MULLEN: Changer/Finger issuues

Wayne Garrett · From: Alberta, Canada

I'm helping out a friend who recently bought an older Mullen Royal Precision. He's new to pedal steel, and needed some help setting it up. I've done lots of setups on all pulls and push-pulls over the years (and some rebuilds of each), but have never encountered this:

Fingers 3,4 & 5 are all exhibiting the same issue. I've attached a photo below for reference. Basically these fingers are sitting rotated too close to the end of the guitar when in the pedals up (rest) default position. You can see in the photo where the gap appears different.

I've checked that both blades of each finger are making proper contact with the stop plate under the changer, and the grooves in the stop plate don't appear to be worn. Additionally I've checked to make sure that there is slack in the nylon tuning nuts on each so it doesn't appear to be an over-tuning issue.

At this point my hypothesis is that the bushings/pins in the fingers might be worn, allowing the string tension to pull the finger body further back once the finger blades have made contact with the stop plate.

Also, it appears that finger 3 has been replaced at some point, as the anodizing finish doesn't quite match.

The reason this is a problem, is that when lowering string 4 (E), the finger makes contact with the body (bottoming out) before it can reach the desired pitch (D#)

Thanks in advance for all the help. Very grateful for all of the collective knowledge and experience on this forum.

Tucker Jackson · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

Completely weird, Wayne... given that you said the fingers are touching the stop plate and it's not overtuned.

Question: what's the bottom of the changer look like, are the return-springs on those three strings stretched a little?

What happens if you loosen, say, the 3rd string at the key head. With string-tension released, does that finger move back in line with the others?

Wayne Garrett · From: Alberta, Canada

Hi Tucker, thanks for the prompt reply.

Here's a picture of the underside of the changer .

All the finger blades are all the way seated in their respective grooves. (It's kinda hard to see them as they are hiding behind the lower return springs.)

Wayne Garrett · From: Alberta, Canada

If I loosen off one of the strings, the finger swings back towards the proper alignment, but as I continue to loosen the string, it goes too far, which I expect is just the lower return spring pulling the finger out of the stop plate slot, given the lack of string tension.

You can see in the photo that I loosened string 4

Tucker Jackson · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

Well then... I'm coming up short here.

The next thought is similar to your diagnosis. Either 1) the finger cap is not firmly attached to the mechanism below. Or 2) there is very significant wear on the changer scissors.

1) As you noted, that 3rd string cap looks like it's a replacement, and that didn't fix it, so that would point to the issue being lower down in the changer. Or maybe a prior owner replaced those three caps that aren't sitting right due to deep string-grooves -- but the replacements were not the correct ones for that model so they don't mate properly with the upper finger.

2) Open this link and then click on the animation of the changer doing a raise ('riveted changer raising')
https://www.steelguitar.com/maps/changer.html

Looking at this animation, you can see the point just above the central rivet where the raise-finger rubs against the lower-finger. If that section were significantly worn (on either finger), it might allow that upper raise-finger to 'over-rotate' upon returning home (even though the lower-finger had correctly hit the stop bar). But that would have to be a LOT of wear, more than I've ever come across, so it doesn't make sense.

I'm not sure how to prove any of this without disassembling the changer and looking at the parts where they rub against each other. If that inspection proved this theory, then the worn finger would have to be replaced. Mullen is still in business and may be able to help.

But taking apart a changer on a hunch is a major operation -- too major to dive into until other smarter people weigh in here.

Mike Mantey · From: Eastern Colorado, USA

First it is not a scissor type changer, however I do think that the pins are extremely worn or even broken. I can't imagine this happening to 3 strings. It must have been severely abused. You will have to pull out the changer to verify but that is what I think you will find.

Bobby D. Jones · From: West Virginia, USA

There is something about that changer looks odd to me, Just looking at the picture.

The support bars between the fingers Look rough and flat, And do not come to the top of curve of the fingers. I wonder if that guitar was in a wreck and slid down the road on the neck. Then someone replaced the fingers.

The support block in the picture shows some rough marks on it.

It looks like the lever that lower the strings, Could have rivet slack, Or the upper part of lower lever is bent. Or those 3 finger units are from another guitar.

About the only way to find what the problem is, Pull the changer and check fingers and levers for the problem.

Good Luck finding the problem and the cure.

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