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Post new topic 6th string wont return to pitch after engaging RKL
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Author Topic:  6th string wont return to pitch after engaging RKL
Daniel McCombe

 

From:
Pennsylvania, USA
Post  Posted 12 May 2014 10:08 pm    
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hey everyone I just purchased a used very clean fessy sd-10 from a local seller. Tonight at a rehersal I noticed that the G#-F# lower on my RKl wont fully reach the F# with the nylon tightened right up agianst the changer. when engaging the lever the 6th string returns flat. Also after engaing the lever my 6th string raise on my B pedal will return sharp. Im really lost on this and dont want to tinker with stuff before I get some good feedback. Im assuming it has something to do with travel and many of the nylon nuts are flush up agianst the changer. The pedal action is also very tight and thier nuts are also tight agianst the changer. Any suggestions?
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chris ivey


From:
california (deceased)
Post  Posted 12 May 2014 10:36 pm    
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sounds like the previous owner didn't know what he was doing and screwed up the adjustments. i'd probably start by loosening all the pull rods and start setting up each change one by one, making sure the proper pedal/lever travel was available.
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Richard Sinkler


From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
Post  Posted 12 May 2014 10:45 pm    
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Also make sure you didn't put a wound string on there instead of a plain if that was what was on there before. Those are the classic examples of using a wound string. Some guitars can't lower a wound that far without having to adjust the travel to let the string travel far enough to make the full lower. After I made sure the right string was on there, I would do what Chris said.
_________________
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 54 years and still counting.
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Will Cowell

 

From:
Cambridgeshire, UK
Post  Posted 13 May 2014 12:12 am    
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I'll second that, Richard. I recently decided to put a wound 6th string in, and I knew I would need more movement at the changer, so I put the pullrod on the bellcrank further away from the cross-shaft, to get more travel, but I too couldn't get it to lower enough.

The changer has tuneable splits, and they act as a stop, to prevent the changer lowering past a certain point. Once I adjusted the split screw, all was well.

The original reason for swapping to a wound string? I get 12 cents of cabinet drop with a plain 6, and it makes the "3 up, engage A & F" inversion of a major chord sound awful. The problem is much more manageable with a wound string, you hardly can detect it.
_________________
Williams 700 series keyless U12,
Sierra keyless U14, Eezzee-Slide & BJS bars
Moth-eaten old Marshall 150 combo
Roland Cube 80XL, Peterson Strobo+HD,
EarthQuaker Despatch Master for reverb / delay
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Lane Gray


From:
Topeka, KS
Post  Posted 13 May 2014 2:06 am    
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Daniel, if you have the split tuning screws (those screw above the deck of the guitar, in the bar at the back end of the changer), they'll often stop you from reaching F#. In fact that's how you tune F#, and the nylon nut tunes the G of the lever plus B pedal
_________________
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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Adam Nero


From:
Wisconsin
Post  Posted 14 May 2014 7:12 am    
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Richard Sinkler wrote:
Also make sure you didn't put a wound string on there instead of a plain if that was what was on there before. Those are the classic examples of using a wound string. Some guitars can't lower a wound that far without having to adjust the travel to let the string travel far enough to make the full lower. After I made sure the right string was on there, I would do what Chris said.


I'm super new to the pedal steel, but recently got my 6139 worked on by Bill at Williams Guitar Company here in MN, and this was one of the nuggets of wisdom he imparted when I picked it up. Told me what where and how to lube, drew up a little chart, and told me never to use a wound 6th string to avoid things like the OPs problem. Hope this is it, it would be an easy enough fix!
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