| Author |
Topic: Help with a Pedal Steel project |
Willem Mouw
From:
Grand Rapids, MI
|
Posted 30 Sep 2020 1:35 pm |
|
Hi everyone,
My name is Will and I'm a recent engineering grad. I've always loved the sound of the pedal steel. I have some spare time on my hands so I went all in on this
I just bought a pedal steel project. It's clearly homemade, and in a bad state of repair. I got it for relatively cheap as far as pedal steels go, but I'm in way over my head here.
I play guitar and I have mechanical experience working on 6-string guitars. I know relatively little about the pedal steel as an instrument, outside of the fact that this is a 10-string that would presumably use E9 tuning. I don't know what copedent this is, or what each pedal and lever should be doing.
Can anyone point me to some resources for fixing a pedal steel? I'm figuring out how the rods are activated. I'm not sure what the correct order is for adjusting the rods. This setup has 2 knee levers and 3 pedals. Some get in the way of the others, and will need to be rebent.
I'm aware that this will never be a fantastic instrument. I'm approaching this with that in mind. I bought this with the intention of it being a challenging mechanical project that will result in me having a borderline playable instrument, enough for me to know whether I want to upgrade to a nicer steel, or sell it and move on.
Here are the pictures I've taken: https://imgur.com/a/h6plBQK
Thanks in advance for the advice, |
|
|
 |
Willem Mouw
From:
Grand Rapids, MI
|
Posted 30 Sep 2020 2:54 pm
|
|
| It seems like it's an all pull design. Would I be best off converting the rods to cables? I will probably have to rebuild the whole thing in some form or another. |
|
|
|
Barry Coker
From:
Bagley Alabama, USA
|
Posted 30 Sep 2020 3:06 pm
|
|
At the top of the page to the far right click on "LINKS" it will carry you to another page about 1/2 way down on the far right you will find understanding E9 tuning that will give you the changes. You will have the E & F Knee no D
The system is "Pull/Release" and a very primitive home made setup.
Good Luck
Barry
_________________
Zum-D-10, Webb 614-E, 65 Pro Reverb, Evans RE200, 69 Gibson Birdland, 89 Telecaster EAD Bad!! |
|
|
|
Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
|
Posted 1 Oct 2020 2:20 am
|
|
| From the pictures I would say this will be a very involved project and not something for a newbie. Even then "it may never get off the ground". |
|
|
|
Fred
From:
Amesbury, MA
|
Posted 1 Oct 2020 3:54 am
|
|
I would strip the underside completely. Make sure the changer functions smoothly. If it doesn’t, play it as a 10 string console.
If the changer is ok, I’d start from scratch on the underside. The A, B, C pedals and F lever are all raises and not that hard build a mechanism for. The E lever is a lower and a little more complicated. There’s a pedal steel builders group on Facebook that has a lot of info and pull/release changers are common for home builders. It’s called Steel Guitar Builders.
Good luck and have fun!
Fred |
|
|
|
Pat Chong
From:
New Mexico, USA
|
Posted 1 Oct 2020 4:53 am
|
|
Hi Will,
It does appear to be a pull-release changer, as opposed to all-pull. The rod should be in line with the changer pull that it is connected to, not crossibg over, like you received it. The nuts on the end of the rods adjust how far it is pulling, and therefore the tuning. So changing the rods to cables would defeat that purpose.
Check the link that Barry mentioned. As others have said, luck on the project. |
|
|
|
Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
|
Posted 1 Oct 2020 5:58 am
|
|
If the question were "should I buy this as a project" I'd say no.
But if you are all in, then if and when you run into problems and questions, come here with good photos and good descriptions of the problem and lots of help will be available. |
|
|
|
Willem Mouw
From:
Grand Rapids, MI
|
Posted 1 Oct 2020 8:12 am
|
|
Thanks for the help everyone. I've been looking at the "Links" page.
I understand this will be a tough project, and it won't result in a beautiful instrument, or anything more than 'barely serviceable'. But I'm okay with that.
Is having an E & F Knee with no D the preferable setup for having only 2 knee levers? There are a few extra rods that came with it that might make it possible to change the function of the levers.
I will probably start by removing all of the rods and parts as Fred suggested. I will then build each pedal and lever one at a time. Is there a preferred order for doing this, so that the rods don't end up crossing over each other?
Also, do all of the pedals and levers in a pull/release system require springs? It seems to me that the tension of the strings provides enough resistance for the pedals to work correctly. I think the only place a spring is needed is for the release lever. If that's the case, I'm not sure why it came with 4 or 5 springs of different lengths and sizes.
Thanks again for the help |
|
|
|
Barry Coker
From:
Bagley Alabama, USA
|
|
|
|
Gary Patterson
From:
Gallatin, TN
|
Posted 2 Oct 2020 5:15 am
|
|
| Don't be intimidated, William. My first PSG was a Miller "student" model with 3 pedals and 1 KL, like a Sho-Bud Maverick. I successfully cobbled in 3 more KLs, and learned how to balance a couple of them to alternately raise or lower strings even tho the changer was a pull-release design. I also made cosmetic upgrades to it, and successfully played it on stage. I learned a lot and you can too. Look for some posts from Richard Sinkler (sp?) for info on how the pull-release system works and should be set up. |
|
|
|
Willem Mouw
From:
Grand Rapids, MI
|
Posted 2 Oct 2020 10:00 am
|
|
If you had to choose 2 knee levers from this chart, which would they be? I don't think I can pull off a mechanism that can both lower and raise 2 changers, so an E/F combination is out of the running. What's the next best alternative?[img]
 [/img] |
|
|
|
Gary Patterson
From:
Gallatin, TN
|
Posted 2 Oct 2020 10:59 am
|
|
It's fussy but it can be done. Biggest challenge is getting the E's to return back in tune. You might find this diagram useful. I've also seen an animated version of the same drawing. I'm not an expert player, but if you're only going to choose one, I think the E-D# lower is considered more vital.
 |
|
|
|
Gary Patterson
From:
Gallatin, TN
|
Posted 2 Oct 2020 11:02 am
|
|
| I see that b0b posted a better version in Barry's post above. Complete with explanatory notes. |
|
|
|
