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Topic: Emmons counterforce and compensators |
Ben Godard
From:
Jamesville NC
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Posted 20 Mar 2007 4:51 pm |
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I've heard a lot about these little gadjets. I do not have these on my guitar (Marlen) so I am unfamiliar with them. I think I know what they do but they raise a question in my mind.
That is does counterforce and compensators on psg's cause extra pedal/lever tension as well.
I like my guitar to have a fairly easy pedal action. But not so light that it is easy to barely bump a pedal and make a note go out of tune.
I live about 3hrs from Burlington NC and I am thinking about getting an Emmons LeGrande III.
I heard alot about Emmons guitars, especailly their old push pulls. However I owned a push pull (from another dealer) and I despise working on them.
I've been playing a SD10 w/pad MARLEN fo about 10yrs now. This guitar is beutiful and will never leave my side. It is beutiful and sounds great. It is a natural aged maple look to it with black fretboard and black pad. However it does have a little cab drop that is sometimes noticable, it's pedal action feels a little messy and noisy, and the worst part of it I don't like is that the stops are not dead acurate. I can press a pedal a little harder than normal and hear the note go slightly sharp.
Anyway I know Emmons is a good name. After all it seems to have been Emmons and SoBud that really started the pedal steel revolution to start with. They were the first to pioneer and really nail the science of making quality steel guitars.
Anyway comment as much as you like about Emmons and conterforce and compensators.
Thanks
Ben |
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Ben Godard
From:
Jamesville NC
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Posted 21 Mar 2007 3:24 pm
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Frank Mrus
From:
Bridgeville, Pennsylvania
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Posted 21 Mar 2007 5:03 pm Emmons counterforce and compensators
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Hello, Ben,
Thought I'd pass on my experiences with the counterforce unit and compensators. When I had my LG III built I specified that the counterforce be placed only on the E9th neck. I believed this tuning and the pedal pull tensions associated with it would have more influence on cabinet drop than with the C6th. This mechanism has been very effective and I haven't detected any substantial drop even when checking with a Peterson tuner.
In regard to pedal pressure, I notice a slight increase, especially on the A pedal. Some players find this to be distracting or objectionable so it depends on the player's preferences and what feels best to that person. The string pulls you set up for the given pedals will of course have a bearing on the force needed to press the pedal.
As for the compensators, the strings on which you have them placed would depend on your setup. Mostly, I had them placed on strings that are both lowered and raised. In my case, I have eight on the E9th neck and three on the C6th. I've found these effective in bringing the string back to accurate original pitch.
All in all, I'm very satisfied with this setup and would specify the same arrangement on a future instrument. Hope this helps.
Frank |
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Ben Godard
From:
Jamesville NC
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Posted 24 Mar 2007 9:39 pm
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Thanks
I've been flip-flopping backand forth on which steel I want to buy soon. I have been really hung on Franklins for a while. i've heard that his changer is in a class of its own and has the abilty of handling multiple pulls with ease.And frankly, I like their classic professional appearance. Not to mention the tone is great too.
On the other hand I wouldn't mind having an Emmons as they are definately classic and professional and also they are located only about 3 hrs from me. I know the Emmons builders must be true pioneers in the art of building quality psg's. They were the really the first to establish that sound.
I really want a guitar that has moderately easy, pedal/lever action. The reason why I'm concerned with this is because I play Paul Franklin's set-up on my psg. He uses a lot of multiple pulls. With multiple pulls on an Emmons LG III. That concerns me. if I knew that an LGIII could handle these pulls fairly easily then I would definately go that route. Unfortunatley there's no way for me to try out an emmons set-up like this.
If anyone has tried multiple pulls like PF's set-up on an Emmons please feel free to comment. |
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