Adding knee levers to a Fender 400

Eric Jaeger · From: Oakland, California, USA

I've got a near-mint Fender 400, 4 pedals,
one of which can be set up as a knee lever.
The tone on this thing is wonderful, but
even as a beginner I'm reaching the stage where I'd really like to have at least the
raise-E, drop-E, and drop-D levers, so I'm
thinking of modifying it by removing the
existing "knee lever" (it's really clunky)
and adding four new knee levers.

It looks like it should be fairly straightforward. There's plenty of room under there, the mechanism is a simple cable system
acting on a single-raise,single-lower, all-pull changer (obviously).

Is it as straightforward as it looks? What's a good source for parts like the levers and cables? Am I missing something big, and is it even a good idea?

Thanks, in advance
-eric

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Yes, it is! I wouldn't go to the expense of "buying" a knee lever and adapting it. It's much easier just to fashion one out of 3/8" X 3/4" aluminum bar stock. The cable and pulleys can be had at any bike shop, aircraft parts house, or maybe even a hardware store. Make the loops out of steel welding rod, or automotive "choke wire". Use acid core solder or silver solder to fasten the cable and the loops in the small tubing ferrules (these can be made from small copper, brass, or steel tubing, which is available also at auto and hardware places). The only thing left would be the cable-stops (or screw-type wire connector clamps, as they are sometimes called) and the brackets for knee lever...easily made from pieces of 1/2" X 1/2" X 1/8 thick aluminum angle. Add a few screws, and you're ready to go! All the tools needed are a drill, a file, large soldering iron (or torch) wirecutters, pliers, and a hacksaw to fashion the necessary levers, brackets, and cables.

Make sure you keep the pulls fairly straight (no problem on a single-neck) and use a spring on the cables for the levers that move o the right (to keep them in place in the pulley sheaves at the end of the guitar).

I played a 1000 (double-neck) model for 7 or 8 years, and even the crude knee levers will get the job done, but I tried to make the two I had look pretty "professional".

Have fun!

Patrick Ickes · From: Upper Lake, CA USA

Hi Eric,
I had a good time sitting next to you at Bill's jam in San Jose. I have a Fender 400 also with 6 pedals. I would advise you to stay away from the Fender and learn the basics on your Sho-Bud. It has all the necessary pedals/levers for you to get good on. After you get it figured out, you can mess with the Fender. With those four pedals and some knowledge, you can later make decisions on how to set up your fender. Most knee lever pulls are on pedals A B C +D but in a diffent position. I don't use a volume pedal when I play my Fender, but I use both feet on the pedals.
Get it?
Pat

Eric Jaeger · From: Oakland, California, USA

Patrick, those were some great licks!

The Sho-Bud is my main axe, but I'm an inveterate tinkerer. I wouldn't experiement with the Sho-Bud on a bet though (it's a '71
Professional, with the complex rack under it), so I'm satifying my urge to tinker on the Fender. And the Fender has such a great sound to it, plus weighing less than half what the Sho-Bud weighs!

If I understand what you're saying, you've
got the normal knee-lever moves on pedals,
so for the A+F move you'd just mash two pedals, right? Did your 400 come with 6
pedals or did you add them?

Chick Donner · From: North Ridgeville, OH USA

If you wish to keep your knee levers "authentic," many of them in the old days were brass doorstops hung under there as levers. I had two of 'em on an old F400.

Michael Johnstone · From: Sylmar,Ca. USA

I recently put 6 knee levers on a Fender 800 and to do it right ain't easy.

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