Adjustable Nut Finally Done.

Martin Weenick · From: Lecanto, FL, USA

A while back some folks wanted to know if this adjustable nut would have an effect on the sound of the guitar. I cannot tell any difference at all. Actually this is one of the best sounding steels I have built. If you look close on the underside you can see the ten socket head screws in a line where the adjustment is made,(near the pedal bell cranks). Zero string rattle at the first fret even with no pressure on the bar. Now if I want to go to a different size string somewhere, a simple adjustment makes them all level again. I am real happy with the way this worked out as I did have some concern reguarding sound and sustain. I did machined all the parts very close so I have almost 100% contact on all the parts surface. Sorry for the fuzzy pictures on some of these but I could never understand any camera more complicated than a Brownie. Martin.

_________________
Several custom steels. NV-112 Boss DD-7

Martin Weenick · From: Lecanto, FL, USA

I forgot to put a picture of the top side of the nut.Anyway, here it is. Martin.

_________________
Several custom steels. NV-112 Boss DD-7

Brad Malone · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Hey Martin, Your custom made Steel looks beautiful both on the top and the bottom...great looking undercarriage....you can be very proud of your work. Are you going to build any more?

PS. great idea on the adjustable nut...wonder why the others have not incorporated this idea?

Skip Ellis · From: Bradenton, Fl USA

Absolutely beautiful, Martin!!
_________________
2013 Brook Torridge, 2014 Martin 000-18, two homebrew Teles, Evans RE200 amp, Quilter 101R head, understanding wife of 45 years. 'Steeless' at the moment but looking......

Darvin Willhoite · From: Roxton, Tx. USA

And a nice rack of rifles there too.
_________________
Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, a restored MSA Classic SS, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Also a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored Rose S10, named the "Blue Bird". Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also have a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks, and a showroom condition Sho-Bud Super Pro.

Bent Romnes · From: London,Ontario, Canada

Martin, Ive said it before and I'll say it again... your work is just beautiful. I feel fortunate to have you as a mentor and adviser.
_________________
BenRom Pedal Steel Guitars
https://www.facebook.com/groups/212050572323614/

Danny James · From: Summerfield Florida USA

Congratulations Martin, on a job well done. Very Happy

I know our old friend Carl Dixon will be proud to see someone has done this on a pedal steel guitar.

I know he has wanted the modern manufacturers to do this for a long time. Smile

With these adjustable nut rollers you could actually use a dial indicater and a surface gauge to indicate in the top of each string to guarantee dead zero accuracy while setting it up. Cool

David Doggett · Posted 14 May 2009 8:31 pm

Looks like a great idea well executed. I never noticed the problem on 10-string E9, but for 12-strings those thick low strings really demand gauged rollers or something like what you have created.

Per Berner · From: Skovde, Sweden

Superb execution of a great idea, Martin! I have been working on a design for this purpose myself, but your solution looks much easier to fabricate.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

If it can be done, Mike will figure a way to do it.

Martin Weenick · From: Lecanto, FL, USA

I machined a simple device to tell when the strings are all level. The strings can be seen when they touch the bottom of the device, and you can also feel when they make contact. Thanks for all the nice things that have been said, as I said before, I am very happy the way this experiment turned out. Martin "Mike" Weenick.

_________________
Several custom steels. NV-112 Boss DD-7

Martin Weenick · From: Lecanto, FL, USA

Danny J. Dan, I know Carl has been working on a simular device. If I remember right I think he had designed one that was adjustable from the top of the guitar. That would be better, but no more often than this needs to be done I guess either way is allright. It took about one minute to level all 10 strings. Martin.
_________________
Several custom steels. NV-112 Boss DD-7

Nick Reed · From: Russellville, KY USA

Mike,
Do you put Sho-Bud fret-boards on all of your guitars or just that particular one?

Nick

Martin Weenick · From: Lecanto, FL, USA

Hi Nick, I use what ever is handy. I like Sho-Bud and sometime I make my own (see picture) but abalone is very expensive. Martin.

