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Topic: Does everyone have this issue with the C pedal? |
James Mayer
From:
back in Portland Oregon, USA (via Arkansas and London, UK)
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Posted 22 Dec 2009 8:51 am |
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Forumite Tucker Jackson came over on Sunday and helped me get my new PSG adjusted to my freakisly unergonomic body. Now, it's almost all good. The only problem is that the C pedal, that raises E and B a full tone each, is not very smooth. After looking into it, I found that the little white pull adjuster (what are those called?) are the culprit. When I press the pedal, the E string bends smoothly until the B-string adjuster hits the changer, then they both move smoothly together. The issue is that I have to change pressure halfway through the motion. Press softly while the E string bends up to what sounds like a semitone then press harder as the B-string kicks in.
I expect that other steels have the same issue because the changer is simply working the way it's designed to work. Am I wrong? |
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Bobby Burns
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 22 Dec 2009 9:07 am
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What kind of steel do you have? Do you have several holes in the changer fingers, and several holes in the pullers? These holes allow you to time the pull rods so that both strings start at the same time (or close to it). The string that has to pull the longest should have the rod farther from the axle on the puller, and closer to the axle on the changer. The string that pulls a shorter distance, should have the rod closer to the axle on the puller and farther away on the changer. With just a few hole options on either end, you have a pretty wide range of adjustments to the timing, feel, and length of the pulls.
Some steels don't have as much adjustment for timing the pulls. In these cases, helper springs on the pulls can help improve the feel. On a push pull, the little springs between the pullers and the set collers do this job. Good luck with it. |
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James Mayer
From:
back in Portland Oregon, USA (via Arkansas and London, UK)
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Posted 22 Dec 2009 9:23 am
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| Yeah, that makes sense. I don't have the steel with me right now, but I can picture what you are saying. There are three holes for raise and three for drop on the changer. There's also 3 or 4 grooves on the bellcrank. So, moving the B-string rod for the C pedal a notch further out and away from the bellcrank axle should do it? There's probably a little less than 1/8" inch of pull that I need to remove. |
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Rich Peterson
From:
Moorhead, MN
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Posted 22 Dec 2009 9:38 am
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| I think the other way around. Move the E string rod away from the crossrod, so it moves further as the crossrod turns. That means the crossrod turns less to raise it 2 frets, and you don't need the slack on the b string. |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 22 Dec 2009 9:38 am
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That was really a nice feature of the old Fender cable steel guitars (400,1000,800&2000) in that the cables were hooked to a "pulley" so when you depressed a pedal, both pulls started moving at the same time and ended together. I'd be nice if some of the modern steels worked like that!....JH in Va.
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
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Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 22 Dec 2009 9:49 am
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| Don't ZB guitars have a "yoke" hookup that does that? Of course, they're not "modern" either, except for the guitars Kevin Hatton is making now. I don't know if he is incorporating this mechanical feature. |
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Bobby Burns
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 22 Dec 2009 10:43 am
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| Rich is right. Your E should have the rod moved away from the axle a little. |
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James Mayer
From:
back in Portland Oregon, USA (via Arkansas and London, UK)
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Posted 22 Dec 2009 6:19 pm
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| I just wanted to say thanks for the help. I moved the E string out one notch and it's all good. |
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