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Topic: Single neck Dekley? |
André Sommer
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Posted 22 Sep 2022 5:42 am |
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| Hi all, I recently got what appears to be an old Dekley pedal steel guitar. It's a 3+3, painted over and mechanically in reasonable shape. It has a George L 10-5 pickup (with a 5 way selector) and Schaller tuners. It sounds good with great sustain. The model- and serial number is: 001-0035. According to the manual "001" stands for a single neck student model but it doesn't look like the student models I found on the internet. The pedals are Emmons setup. I would like to add a fourth kneelever. The kneelever setup is not what I'm used to so I need to switch them around. Right now the RKR lowers the E's to D#. RKL raises the E's to F. LKR lowers the 2nd string to D and raises the 7th from F# to G. Spare parts aren't easy to find although I read that older MSA parts may fit. Any Dekley owners out here who could help me out with some advice, pics, etc how to change this copedent or perhaps know which builders could make those missing parts? Thanks in advance! |
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André Sommer
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Posted 22 Sep 2022 8:08 am
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I've tried to include some pictures of this instrument but can't seem to add multiple pics here? So, I will try to post them separately.
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André Sommer
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Posted 22 Sep 2022 8:09 am
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André Sommer
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Posted 22 Sep 2022 8:10 am
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André Sommer
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Posted 22 Sep 2022 8:10 am
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André Sommer
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Posted 22 Sep 2022 8:11 am
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André Sommer
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Posted 22 Sep 2022 8:12 am
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André Sommer
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Posted 22 Sep 2022 8:13 am
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André Sommer
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Posted 22 Sep 2022 8:13 am
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Scott Denniston
From:
Hahns Peak, Colorado, USA
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Posted 22 Sep 2022 10:32 am
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| Dwight Lewis here on the Forum may still have some parts for sale. He recently sold me a couple of bellcranks (the rod pullers). Those are definitely Dekley parts in your steel. The cross shafts could be cut from round bar of the proper diameter. Some older MSA parts are interchangeable with Dekley. I'm not sure but I would think those nylon bushings that the shafts go into would be available somewhere. If Dwight didn't already sell them I think he had some levers too. |
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Pat Chong
From:
New Mexico, USA
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Posted 22 Sep 2022 1:17 pm
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Your psg is not a student model. The Dekley student model does Not have cross shafts, and the leg mounts would stand out from the body.
If the model number means "student" (I'm not sure) then the psg may have been put together with parts from different units. Aside from that, yours is a good unit to start on.
Good luck on your project......Pat. |
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Brett Hansen
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 22 Sep 2022 1:34 pm
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| Have you already downloaded the Dekley owners manual online? It will walk you through everything you are asking about. Just Google that and it pops right up, it's a PDF. Dekleys are great guitars. I have a d10 that somebody converted to an sd10. I wish they would have left it alone. |
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Brett Hansen
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 22 Sep 2022 2:28 pm
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Id grab a gallon of lacquer thinner and an old towel and see if that paint won't just wipe off. I did that to an old Silvertone that somebody painted brown and it removed it perfect without hurting the original finish below. Try on a inconspicuous spot first. If you need underside mechanical pics let me know. These things sustain acoustically like crazy!
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André Sommer
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Posted 23 Sep 2022 8:19 am
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| Scott Denniston wrote: |
| Dwight Lewis here on the Forum may still have some parts for sale. He recently sold me a couple of bellcranks (the rod pullers). Those are definitely Dekley parts in your steel. The cross shafts could be cut from round bar of the proper diameter. Some older MSA parts are interchangeable with Dekley. I'm not sure but I would think those nylon bushings that the shafts go into would be available somewhere. If Dwight didn't already sell them I think he had some levers too. |
Thanks, Scott! I will try to contact Dwight Lewis. And if I can't find those nylon bushings perhaps I could have them made with a 3D printer. Cheers! |
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André Sommer
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Posted 23 Sep 2022 8:35 am
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| Pat Chong wrote: |
Your psg is not a student model. The Dekley student model does Not have cross shafts, and the leg mounts would stand out from the body.
If the model number means "student" (I'm not sure) then the psg may have been put together with parts from different units. Aside from that, yours is a good unit to start on.
Good luck on your project......Pat. |
Thanks, Pat! It was confusing to me because the student models I saw online had indeed legmounts on the outside of the body. So I was surprised to read in the manual that "001" stands for ten string "single neck (student)". Modelnumbers until 12/31/79 for a single neck should be either 010 or 110. After 12/31/79 the single neck model number is "110S" where the "S" stands for "Slimline". And I don't think mine is a slimline. Perhaps it's a Frankensteel  Anyway, this could be a fun project to work on. Thanks, again!
