tunable split on #6 string

Brad Malone · From: Pennsylvania, USA

About what year did the tunable split on string 6 become commonplace?...talking about the G# to F# lower, bringing it back to G with the G# to A pedal. Seems to be standard at this time.

John Bechtel · From: Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.

Brad; The sixth-string is first tuned to (G) in combination with the (B)-pedal Raise and (KL) Lower and then the split-tuner is used to achive a true F# when the (KL) is used by itself. How many years it's been used, I don't remember and I don't think it's possible on a P/P guitar, because; a Raise over rides any Lowers. It may be possible, but; not too practical. I really don't know much about a P/P guitar!
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Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

I had a double lower (feel stop for the 1/2 tone lower) on my PP Emmons in January 1972. I don't know when lowering the 6th string first came about, but when Johnny Cox and I did some knee lever changes on my 71 PP D-10 Emmons (yes it was Black Very Happy

) thats when I put it on.

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

G# to G is a common change -- Jimmie Crawford used it a lot. Many others like to convert E G# B = EMajor to E G B = Eminor. It is a cool change.

I like to have it on all my G# strings, not just the 6th, so I have a separate lever on my main guitar.

G# to F# is a change I associate with Buddy Emmons. It is like the inverse of the A pedal in the key of B. Think of a BMajor chord = B D# F# . Play strings 10, 8, 6 (9, 8, and 6 on a U-12) with G# to F# and E's lowered to D#. That's a BMajor chord. To get the A+B pedal I to IV (B to E) let off the Eb lever -- like the B pedal change. Let off the G# to F# lever for the same change as the A pedal. When you release both levers you will change the chord from B to E. Just like pressing the A+B pedals at the 7th fret -- the chord goes from BMaj to EMaj.

Since the G# to F# change on string 6 is relatively common and everyone has the B pedal raising G# to A, it is natural to want to combine the whole tone lower and the half tone raise to get the G note. On guitars without split tuning that note may or may not be right (probably not) without it.

I still like to have G# to G on a dedicated lever. Just a personal preference.
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Brad Malone · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Larry, correct me if I'm wrong but I think you meant strings 10, 8 and 6. Also a beautiful Eb Aug (open or fret #12) is available on strings 5, 6, and 8 with the combination of the b pedal, the g# to f# lower and the Eb lower on the 8th string giving you Eb, G, and B..now kick in the A pedal and you get a C# or the 7th of the chord..BE has a beautiful lick using this combination in the song "I love you so much it hurts me"....when I first heard that lick, I couldn't believe it..it sounded so great. Larry, like you say because of the inverseness of this lever compared to the A and B pedals a whole bunch of sound combinations are available..great idea

Brad Malone · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Hey John, Thanks for your reply. I just received my new Williams Steel last month and I had them put on the #6 string split..I never had it on my Mullen. Like Larry pointed out in his post there are so many combinations available that are inverse from the A and B pedals..I'm really having fun with all those (new to me) sounds. BTW, I really like my new Williams 600 series.

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

Brad,
Right you are. 9,8,6 is for a U-12 and 10, 8, 6 is for the standard 10 string E9. I've been playing U-12s for so long I tend to forget that 9th string D I abandoned 35 years ago. Laughing

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
My CD's: 'I've Got Friends in COLD Places' - 'Pedal Steel Guitar'
2021 Rittenberry S/D-12 8x7, 1976 Emmons S/D-12 7x6, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Quilter ToneBlock 202 TT-12

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

One thing I use quite a bit on stock steel guitar 5 to 1 endings is to, for example on the 5th fret, strings 4, 5, 6, lower the 6th string a full tone, lower the E string a half tone, pick strings 4, 5, 6 and then release the knee levers that are lowering strings 4 and 6 and it will "move" from the 5 chord (E) to the 1 chord (A).

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

Can anyone answer Brad's original question?

I seem to recall that the Emmons Lagrande (all-pull) was the first production guitar that offered tunable splits. Buddy had developed a tunable split mechanism for his personal push-pull, but I don't think that the idea was marketed before the Lagrande appeared.
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John Bechtel · From: Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.

The only picture I ever saw of Emmons Split-tuning was on an all pull guitar which incorporated an extra pull-rod on the lowering KL that actually raised the pitch while lowering it. The system was pictured in Emmons tabbed courses of Expo~E9 and Half~Dozen, back in the 80's. First you engaged the (B)-pedal and adjusted the nylon-tuner to (A). Then along with the (B)-pedal you also engaged the KL that lowered the (A) a whole-tone to (G). Then when engaging the KL along, it would be slightly flat, so; you brought it back up to proper-pitch with the ‘extra’ raise nylon-tuner on the KL. The extra pull-rod utilized the holes closest to the body on both the bellcrank and the changer. This method should work on any all-pull changer. A P/P is out of my relm of expertise.
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<marquee> Go~Daddy~Go, (No), Go, It's your Break Time</marquee> L8R, jb
My T-10 Remington Steelmaster

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

Brad Malone · From: Pennsylvania, USA

BE used that pedal combination in his tab booklet entitled "Swingin' Our Way"...what Steel he used and what date it was produced is not indicated on the booklet.

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