gotten used to "the way it's done" yet and can
see other possibilities. After all, the pedal steel was
basically created the year I was born and hasn't fundamentally
changed since then...
Dan Beller-McKenna,
chortle
David L. Donald,
I've only built a prototype for the kneebar volume
control. About the full instrument, I haven't decided
whether to hire it done, buy a 14-string and modify it,
or start from scratch. My workshop is not exactly
state-of-the-art...
------------
Thanks for the feedback, guys.
Bruce in Bellingham
------------------
Sho-Bud S-10 Pro-I 3+5 -- http://tinyurl.com/65rcv
Wooden Steels Rock!
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 23 May 2005 12:16 pm
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Dan, that T-bone Marine-world thing is no competition...it doesn't even have pickups! It was bound to happen, Bruce, I've finally earned a place for myself in musical history. I'm very excited over the possibilities of the new design. After all, with 8 raises and 7 lowers, that gives you 16 different notes (on the one string) without even moving the bar! I won't even have to use those crude slants anymore! The more I think about it, I think this is the answer to all our problems.
Now...what to call it?
Hmmm..."Em-one", maybe? 
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Bruce Burhans
From:
Bellingham, Washington, USA
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Posted 23 May 2005 12:30 pm
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Donny,
I know you are just having fun, but I once
knew a keyboard player that had a one-string
electric bass that he played with his feet.
The string was stretched along a horizontal
board, and he played it with pedals that
just hammered the string at each of the
positions where frets would normally be,
fretting and sounding the string at the
same time.
Sounded real good,
And it was a breeze to tune :-)
Bruce in Bellingham.
------------------
Sho-Bud S-10 Pro-I 3+5 -- http://tinyurl.com/65rcv
Wooden Steels Rock!
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Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Tom Gorr
From:
Three Hills, Alberta
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Posted 25 May 2005 9:44 pm
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| Donny - great idea dude. Would you tune that with ET or JI ? I think it would sound great either way. |
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