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Topic: kline steels |
Richard Bradley
From:
California, USA
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Posted 3 Jun 2003 2:48 pm |
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| I have noticed some kline steels up for sale. Does anyone have any information or experience with these keyless guitars?Are they considered to be a good brand of universal guitar? |
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ebb
From:
nj
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nick allen
From:
France
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Posted 4 Jun 2003 12:05 am
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I believe British pedal steeler B.J. Cole has played a Kline universal for many years, in many different settings.
Nick |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 4 Jun 2003 3:17 am
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| I have a Kline U-12 that I had converted to an extended E-9. I have always said that I will never own another guitar. It sounds great, stays in tune, doesn't break strings, and doesn't weight a ton. What more could I want? HOWEVER, having started out on a 68 Emmons PP, I do have a desire for one of them with 12 strings. I would not sell my Kline though, unless I just liked the Emmons better. Mine has the original Kline pickup and is rosewood mica. If all the Klines are like mine and like the one a friend of mine has, they are truly great guitars. I don't think anybody would go wrong buying one. They are not made anymore and I heard a rumor that Joe Kline had died. I hope it is not true and since I never saw a post about it on the forum, it probably isn't. |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 4 Jun 2003 3:23 am
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| A side note, someone told me that Joe Kline invented the keyless tuning system. Anybody know the history of the keyless tuning? |
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Mike Meese
From:
Dover, Ohio, U S A GO BUCKEYES! (deceased)
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Posted 4 Jun 2003 2:58 pm
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| Joe Kline is alive and well and enjoying his retirement. |
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chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 4 Jun 2003 4:33 pm
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Red Rhodes had a keyless tuner on his Fender way back.
I put Kline keyless tuners on my Super Pro back around 1980.[This message was edited by chas smith on 04 June 2003 at 05:35 PM.] |
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John Bechtel
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 8 Jun 2003 9:44 pm
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| Moved to 'Pedal Steel' section. |
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Bruce Derr
From:
Lee, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 9 Jun 2003 5:20 am
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| I bought my Kline oak S-12 in 1978 and it's still the only steel I play out. It's had a hard life but has held up extremely well. I'll second what George said: It sounds great, it's not too heavy (but very solid; the weight savings comes from the reduced body length with the keyless tuner), and the thing stays in tune very well. I almost never have to tune any pedal stops. I just touch up the open strings if necessary and away I go. I love Joe's keyless tuner design. The tuning is very precise and solid, up or down (no gear slop), and changing strings is much easier than with conventional tuners. |
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Winnie Winston
From:
Tawa, Wellington, NZ * R.I.P.
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Posted 10 Jun 2003 3:08 am
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Hey there Bruce Derr!!
I first saw the Kline in 1976. I bought the keyless unit from Joe, and put it on my home-made steel. Then, in 1981 I got a Kline. A S-12 with a natural maple body.
With the exception of the times I left the Kline in NZ and played my own steel back in the USA, the Kline has been the ONLY guitar I've played.
Stays in tune just like Bruce said. The times I have needed to toluch the tuning screws I can count on one hand. If I put the right string gauges on, it just stays where Joe set it.
They aren't the easiest to work on, although I have done some work on mine, and know my way around it.
They sound great, and are small and stable. And they play with ease.
Love it!
Joe is alive and well (I hope so! The guitar has a "lifetime guarantee"-- HIS lifetime!) and spending summers in Ohio and winters in Florida.
JW
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 10 Jun 2003 7:47 am
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What's the scale length of a Kline? Also, how does the tone compare with other keyless guitars (Sierra, Williams, GFI)?
------------------
 Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax |
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Walter Jones
From:
Athens, Ohio USA
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Posted 10 Jun 2003 1:02 pm
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Joe Kline looks pretty good walking around ,for a dead man. Just kidding, Joe was at Greg Zimmers show in Columbus, Ohio last weekend and enjoying the show. I did notice that he was looking over some of the guitars pretty closely. I know he has retired but the interest is still there.
Also sitting in the back of the room in the vendor area was a brand new MSA Milliminum (sp?)It was white and was really an eye catcher. Spotless and nice engraving on the pedals. Some people had asked the owner about it so he very graciously brought it in Saturday. |
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Bruce Derr
From:
Lee, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 10 Jun 2003 4:20 pm
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| b0b, my Kline's scale length is 24-1/4". |
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Bruce Derr
From:
Lee, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 10 Jun 2003 7:59 pm
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Hello Winnie! I saw you demo the Kline at a PSGA meeting back in '77 or '78, and that was what got me thinking about buying one. So thank you! At the time I was playing a Sho~Bud, so the precision of the Kline really appealed to me. A steel made by an expert machinist to tight tolerances... what a concept! (I like Sho~Buds, too; it's just that I've never considered precision manufacturing their forte.)
