RKL - Lower G# to F#, or Raise F# to G#?

Steve Morrell · From: Woodway, Texas USA

Hi all - I just took delivery of a new guitar, a Justice, and I love it. BUT, it is set up differently than my old one. On my old axe the RKL raises the F#s (7th and 1st stgs), but the Justice raises stg 1 and 2, and lowers the G# (6th stg) to F#. I can see advantages to either approach. Perhaps the new one is more in line with contemporary thinking on copedents?

I'm pretty new at PSG but wondering which of the two options is more popular/utilized. It looks like it would be pretty easy to mod the new guitar to be like the old one.

Or should I stick with it and adjust my brain to deal with the new setup?

Thoughts appreciated!

Steve
_________________
Justice Pro-Lite S10

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

The advantage of lowering 6 is that it gives a split G with the B pedal - I use it a lot.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

I like raising the F#. I appreciate the advantage of lowering the 6th and splitting it with the B pedal, but I can easily half-engage my LKL1 (raises 1,2,7) to get that seventh note with pedals down.

In addition, I have the bonus of the maj7th with pedals down, too - with a lovely dissonance between strings 6 and 7.

I feel I'm gaining something doing it this way.

Colin Swinney · From: Wisconsin, USA

Do most players put a half stop on that change? I lower my G# but only to G, never saw much advantage in adding the F# there but I like Rogers major 7 pedals down reasoning if I move to it to string 7.

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

It's pretty, Colin, and it gets more than just occasional use.

I have no half-stop on string 7 but I'm accustomed to half-pedaling that KL and it's never been a problem. I can, of course, slur up into that 7th note.

I see nothing but good in raising 7 rather than lowering 6.

Skip Edwards · From: LA,CA

A couple years ago I switched from lowering 6 a whole tone to raising 7 a whole tone. I like it...things that you would normally play by lowering 6 just sound different when you try to do a similar thing raising 7 instead. And I like that.

Michael Sawyer · From: North Carolina, USA

I have both- i raise both F#'s on a lever,lower my low G# to F#,and my high G# to G,on a pedal.

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

I have often wondered about doing both on the same lever, so that 6 & 7 swap over. In theory it could be the best of both worlds, although I haven't yet bothered to try it for real.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

Ian

Wouldn't that just give you what I have now?

The 6th, split with the B pedal, becomes a G and the 7th becomes the F#.

Or should I get some coffee and think it through a bit more?

Dale Rottacker · From: Walla Walla Washington, USA

If I was raising both 1 and 2 on RKL, then I'd want to raise 7 a half/whole. Lowering 6 a whole somehow became a popular change with 1 and 2 raise, but I've never warmed up to it. There are too many conflicts while using 1 & 2, at least for me. If it was me, I'd move that rod and raise 7 with it... oh wait, I've done that in the past... While your at it... you could add an additional rod to the 9th string and raise it a half, for a lovely Maj7th. Winking

Yet as they say, To Each Their Own
_________________
Dale Rottacker, Steelinatune™
https://www.youtube.com/@steelinatune
*2021 MSA Legend, "Jolly Rancher" D10 10x9
*2021 Rittenberry, "The Concord" D10 9x9
*1977 Blue Sho-Bud Pro 3 Custom 8x6
https://msapedalsteels.com
http://rittenberrysteelguitars.com
https://www.telonics.com/index.php
https://www.p2pamps.com
https://www.quilterlabs.com

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

I agree with Michael Sawyer. Raise both F# strings to G#.
Lower G# strings with a different lever, or better, a Franklin pedal.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

My setup. RKL lowers 6th G# to F# and also a tunable split with B pedal (actually the RKL raises 1 to G#, 2 to E and the 6th string lower).
RKR Lowers 2nd to C# (with feel stop at D), Raises 7th string F# to G and lowers 9th string to C#.

Steve Morrell · From: Woodway, Texas USA

I’ve experienced the same thing as Dale, conflicts when I use 1& 2. Also love the idea of adding a 6 lowering G# to F# on pedal 0. But before making the switch I need to investigate the split aspect of this. I’m not sure I fully grasp the whole split topic so I’ll do some reading on that.

Thanks everyone for your opinions. Very helpful!

Steve
_________________
Justice Pro-Lite S10

David Dorwart · From: Orlando, Florida, USA

That RKL 6 lower in conjunction with the LKR 1 lower will give you a 5 chord on the major grips

Steve Leal · From: Orange CA, USA

Hi Steve,

I currently lower string 6 a whole tone by itself on my zero pedal. The only drawback with it there is that you can’t split it with the B pedal to get the open position minor 3rd - as they are not next to each other.

To me, it is still a good stand alone change that can still be used either by itself, or together with lowering Es. One additional reason I put it there is because I also lower 5 and 10 a whole tone on a lever. Using these together allows you to attain the PF pedal functionality. And lowering Bs to As alone gives some amazing sounding options.

Let us know what you end up doing!
Steve

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

I prefer lowering 6 to F#. Not only is the split with the B pedal really cool, but I get the same movement of letting off the A pedal in the pedals down position (dropping the 3rd to a 2nd/9th), but in the no pedals position. It's a cool transition from the pedals down 4 chord to the no pedals 1 chord. Let off the A pedal in the pedals down position, then let off the B pedal then lower 6 and pick string 8 to get to the root of the 1 chord. Do this in a seamless motion, and it's pretty cool. I use the lower to F# more than the split.

For a few years, I also raised 7 to F# on both my Carter and a Williams I had. Both had a staggered 2nd LKL where I had it. Never used it, so I removed it.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting.

Forum Index > Pedal Steel		Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: