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Topic: Carter string does not lower enough. Any remedy? |
Jacek Jakubek
From:
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 6 Jun 2018 4:54 am |
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Hello everyone,
I have an older model Carter guitar that is pre-BCT and has a slightly different changer design than the newer, standard Carters (wider axle, different finger design, etc.). Even the knee lever assembly mechanisms are different on this guitar.
I'm trying to lower my 4th string E down to a C# on a pedal and this guitar does not seem to be capable of this. The string only goes down to D and no more, even though you can still press the pedal further. At a certain point, the string just stops lowering as you press the pedal even more. It does not matter what hole the rod is on the bell-crank, the string won't lower further.
I have this change on my other, newer Carter guitar with no problems.
Is there anything I can do to make the string lower further? Or is this a design limitation of the older changer that I'm going to have to live with? |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 6 Jun 2018 6:16 am
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| Is the lower-rod in the lowest position on the changer-scissor - closest to the lower-return spring? If not, place it there to reduce the chance of "lower-reversal to raise". |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 6 Jun 2018 7:03 am
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| Look at the changer from underneath and see what's going on. Is the raise finger moving along with the lower finger when it gets near the end of it's travel? (The raise finger should never pull away from it's stop when you're actuating a lower.) |
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Jacek Jakubek
From:
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 6 Jun 2018 7:24 am
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Thank-you, Georg.
I moved the rod to the lowest position and now the string can lower all the way to the C#. It must have been caused by the "lower reversal to raise" you mentioned. I didn't know such a thing existed.
Unfortunately, that lowest hole is used by another, more important change. So now I'm going to have to try to move that and see if I can get the pulls timed correctly.
Is there a way to keep the rod in the same hole and prevent this "lower reversal to raise," maybe by tightening the lower return spring?
Anyways, at least I got something to work with now.
Thanks again, guys. |
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Jim Palenscar
From:
Oceanside, Calif, USA
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Posted 6 Jun 2018 7:27 am
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| That is a huge lower- a step and a half for a .014" is asking a lot and I'm surprised that the newer Carter does this. |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 6 Jun 2018 7:37 am
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| Jacek Jakubek wrote: |
| I moved the rod to the lowest position and now the string can lower all the way to the C#. |
Remember that you can test this without all the trouble of re-locating a pull rod. Just push on the lower bar, using a screwdriver or something. And keep your eye on the raise bar; if it pulls away from its stop, push it back as you lower to determine whether the changer itself is capable of making the change you want. If not, there is no point in wasting time with pullers and springs etc. |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 6 Jun 2018 8:39 am
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| Jacek Jakubek wrote: |
| Is there a way to keep the rod in the same hole and prevent this "lower reversal to raise," maybe by tightening the lower return spring? |
Actually, tightening the spring will only make the lowering more problematic.
You may make it work for rods in all lower-scissor holes by loosening the lower-return spring until it barely can make the lower-scissor return properly after a lower and stay put during raises – a somewhat delicate adjustment that may have to be repeated a few times to get right. I do this routinely on my own PSGs to balance them out, but advice caution for those who are not familiar with such fine-balancing.
As for extreme lowering: I have a five half-note lowering on some of my PSGs, but to make that work I have to drill a hole in the lower-scissor in level with the return-spring and pull there. Cannot adjust that rod on the changer, so have to do that underneath – on the rod or pedal/lever. Can lower any string until it goes dead that way, which of course isn't the goal  |
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Jacek Jakubek
From:
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 6 Jun 2018 9:58 am
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It looks like I won't have to mess with those lower return springs, Georg. I was able to time the other change correctly in the new hole so my lower to C# will be working properly now.
Thanks again for the help. This forum is an amazing help. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 6 Jun 2018 11:16 am
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| Jacek Jakubek wrote: |
Is there a way to keep the rod in the same hole and prevent this "lower reversal to raise," maybe by tightening the lower return spring?
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Two ways I can think of. The first is a using a heavier gauge string. The second is using a weaker lower-return spring. Keep in mind that loosening a strong spring doesn't always give the same result as using a weaker spring!  |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 6 Jun 2018 11:28 am
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| Would never be a problem if the spring had been rearranged to put pressure on the lower-scissor above the holes, instead of below them as now. Technically slightly more challenging, but not by much. |
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Billy Carr
From:
Seminary, Mississippi, USA (deceased)
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Posted 6 Jun 2018 11:29 am Psg
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| What lick, etc. would you use lowering the E down to a C#? Is that a sub for the D# to C# 2nd string drop? Got me there. |
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Jacek Jakubek
From:
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 6 Jun 2018 12:43 pm
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Billy,
I have this C# lower on pedal 10, beside the volume pedal.
I use it with my right foot, but I have to take my foot off the volume pedal to do so. You can get some cool sounding unison licks this way by using it along with the A pedal 5th string raise. I don't lower to C# on the knee lever because I don't like half stops.
It's not an essential change and I don't use it that much. I may take it off at some point but wanted to have it on this guitar because my other guitar has the change and I want to keep my setups the same on my guitars. |
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