I still remember you describing how you felt the moment before you cut 6" off the end of "The Steel" with a bandsaw to install Joe's tuner.  |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 10 Jun 2003 9:11 pm
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| Can you get more than one raise and one lower per string? You couldn't on the Kline that I saw. |
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Winnie Winston
From:
Tawa, Wellington, NZ * R.I.P.
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Posted 11 Jun 2003 3:30 am
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More than one raise or lower?
Depends what you mean.
Most guitars have three holes for raise and three for lower. But exactly WHAT is being raised or lowered? If you are pulling up your B to a C# three times (as I do on mine) You'd use up all three holes. BUT you are only *raising the B to C# * on all three.
On the kline this is no problem-- the 5th string is set at the end plate to raise to a C# and if I wanted every pedal to do it, there would be no problem.
So the question is How many *different* notes do you want to move each string to?
The kline can easily move one up, one down, and one either up or down.
This takes care of most tunings. On mine, the 3rd row of holes are used for the E to F on the 4th string, and the G# to Bb on the 6th string.
And I have 6 pedals and 8 knees-- and it is all handled with ease.
JW |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 11 Jun 2003 10:26 am
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The Kline that I saw was more like a cables and pulleys underneath, altho there were rods where you would see cables on a Fender.
Where the Fender had pulleys, the Kline had something similar to allow one pull rod to pull two others as far as each was allowed to go, the limit being set at the changer.
There would be no way to pull, say, E up to F with one pedal, and up to F# with another pedal. |
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Bruce Derr
From:
Lee, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 11 Jun 2003 12:33 pm
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On my Kline I have the 4th E going to F on one knee, F# on a different knee, and F# on the C pedal. And also to D# on a knee.
I also have the 8th E going to F on a knee, D# on another knee, and D on another knee.
All these stops tune at the end plate. |
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ebb
From:
nj
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Posted 11 Jun 2003 2:21 pm
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| i don't remember yokes on the kline like on the zb [This message was edited by ebb on 11 June 2003 at 03:25 PM.] |
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Gary Preston
From:
Columbus, Ohio, USA
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Posted 11 Jun 2003 4:42 pm
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| rick troyer plays a kline and it sounds great, thanks G.P. [This message was edited by Gary Preston on 11 June 2003 at 06:01 PM.] [This message was edited by Gary Preston on 11 June 2003 at 06:02 PM.] |
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 12 Jun 2003 8:46 am
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| Yess, a Kline has yokes sorta like a ZB. |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 12 Jun 2003 2:54 pm
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My first guitar was a Miller. Then I got a Bud Pro. Both from Ralph Henzil in West Allis, Wisc. When I moved back to Cleveland/Akron area, my band was auditioning for shows at Ponderosa Park. I saw some guy carrying in a tenor saxaphone case. I thought, " What's he gonna do? Play Boots Randolph stuff?" He opened his "sax" case, and out came a Kline! A few months later, I bought one. It was like going from a Model T to a Rolls Royce! Great sounding guitar, Never needs tuning. The build quality is truly amazing! Space program type tolerances. A wonderful guitar.
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Winnie Winston
From:
Tawa, Wellington, NZ * R.I.P.
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Posted 12 Jun 2003 3:00 pm
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EB says:
"There would be no way to pull, say, E up to F with one pedal, and up to F# with another pedal."
Oh yes there is! If there wasn't I wouldn't have gotten one!
The end plate, which acts as the final stop, has THREE rows of holes.
The top is for raises, the bottom is for lowers, and the middle can be for either.
You can pull any string any number of times to a note tuned on the top row. Same on the bottom row. You can then pull any string up or down to a different note, tunable in the middle row.
Joe even had a way of having FOUR notes tunable on the end (i.e., 4th string up to F and F#, and down to Eb and D), but very few people ever had that need.
I have just taken a bunch of pics of my Kline and will get them up on my web-site within a month or two.
JW |
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Winnie Winston
From:
Tawa, Wellington, NZ * R.I.P.
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Posted 12 Jun 2003 3:09 pm
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John says:
"Space program type tolerances"
Well, only where needed! Because the final stop for the string is at the end plate, everything underneath can be fairly loose. The hex crossrods are turned to rotate in 1/8" dia holes, and they are all a pretty loose fit. Although I have a few pedal stops on mine, the pedals don't need a limit on travel. When the end stops moving, the pedal stops. You don't have to worry about cross rods flexing, or pedal stops slipping, or anything. It is all very loose-- except where it is needed-- and that's in the changer and the stops there.
And it is like going from a Model T to a Rolls. The only guitar I've seen that is a step above is the Anapeg-- which might be like an unknown car made by NASA when they had some time to kill!
JW |
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