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Topic: Need tips on how to add pedals/knee levers to my Fender 400 |
Jonathan Thompson
From:
Ohio,USA
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Posted 18 Nov 2020 6:10 am |
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I have a question about the pedal steel guitar. And I have been looking around the internet for some time. So I thought I would ask on here. How would I go about attaching more pedals/knee levers to my pedal steel. I already know what I would tune these to. So I’m only asking how to mechanically accomplish this. I have a fender 400.
It only came with two pedals.
It uses a lever/pulley system.
The cable then goes under the bridge and each pedal can make two strings go up or down a major third.
The main thing im asking is where and what parts would I get to at least jimmy rig two more pedals and or knee levers and what parts would i need? Not sure of terminology which is part of the reason this makes it so confusing to try and research this on the internet. Any tips are welcome. Thank you very much! |
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Dom Franco
From:
Beaverton, OR, 97007
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Posted 18 Nov 2020 7:13 am
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Get some bicycle cable, small pulleys, old coat hanger wire, cabinet hinges and 1x2" pine furring strip.
(this is all you need to make knee levers) I ended up with 4 knee levers on my Fender cable Steel Guitar, and they all worked fine.
As for pedals, they require a bit more engineering (Bell-cranks) and you would be better off finding some used pedal steel parts and adapting them to fit your instrument.
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYG9cvwCPKuXpGofziPNieA/feed?activity_view=3 |
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Mark Perrodin
From:
Tucson Arizona, USA
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Mark Perrodin
From:
Tucson Arizona, USA
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Posted 18 Nov 2020 7:33 am pedals
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i did it the way mr. chris lucker recommended. i tracked down some emmons
levers and made them work. they work well.
version 1
version 2 with a rick mcnamara suggestion about using a piece
of extrusion to stop lever travel instead of the spring i had been using.
good luck it’s a worthwhile project. |
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Andrew Goulet
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Posted 20 Nov 2020 4:24 pm
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I did it with steel cable, cable ferrules, turnbuckles, some big hinges, and a couple pieces of flat steel (as "flags" to make them easier to reach with my knees). I think I spent maybe $20 on everything at the hardware store. They were rough-looking but totally solid and worked well.
Fenders are really fun to work on (if you don't have pristine model you are worried about ruining). Cables are generally viewed as being inferior to rods, but by the time mine left I had gotten it working very smoothly. |
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Scott Swartz
From:
St. Louis, MO
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Andrew Goulet
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Posted 20 Nov 2020 5:53 pm
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| That post is solid gold, Scott. |
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Scott Swartz
From:
St. Louis, MO
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Posted 20 Nov 2020 6:29 pm
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Thanks Andrew, thought I would post the fine details to save others the experimentation. The huge lower travel distance distance was a surprise, so I added the gear up after I first installed the levers. I could have measured beforehand but it did not occur to me since on modern all pull changers the distance is much more equal raise to lower.
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Scott Swartz
Steeltronics - Steel Guitar Pickups
www.steeltronics.com |
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