| Author |
Topic: Low string doesn't want to stay in tune |
Matthew Zuckerman
From:
Maryland, USA
|
Posted 16 Dec 2023 8:06 pm |
|
I recently acquired my first pedal steel. It's an Excel D10. I don't know much about it but I think it's push/pull (older guitar).
Anyway my issue is with the low string on the E neck (B string).
I've tried to tune with the A pedal down to get the C# note but it doesn't want to stay in tune. I'll tune it to pitch then it'll go flat alomos immediately after pressing the A pedal.
Tuning with the pedal down position also seems to affect the non-pedal position of that string. Could this just be an old string or is something wrong with the hex tuner? I can upload pictures if I know what I'm looking for. Thank you!
-Matt |
|
|
 |
Bobby D. Jones
From:
West Virginia, USA
|
Posted 16 Dec 2023 8:34 pm
|
|
| The large wound 10th string can be a problem, If the Changer finger has a V to attach the string ball. Check and make sure the string ball is properly seated at bottom of V, The ball could be slipping in the V as tuned. May be an old set of strings. |
|
|
|
Tucker Jackson
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
|
Posted 17 Dec 2023 6:54 pm
|
|
A few easy things to try:
1) It's possibly 'overtuned,' so loosen the nylon nut on the 10th string enough so that it doesn't affect the pitch when you step on the A-pedal.
Then tune up the string to the B note, then tune the pedaled note.
2) The changer might be adding in a little bit of lowering when doing a raise. To check if that's the problem, turn the guitar over in the case and operate the A-pedal. In a perfect world, that spring on the 10th string shouldn't be pulled away from its stop (since you're doing a raise here rather than a lower). If that spring is stretching out a little.... that means the changer is adding in a small amount of lowering to the raise, which would fit the problem you're having of the pitch dropping.
This could be caused by an unlubed changer, or a too-weak return spring. To lube, use a piece of coat-hanger wire or something similar to try to direct one drop of oil down onto the rivet -- this is the thing that connects the two parts of the changer 'scissor' together. The rivet sits right in the middle of the changer so you'll need a flashlight (and you might even have to remove the spring on that 10th string to see your target. You'll know it when you see it).
If lubing the changer doesn't fix it, you can tighten the lower-return spring, but do it sparingly; it only needs to be tight enough to hold the lower part of the mechanism in place while doing a raise. Overtightening that spring will bring you right back to the Forum with a different problem to troubleshoot.
3) It's possible the nylon nut is old and getting a little stripped and is slipping when you press the pedal. You can test this theory by temporarily swapping that nut with one from another string.
Good luck! |
|
|
|
Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
|
Posted 18 Dec 2023 7:29 am Re: Low string doesn't want to stay in tune
|
|
| Matthew Zuckerman wrote: |
| ...Tuning with the pedal down position also seems to affect the non-pedal position of that string. |
That's the classic sign of over-tuning; follow Tucker's instructions.
(And no, your steel is not a push/pull, it's an all-pull.) |
|
|
|
FRANK MARIANO
From:
PENSACOLA FL
|
Posted 25 Dec 2023 11:53 am
|
|
Put a new nylon tuner nut on it may not be holding and slipping when the pedal is pressed
_________________
Zum,Mullen,Sterio Steel,Little Walter, Fox Vintage,Beard,Fender Lap |
|
|
|
Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
|
Posted 25 Dec 2023 2:21 pm
|
|
| Quote: |
| I'll tune it to pitch then it'll go flat almost immediately after pressing the A pedal. |
Is just the C# dropping in pitch, or does the B also drop?
If they are both dropping in pitch, the windings on the ball end of the string may be coming unwound.
~Lee |
|
|
|
