S12 Uni build project

Dan Robinson · From: Colorado, USA

Ian, that looks great!

I'm intrigued with your design for the right-moving knee-levers (LKR, RKR). If I'm interpreting this correctly.... the cross shaft rotates in the opposite direction from the others, but because the crank is ABOVE the shaft, it still PULLS the rod with NO REVERSING MECHANISM required. Another way of saying it is, the crank being ABOVE the shaft IS the reversing mechanism.

Very cool project!

Nice work, and I look forward to seeing your progress.

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Per, that's a really interesting question with several answers. The first practical reason is that I wanted to leave plenty of working space as I've never done this before and I didn't want to back myself into any corners. The second practical reason is that I wanted it to be very rigid, and I have an inch of aluminium box on each side where most builders would have far less....

Aesthetically, I don't care for very narrow guitars as they look ready to topple; although I marvel at how they get all the mechanism in. From a comfort point of view, I don't think I would want the pedals any nearer the rear as it would leave less choice for positioning the levers.

It measures 10Â½" - exactly the same as my D10, and I could probably make the next one a little thinner. But I quite like it.

[edit: it is 5" shorter than the D10 because of the tuner]

Dan, inverting the shafts to eliminate reversers is so obvious there must be a snag which I haven't discovered yet! What you've spotted is LKR (the F lever) and the LKV. The RKR does have a reverser, as an upside-down arrangement would be too close to the changer and at the wrong alignment.
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Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

I have no new picture to show, but I've installed enough mechanism to be able to plug the guitar in and play it a bit. As "sound comes from the hands" I can't decide whether I like the tone or not until I'm used to the feel of it, but it sustains as well as I'd hoped. This is probably due to the changer being simple and massive. It has more in common with a pull-release than a modern scissor type.

More good news: I am delighted with the tuner which has just the right gearing. When you tune a note it responds about the same as a conventional machine head but without the hysteresis. This is luck, I admit, as I just used some of the #10-32 grub screws I bought for the splits on the changer. Although I don't use the open fret much, I can slide right down and off the end without a glitch, which will be attractive to many.

It gets better: I thought I'd try and measure the cabinet drop, but I failed as I can't find any. Picking the 8th string E and pressing A&B I can neither hear any flattening nor measure any on my tuner. That's pulling two C#s and three As, so I feel as though I've won possibly the biggest challenge of all.

I do have a couple of issues to address. The pedals feel a bit flimsy so I shall add some extra footplates, and although the body is D-10-width, the levers need moving rearwards - not sure how yet.

Also I've been guilty of a little muddled thinking and I've given each pull its own rod and crank, which is what you would do if you had pedal stops. But the stops are at the endplate and I should have used yokes or trees for the pulls. I don't have room for compression springs and collars everywhere, but I do have a simple idea and I'll tell you what it is if it works Smile

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Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Took a break from the mechanics to make a less temporary fretboard from stuff I had lying around (except the gold paint but that was cheap Smile

)

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Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

So it's finished, in the sense that I can sit at it and play a bit.

There's plenty I shall tinker with in coming weeks, but I have done what I set out to do, i.e. furnish myself with a working Uni 12 at modest cost. It's taken me around $700 and about 370 hours spread over 25 weeks, which is 15hrs/week - hardly obsessive.

I ended up with three different methods of anchoring the pullrods in the pivots: the integral lockscrew,

the threaded Delrin collar for balancing or if the lockscrew is inaccessible,

and the traditional brass collar if the rod is shared and needs to slide.

The complete instrument weighs in at 45 lbs. When you lift it it's obvious that a lot of this is in the changer which is made entirely of mild steel. This seems to have achieved the sustain I was hoping for. Tone will take longer to assess, but it definitely sounds like a PSG! When I've found my way around it a bit I'll do a video guided tour. At the moment I can only think in E9 or B6 - I'm sure they will start to overlap as time passes. I don't miss the 9th string D but I do find it hard reaching for the 2nd string in place of the top string on the B6; but I'll get used to it - logic says it's only the same stretch as finding string 1 on the E9.

Thanks to everyone who's encouraged me and followed this thread Smile

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Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

I can't wait to see it in the flesh, but that will have to wait until some time in 2015. In the meantime I'm looking forward to the video. A great job, Ian. Cool

In the meantime, Ian, I'm taking the liberty of posting these first-ever-on-the-Forum stereoscopic views of a steel guitarist. Put on you red/cyan glasses, folks...

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

I've been addressing the issue of playability, or what I've started to call "personal geometry". Having put a lot of brain into the obviously crucial parts - the changer and tuner - I realise I'd taken the pedals and levers a little for granted. The levers I have moved as far to the rear as I can and put adjusters on them, which with the design I chose is fortunately very simple (sorry the pic's a bit fuzzy).

The pedals felt flimsy and hard to keep track of so I experimented with adding different footplates until I hit on these -

They ended up 2" long and 1Â¼" wide. Imagine my lack of surprise when I measured the ones on my old Sho-Bud copy - the same! Rolling Eyes

(Except they're curved and mine are flat.)

