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Topic: Fender 400 copedant ideas |
Ben Edmonds
From:
Greenfield, Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 8 Jan 2010 7:24 pm |
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I am looking for some advice/ideas for my Fender 400. I am using the E9 tuning without the two upper strings (F# and D#) I have four pedals and currently have them set up so the A pedal raises E's a half step to F, the B pedal raises B's to C#, The C pedals raise G#'s to A, and the D pedal lowers E's to Eb.
I obviously want to keep the B-C# and G#-A raises but my A and D pedals are up for grabs because I find that using the E raise and lower is awkward on pedals instead of Knees... its just not as smooth to me Im sure if I just practiced it enough it would be smoother but I want to experiment a bit.
I play in a classic country band so thats the music I like to play but I like all kinds of stuff.
So with that in mind, throw some ideas out there for me and please explain your reasoning and maybe some real examples. Thanks for the help!
OUT THERE IDEAS ARE ENCOURAGED TOO! |
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Russ Tkac
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Posted 8 Jan 2010 7:51 pm Fender ideas
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Try here too.  |
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Dave Zirbel
From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
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Posted 9 Jan 2010 7:07 am
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The good thing about those old Fenders is that changing the pedal setup is quick and almost effortless. Makes experimenting easy and fun.
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps |
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Cliff Kane
From:
the late great golden state
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Posted 9 Jan 2010 8:50 am
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Ben,
I have the almost same setup on my 400 except pedal 1 raises both G#'s to A and the high E (string 2) to F#. The rest is the same as yours. I think it's a good E9 setup for playing country on an 8 string 4 pedal guitar. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 9 Jan 2010 9:48 am
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I like the way you have it.
You could lower the G#'s to G on pedal 1. That's always fun.
Pedal 4 could be a standard C pedal, raising the high E and B a full step.
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 9 Jan 2010 11:51 am
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I like it too! I think the way you have it is the best set up for classic country with no knee levers. If you need a knee lever on one of those old 400's you can go buy a door hinge or one of those folding door stops and hook a piece of clothes hanger to it for a one string pull.....JH in Va.
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Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
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Paul Sutherland
From:
Placerville, California
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Posted 9 Jan 2010 11:59 am
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| This is a bit of a tangent but not entirely: Wouldn't it make more sense for Ben to drop the two bottom strings and move everything down so he could add the two chromatic strings on top? I haven't played an eight string E9 in decades, but I find I use the chromatics much more than I use the two low strings. |
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Paul Sutherland
From:
Placerville, California
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Posted 9 Jan 2010 1:02 pm
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| On second thought: I wouldn't want to have the chromatic strings without being able to lower the 2nd a half tone (D# to D). If that couldn't be incorporated into the tuning (via knee lever or ?) I probably would stick with the low D & B and forget the chromatics. |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 9 Jan 2010 1:04 pm
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| Quote: |
| but I find I use the chromatics much more than I use the two low strings. |
There seems to be about a 60/40 split in favor of the "no chromatics" version from the postings I've reviewed here and on the Fender Steel Forum. Some (I'm one) don't play E9 much at all (I play B6) but when I do I much prefer the lower range of strings 10-3. It's my particular style for sure, but I've never found much use for chromatics other than on a guitar with a 2nd string lower for a 7th chord. Otherwise I never use them.
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No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Ben Edmonds
From:
Greenfield, Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 10 Jan 2010 12:52 pm
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| I do kind of miss the chromatics but I do like to use the bottom strings for rhythm playing,,,Think memphis vamp... all good ideas though. Missing the chromatic strings makes me lean less on my licks and play more by ear if that makes any sense. |
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