Last edited by André Sommer on 23 Sep 2022 8:48 am; edited 1 time in total |
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André Sommer
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Posted 23 Sep 2022 8:46 am
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| Brett Hansen wrote: |
| Have you already downloaded the Dekley owners manual online? It will walk you through everything you are asking about. Just Google that and it pops right up, it's a PDF. Dekleys are great guitars. I have a d10 that somebody converted to an sd10. I wish they would have left it alone. |
Thanks, Brett! I do have the Dekley owners manual in PDF here but it is a bit confusing to me. I guess I need to take a closer look at it.
I will try your tip to use lacquer thinner to see if I can wipe of the paint. Whoever painted this instrument did a horrible job on it. And you're right about the sustain. It blew me away for how long this thing keeps on ringing! And I would much appreciate it if you could post a pic of the underside of your steel. Cheers! |
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Paul Wade
From:
mundelein,ill
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Posted 23 Sep 2022 3:56 pm Dekley S-10
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That's a pre 1980 S-10 not a slim line
P.w
MSA bell cranks will work on it and cross shafts |
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Bill Burch
From:
California, USA
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André Sommer
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Posted 24 Sep 2022 6:54 am Re: Dekley S-10
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| Paul Wade wrote: |
That's a pre 1980 S-10 not a slim line
P.w
MSA bell cranks will work on it and cross shafts |
Thanks, Paul. I will look into that! BTW, a friend of mine here in The Netherlands has a universal 12 MSA and came up with a slick idea to mount a selfmade bell crank without taking apart the cross shaft.
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André Sommer
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Posted 25 Sep 2022 10:59 am
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Thanks for posting this very helpful link, Bill! |
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André Sommer
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Posted 26 Apr 2023 1:51 pm
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Hi all,
I'm still working on this Dekley and slowly making progress. It's not finished yet but it's playable. Here are a few more pics of where it is at now.
I've recorded a few soundsamples on it yesterday through my Boss Katana 100 MK2. The videoclip also has a few more detailed pictures of this restoration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGlWd7kv7U0
Last edited by André Sommer on 27 Apr 2023 11:40 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Tom Jordan
From:
Wichita, KS
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Posted 27 Apr 2023 6:20 am
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Andre,
The Dekley is coming along nicely. The tone is incredible and your playing is amazing! I've held on to my Dekley for years for that tone, playability and because they are such tough guitars.
Tom |
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André Sommer
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Posted 27 Apr 2023 11:07 am
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| Tom Jordan wrote: |
Andre,
The Dekley is coming along nicely. The tone is incredible and your playing is amazing! I've held on to my Dekley for years for that tone, playability and because they are such tough guitars.
Tom |
Thank you very much for your kind reaction, Tom! It actually surprised me how nice this Dekley sounds. Never played one before. It also does well with harmonics and the sustain is very good. And getting into John Hughey land (at the the end of the clip trying to play his Vince Gill "Look At Us" solo) it performs pretty good way up there, imo.
The RØDE NTK mic I used for this recording is known to have a hyped upper mids/top end or maybe it was too close to the speaker or not enough off center... I will try another mic like a ribbon, SM57, etc to see what happens.
You're right about these Dekley steels being tough and build like a tank  Anyway, it's an interesting project and thanks again! |
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Pat Chong
From:
New Mexico, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2023 11:58 am
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Nice job in removing the red paint, restoring the natural blond body color and in cleaning it all up!
I see you got your other knee lever, also.
Your sound example is good, too. Full speed ahead...Pat. |
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André Sommer
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Posted 29 Apr 2023 1:09 pm
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| Pat Chong wrote: |
Nice job in removing the red paint, restoring the natural blond body color and in cleaning it all up!
I see you got your other knee lever, also.
Your sound example is good, too. Full speed ahead...Pat. |
Thanks, Pat! It was quite an undertaking since I've never done this before but I'm happy with how it turned out and sounds. I may keep it in this natural color and still have to touch up a few things.
The hardest part was getting the black paint off the keyhead, on the bridge that holds the rollers and the two pieces that hold the changer fingers together. Also replaced a few rings between the fingers that I made from thin Dunlop Tortex guitar picks
I took the pedal bar to a company to have it sandblasted but they took forever to even begin. So, I picked it up again after a few weeks, used sandpaper and spraypainted it in an aluminum color for now but perhaps I will take that off later on and have it chromed.
Thanks, again! |
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