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Topic: Clustered knees on a Uni, which ones inside? |
Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 11 Jun 2012 1:17 pm |
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I'm waiting for arrival of the lever and bracket from Bruce Zumsteg for my MSA (his design just seems more efficient, since the reversal happens on the lever, only one link rod),
and I'm going to raise 3 and lower 6 (the equivalent of raising 1 and lowering 6 on E9).
The existing LKR on the rear apron lowers 7.
Does it make more sense to leave the 6th-based lever on the rear apron and the 9th-based change forward, under the guitar?
How do you clusterpluckers do it?
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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John Russell
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 11 Jun 2012 4:46 pm Universal Setup
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Lane: I may not qualify as a bona fide "clusterplucker" since my setup is not typical. I haven't changed in about 18 years. I play it more as extended E9 and move from the ABC pedals to 5 and 6 when necessary. That is to say-- I don't switch to B6 "mode" by adjusting my posture with left foot and knees relocated. I figure it's all one tuning and much of what you hear C6 players do is replicated on the E9 if you know where to look. My C pedal replicates pedal 4 on some C6 tunings. I raise E to F# with RKL so I can get the sound of pedals ABC all at the same time--another 6th chord. I get dominant 7ths using pedals A and B plus LKV (F# to G) and the standard string 8 (E) lower to D with Es lowered. I use that change on the E9 side quite a bit for the typical 9th chord used in rock and blues.
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 11 Jun 2012 5:19 pm
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John, you don't have a cluster setup like Lane is referring to. A cluster is 2 levers on the same knee moving in the same direction. And actually, I think Jimmy Crawford may have come up with that term (remember the "Crawford Cluster"?) and he had 2 levers moving in each direction (plus a vertical, making 5 levers total just on the left knee).
Lane, I seem to be backwards from a lot of players. Well, I get told that all all the time.  My 2 LKL levers on E9th are situated like this:
The LKL that is closest to the front of the guitar is main main LKL and is about an inch or so to the right of the rear LKL. When I sit at the guitar, my knee is what actually activates the front lever. When I activate the rear lever, I barely have to shift my knee back to hit the 2nd lever, and don't really have to move any other part of my body (as big as I am, that's a good thing. I have been classified a "hazardous area"). Pretty effortless. Most I have seen do it reversed to where they use the rear lever as the main LKL and shift their knee forward to hit the second lever. This seems like more effort to me.
My advice (if it's worth anything) is to situate the one that you will use the most in the location that is easiest to reach for you. Like I said, for me it is forward to where the actual knee will hit it.
p.s. I have never been referred to as a "clusterPLUCKER", but have been called that other word that is similar more times than I care to admit.
Also, I am liking what you are doing with that Bb6th tuning. Can't wait 'til you are finished.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 55 years and still counting. |
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John Alexander
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Posted 11 Jun 2012 5:34 pm Re: Clustered knees on a Uni, which ones inside?
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| Lane Gray wrote: |
Does it make more sense to leave the 6th-based lever on the rear apron and the 9th-based change forward, under the guitar?
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I don't know the answer to your question, but maybe this makes a difference: The LKR that lowers the 7th string can be quite useful in combination with your LKV, with or without your pedal 5. (I have those changes on my guitar, and have made much use of those combinations, for example to get a II-V using LKR to get, in open position, Cm9, then LKR and p5 together to get F13, then add the LKV to get F13/b9.)
Your other LKR doesn't look like it is likely to be much played in combination with the LKV.
That might suggest putting the 7th string lower on whichever LKR you find easier to use in combination with LKV. |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 11 Jun 2012 7:43 pm
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John Russell, John Alexander and I combine both "E" string changes on one knee, the RKL.
The Bb6 tuning, half a step down from E9, starts with them already lowered, and then you raise them to Eb for the 9th stuff. He and I have those pulls timed right so that we can throw a half stop at Eb and continue on to E, the analog of the F lever.
And Richard explained the nature of the beast.
And I've just gotten solid reasoning supporting BOTH assignment options.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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