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Topic: Pedal Action |
Paul Foster
From:
Arizona, USA
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Posted 4 Jun 2009 4:08 pm |
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Who can tell me which of the Pedal Steel's has the best pedal action, not only the new guitars but which of the older ones as well. I have tried several guitars, do they all have the "Hook" on the end of the pedal rods,seems the older guitars have a lot of "play" in the pedals and knee levers, also is their a better way to connect, Thanks everyone   |
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Sandy Inglis
From:
Christchurch New Zealand
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Posted 4 Jun 2009 7:18 pm
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Hi Paul, I don't know the answer to your main question, but as I have two old Sho-Buds with the old pot-metal brackets (they both had sloppy pedal actions, I found a solution. I got some 'syringe tube' which I think is just chromed brass (thin-walled)tube of a suitable outside diameter. I drilled out the inside (of the tube) to a suitable diameter to match the (unused) holes on the bracket. I then shaped (tapered)the end of the tube and hammered it into the bracket. I then cut off the excess and filed it clean and used a countersink bit to de-burr it. This worked very well and improved the pedal action on both guitars. I had a spare (faulty) bracket, so I worked my way through each guitar one-bracket-at-a-time. Idealy one should replace the brackets with a modern (coop)type one, but this'll do for the time being.
I hope this helps, as you may find a great guitar but with sloppy action which is fixable.
Sandy
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01'Zumsteel D10 9+9; Sho Bud D10 SuperPro; 6 String Lap Steel (Homemade); Peavey Nashville 1000; Fender Deluxe 85;
1968 Gibson SG; Taylor 710 CE; Encore Tele Copy; Peterson Tuner; HIWATT T40 C 40W/20W Combo |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 4 Jun 2009 11:11 pm
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| Paul, most have the hook (or something similar). When a guitar is played, most of the slop is taken up by gravity and spring tension. Keep in mind that some play is normal, and actually a good thing. Excessive play causes noise and may be a sign of lots of wear. Lack of play can cause accelerated wear, as well as tuning problems, so it's important to know the difference between wear and "preferable loosness". |
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Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2009 1:50 am
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Not sure I can answer the question either, but I did have a slight epiphany on the subject yesterday. I have often pooh-poohed the necessity of timing strings to pull at exactly the same time on a pedal (or lever); since I rarely play octaves, I figured, who cares if they move at exactly the same time. But my F lever was feeling especially sloppy yesterday, so I went to the trouble of moving the pull rod for string eight to a different slot in the bellcrank to time it with string four and suddenly realized how clunky all my pedals were feeling. A few minutes later my Fessenden felt smoother than it had it a long time.
FWIW, Fessendens have a hook at the end of the rod. But if the pulls are timed evenly they will feel smooth (as I now appreciate). Not that all steels can feel equally smooth (or that Fessendens are especially smooth, I haven't played enough steels to compare), but I would suspect that having any steel properly set up figures into the equation.
Dan
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Durham, NH
dbmCk mUSIC |
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