| Author |
Topic: Old Gibson Home-Built Pedal Steel |
Quinn Widener
From:
California, USA
|
Posted 12 Nov 2024 3:50 pm |
|
Hi there!
I recently acquired on FB marketplace an old Frankenstein pedal steel (branded as a Gibson Console Grande 520 D-8, possibly Fender-400 changer and Marlen pedals/rods?) and am looking for some advice in fixing it up. This will likely be a long post so thanks in advance!
1. Understanding pedals
I own and play a lap steel but pedals are a whole different beast to me, so my first question is how do I set up the pedal steel neck with the pieces that I currently have? I have assembled it once with the pedal rods and found trouble attaching the underside pieces to the changer, I've attached pictures here:
Pedal rods and pull rods
Pedal rod closeup
Pedal steel assembled
Underside hinges
Pull rod cavity
Changer
2. Pedal and tuning machine lubricant
Purely a hardware question, I'm wondering if there's a lubricant that would be best used on the pedals and the tuning pegs since some are very stiff currently, I have WD-40 but don't know if that will cause problems. Just need somebody to affirm or point me in the right direction.
3. Pickup problems
I've attached a video of the problem I am facing when plugging the guitar into my amp. Since I don't have strings on it I chose to demonstrate with a bent steel wire. The "2nd" neck, as the switch calls it, is the pedal neck, and the one I'm facing the biggest issue with, which is the buzzing. It changes based on the position of the tone switch, and is influenced by interacting with the metal bridgeplate. Does anybody have any theories and home remedies before I take it to a guitar pickup specialist? Furthermore, it seems like I get no/less noise on both necks from the lower pole pieces regardless of the tone switch, and get more buzzing on the first neck's furthest pole piece. Here's the video so you see what I'm talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yACDPeqUAsQ
4. Bridge hook replacements
Among other pieces missing on this guitar, this one is the most unique, which I'm hoping somebody can help me brainstorm alternatives for. On the pedal neck, open chain links were used to hook the previous strings in place, but there were only 5 of 8 left still on the guitar. My local hardware store can order me chains in that link size but of course only in a spool of 100-200. I thought about cutting and shaping the steel wire I used in the previous video, but don't have the tools at my disposal to shape them as needed. Is there somebody in the classifieds who would be able to make a part like this (feel free to email me), or have ideas for making it at home (including any tools that may be helpful)? Here's a picture:
String hooks
Thanks for reading! |
|
|
 |
Tim Toberer
From:
Nebraska, USA
|
Posted 13 Nov 2024 6:53 am
|
|
Quinn,
Welcome to the Builders Forum! It has been pretty quiet here lately, I was glad to see some new action here. I am no expert, there are some real experts here if you can get them to respond 
I will try to give you some insight. You have a big project on your hands. Not to burst your bubble, but honestly the build quality looks pretty poor. Could get expensive if you need rewinds etc. It may not be worth it, realistically, unless you can put some strings on it and maybe cobble together a few simple changes. Not great pictures, it looks like you have a few nice parts, especially the changer.
1. This is the key, what style, sound are you going for? What is your lap steel tuning? Who do you listen to regularly? I think you can get a lot of music out of a few simple changes and I could recommend a few simple copedants if you want. My advice here, keep it simple at first. Get it working. Listen to Bud Isaacs, or Speedy West for example. From the pictures it looks like this guitar was setup with an extremely basic copedant. The changer looks really good and could do alot more if you want to fabricate the parts.
2. I just use mineral oil, because I don't like toxic chemicals.
3. Not sure about this one, does it work? Probably ungrounded IDK probably needs to be redone.
4. I would say from all the other issues with the guitar, this is the least of your worries. You will probably have to improvise. Coat hanger, welding rod, can be shaped pretty easily. You need tools if you want get this thing working. Minimum basic workshop tools. A vise and all the basic hand tools are an absolute minimum. A hand drill and probably a drill press, because you have to drill alot of metal. You can't build anything without tools.
Good luck with the project! It will be a ton of work, but if you are having fun it is worth it!
Last edited by Tim Toberer on 13 Nov 2024 8:00 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
|
Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
|
|
|
|
Quinn Widener
From:
California, USA
|
Posted 16 Nov 2024 7:00 pm
|
|
| Tim Toberer wrote: |
Quinn,
Welcome to the Builders Forum! It has been pretty quiet here lately, I was glad to see some new action here. I am no expert, there are some real experts here if you can get them to respond
I will try to give you some insight. You have a big project on your hands. Not to burst your bubble, but honestly the build quality looks pretty poor. Could get expensive if you need rewinds etc. It may not be worth it, realistically, unless you can put some strings on it and maybe cobble together a few simple changes. Not great pictures, it looks like you have a few nice parts, especially the changer.
1. This is the key, what style, sound are you going for? What is your lap steel tuning? Who do you listen to regularly? I think you can get a lot of music out of a few simple changes and I could recommend a few simple copedants if you want. My advice here, keep it simple at first. Get it working. Listen to Bud Isaacs, or Speedy West for example. From the pictures it looks like this guitar was setup with an extremely basic copedant. The changer looks really good and could do alot more if you want to fabricate the parts.
2. I just use mineral oil, because I don't like toxic chemicals.
3. Not sure about this one, does it work? Probably ungrounded IDK probably needs to be redone.
4. I would say from all the other issues with the guitar, this is the least of your worries. You will probably have to improvise. Coat hanger, welding rod, can be shaped pretty easily. You need tools if you want get this thing working. Minimum basic workshop tools. A vise and all the basic hand tools are an absolute minimum. A hand drill and probably a drill press, because you have to drill alot of metal. You can't build anything without tools.
Good luck with the project! It will be a ton of work, but if you are having fun it is worth it! |
Tim, thank you for your speedy reply! Sorry about the pictures I was struggling to figure out ways to show the important bits without showing my messy garage to the world, haha.
To answer your reply to #1, I am honestly not looking for much besides getting comfortable with playing a pedal steel and hopefully having something I can use to jam with friends on. Like you said I am mainly just looking to get it working. I'll try to get some better pictures of the underside when I break it down again.
Unless I have a pickup expert respond I think I'm just gonna take it to a guitar shop and hopefully get a diagnosis, then go from there.
Thanks again for offering some pointers! I am excited to try my hands at building, and hope that with patience I can get it somewhere I can be happy with.  |
|
|
|