I put the grooves in just for decoration, but they do actually add to the feel. I'll fit the rest tomorrow (it's 8pm here), but even just playing on the E9 pedals is a heap more positive.

Alan, my grandson has some 3D glasses and I'll be seeing him next week. ( Idea

- instead of boring numbered pedal rods, how about rainbow colours?)
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Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

Ian, you've done what every pedal steel player aspires to do. Without being able to find an instrument that fits your requirements, you've built your own. That sort of inspiration is what in the past has motivated many of the brands of instruments that today we've all come to rely on. Cool

Have you thought of putting rubber covers on the pedals like on automobile pedals?

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Alan, I know you're an advocate of rubber, but the way the ankle and the pedal are hinged means the point of contact on each actually moves, so friction there would be unhelpful. I don't like rubber on the gas pedal for the same reason - nice smooth naked steel for me!
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Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

You're probably right. The rubber on the accelerator and brake pedals on my old car rotted away and fell off years ago and I haven't yet replaced them. The only problem I find is in wet weather when my wet shoes inadvertently slip off a pedal, but no-one is likely to play your guitar with wet shoes. Embarassed

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

You've forgotten what the British weather's like Smile

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Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

Ian , he's in the Bay Area. It's a lot like the Wet Midlands Laughing

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Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Here we are - a full house - so much better to play (not fully adjusted yet)

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Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

I've always wondered if there was a way to be able to identify which pedal your foot is on without having to look down. When I play a pedal steel with more than three pedals I sometimes hit the wrong pedal in error. Embarassed

I was thinking in terms of some sort of Braille markings on the pedals, but I guess you would have to play in bare feet to be able to read them. Whoa!

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

If you need to look, look. Emmons did.
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Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

A little mirror in the right place might help. Very Happy

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

I've tidied up the vertical knee lever, which was just a temporary bit of aluminium channel. It lowers 5 & 9 a half tone. I've used the same blank as for the other levers and mounted it on a gooseneck secured by a set screw so that it can flip over for transit.

Most C6 material assumes you have this change to fill the melodic gap between the 3rd and 4th strings, or to go up a fret without changing the top note. In the latter case you may then wish to take the melody up a tone on the same fret, and on my D10 I had C->C# on a pedal (some like it on a lever) and I kept it as the 7th pedal on the uni. But now, since I play Day and the A pedal is fairly handy, I find it easier to use that, so OBT is beginning to happen on its own.
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Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

I can't wait to come over and see this is action. You'll have to post some videoclips: you have us all on tenterhooks. Cool

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

I'm hanging back from a video until I've got the hang of it a bit more - the sound improves every day as I learn the feel. I plan to do a guided tour soon.
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Eugene Cole · From: near Washington Grove, MD, USA

It has been great watching this one evolve on to an instrument.

I have great admiration for anyone that can set out to build a PSG and then completes it.
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b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

This topic is wonderful. You've fulfilled one of dreams for the Steel Guitar Forum - documentation of how a pedal steel is conceived, designed and constructed. Thanks so much, Ian!
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Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

IAN, really like your design for the vertical lever!

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

I've been quiet for a bit while I've worked on the undercarriage. In my first build I discovered that because the changes tune at the endplate the Delrin adjusters were not a good way to equalise the pulls, and I would need to use either springs or yokes (trees). I tried springs first but found them too spongy.

Also the shafts were flexing too much on the E9 pedals, so I decided to try rectangular aluminium, the same Â¾" x â…œ" I used for the knee levers.

The pedal feel is much more positive now and the tuning is more precise. I've retained a spring equaliser for the G#-A on string 10, as it's quite adequate down there and avoids a triple tree. The important thing is to have precision on the A & B pedals in the middle range, and I have that now. There's no point building a successful changer and tuner if the mechanism is a let-down. The revisions don't look too pretty as I couldn't get the exact aluminium sections I wanted for the new pullers, but they work.

I shall leave the other shafts as they are, but a future model will have the new style throughout.

Tom, I think the idea of clipping the corners off pedals is to assist with rolling back and forth. I have detachable footplates so I might try it, but I wouldn't be tempted to experiment on a one-piece casting!
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Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

I haven't posted here for a while. I've a list of minor changes I want to make, but I'm enjoying playing it too much to want to take it apart, even for a day!

The need has arisen for a means of transporting it. I have my first two gigs in June, and a rehearsal next Wednesday. I've put a plywood shell into a keyboard bag. It only has to go in the back of the car.

I don't want the trouble of building a solid case, as I don't care much for woodwork (my father and grandfather were very good at it which puts me off more than it inspires me).

The guitar weighs 45 lbs - same as the hound - and the case another 7Â½, so it's quite manageable.

First gig pays for the stuff, so if I get sacked before the second I'm still ahead! Smile

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Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

Looks good, Ian. What does your dog think of it? Winking

Good luck on your gig. Cool

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