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Topic: How much string pull to change notes? |
Paul Strojan
From:
California, USA
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Posted 24 Apr 2023 3:52 pm |
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How does string gauge impact how much distance it takes to bend a note? I have a Jackson slide king lap steel with two edge benders that I am trying to set up with synchronized changes. The way Edge benders work is the strings are attached to set screws which rotate around a shaft connected to wrist levers. The distance of the string from the center of the shaft controls how far the string bends.
I am trying adjust my setup trying to set up a whole step and half step change on each lever and I am finding that I can’t get both in tune at the same time.
For reference, I am setting up the guitar with an E9 tuning.
G#
E Lever 2 Raise to F#
B Lever 1 Raise to C#
G# Lever 1 Raise to A
F#
E Lever 2 lower to D#
D
B
Right now with a .018 B string with a two semitone raise; the plain .020 g# string will raise no less than a semitone and a half. |
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Bobby D. Jones
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 24 Apr 2023 7:49 pm
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A rule of thumb when setting up a Pedal Steel guitar.
Tune small Plain strings first and set stops, Then the larger plain string will tune within stops.
Example: 3rd .011 & 6 .020 plain strings from G# to A.
Small diameter Plain Strings must be pulled farther to reach a note, Than larger diameter Plain Strings to reach same note.
If Wound String is put in the tuning, The diameter of the Core Wire is what sets how far the string must be pulled to reach the same note.
Hope this helps. |
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Andrew Frost
From:
Toronto, Ontario
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Posted 25 Apr 2023 3:37 pm
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Not sure about the nuances of the instrument you're describing, but if you want the travel on that G# to decrease, you could try a wound string. Like Bobby outlined, the core is what dictates the amount of travel up or down a string requires.
For example, if you, hypothetically, put a 22p for G#, pulling to A, that string will have a thickness that will let it reach a higher pitch without as much pull on it as a 20p would need. And a wound 20w/21w/22w string will actually have a much smaller core and will require a lot more pull to reach that A pitch. I don't know how tune-able your pulls are but this might get you 'closer to the green' and get you in the ballpark of preventing the overly sharp result you described on the G#-A change. |
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Paul Strojan
From:
California, USA
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Posted 25 Apr 2023 3:52 pm
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| I tried a 22 wound and that solved the problem. |
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