_________________
Several custom steels. NV-112 Boss DD-7

Brad Malone · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Hey David D. Couldn't they just use nut rollers with deeper grooves on the 11th and 12th strings to make everything even? I'm probably overlooking something because it sounds too easy

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

Martin, that's an extremely elegant solution to this problem. I really like the idea of doing this kind of adjustment from underneath the guitar, and getting it out of the way of the playing surface. The workmanship also looks beautiful on the entire guitar.

Every once in a while, I see something and say, "Why didn't I think of that." And of course, the answer is that thinking outside the box isn't easy.

Martin Weenick · From: Lecanto, FL, USA

Thanks for the kind words Dave M. I think it really makes a difference at the first fret, and I'm sure it would be even more helpfull on the c-6 side. A couple other guys have been working on this also , I know Carl Dixon has, and Per Berner has some very interesting drawings I have seen also.
_________________
Several custom steels. NV-112 Boss DD-7

David Doggett · Posted 15 May 2009 9:42 pm

Brad, just gauging the lowest two strings would help, especially on Ext. E9. But on uni, actually there are three strings lower than string 10 of E9. The gauges don't go up in a straight line, but go up exponentially. So that one extra low string on a uni (B) is really huge, and creates a much worse problem than with Ext. E9.

For a manufacturer, it is a one time exercise to figure out the appropriate gauge of each roller, at least for the wounds; and then make a bunch of them. I know Bruce Zumsteg also paid close attention to the highest strings, because the 3rd string is smaller that the strings to either side of it. So if you are going to gauge some of the rollers once and lay in a stock to last awhile, you might as well gauge all of them while you are at it. In the long run it is probably cheaper for a manufacturer to do that than to put adjustable rollers on every guitar. But the adjustable rollers are certainly an elegant refinement.

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

To my way of thinking, the strings between #1 & #10 or #12 are the proper ones to adjust, not the outer ones. To me, the top and bottom strings should determine the angle on the nut. Drawing a straight-line on top of str.10 and str.1. #10 = O to #1 = o. This way the surface slopes downward as on the Bridge! (= less twist on the top-surface)
_________________
<marquee> Go~Daddy~Go, (No), Go, It's your Break Time</marquee> L8R, jb
My T-10 Remington Steelmaster

Martin Weenick · From: Lecanto, FL, USA

John B. and Dave D. guys thats why I machined the small device to put on top of the keyhead, when you bring the strings up to the bottom of the device they are all absolutely horizontally on the same plane as the top of the neck. I machined the height of the device to match the exact height the strings are off the neck at the bridge end. Hope that helps. Martin.
_________________
Several custom steels. NV-112 Boss DD-7

Martin Weenick · From: Lecanto, FL, USA

Dave D., guaged rollers are great but far from being precise. Also say you want to change your 10 th. string from 38 to 36 or 34, or your 3 rd. from a 13 to a 12, then you would have to change the roller also to maintain a level plane across the top of the strings, and you know what that would involve. Some say this is nit-picking, but to me, every inprovement that can be made is good for our instrument. Martin.
_________________
Several custom steels. NV-112 Boss DD-7

Brad Malone · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Thanks Martin W....you just gave us one more "must item" to add to our list when purchasing a new steel. I wonder how many of the present builders are using your idea?

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

I'm sure a lot of builders will say the present system has worked for years and they see no need to change, just like many say about split/tuners, but; I won't buy another PSG w/o split/tuner screws! Perhaps enough will insist on adjustable-nuts to get that feature going too!
_________________
<marquee> Go~Daddy~Go, (No), Go, It's your Break Time</marquee> L8R, jb
My T-10 Remington Steelmaster

Bill Hatcher · From: Atlanta Ga. USA

You are a fine craftsman! I enjoy so much things that are handmade and are exceptional.

Brad Malone · From: Pennsylvania, USA

John B. The way I see it, it is a matter of knowledge and demand...as the buyers become more knowledgeable about certain features they will request them to be installed on the new steels they order. If some builders are not set up to provide these requested features the buyers will go to the builders that can provide them. The SGF is a great place to get knowledge about these new improvements.

Forum Index > Pedal Steel	Goto page 1, 2 Next	Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic