| Author |
Topic: Help tuning pedals on MSA Sidekick E9 |
Ed Tamboni
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
|
Posted 2 Jun 2024 2:45 pm |
|
67yrs old, guitar player for 50 years, just got a pedal steel on trade and having some trouble tuning the pedals.
MSA Sidekick steel, 3 pedals, one knee lever.
I have the manual and some further instructions from a poster on this forum on how to tune the pedals but I can't get it.
I tuned all 10 strings no prob.
Hold down A pedal and tuned 5th and 10th strings to their raised pitches at the peghead, then off the pedal and tuned the unraised pitches using the allen key.
It worked beautifully.
Problem comes with the B pedal - I tried to follow the same procedure but the B pedal itself has very little travel, without the pedal being pressed, it's almost sitting on the floor, it hangs down further than the A and C pedals...almost like the rod is too long...but the rods are numbered, and I've got #2 in the middle, so I gather it's not that...
The manual says you can adjust pedal travel by the small set screw right by the rod...I've turned it all the way in, and all the way out - doesn't help, the B pedal is hanging down a good inch further than the A and C pedals.
How do I fix this?
Thanks,
Ed |
|
|
|
Ed Tamboni
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
|
Posted 2 Jun 2024 2:51 pm
|
|
Here are the pedals - the B pedal is hanging low, so there's not enough travel to raise the string pitch. |
|
|
|
David Martin
From:
Kingsport, TN 37660 USA
|
Posted 2 Jun 2024 6:26 pm MSA Sidekick
|
|
I owned a Sidekick at one time. Try adjusting the nut on the pedal rod where it connects to the pedal. It's normal for he B pedal to be a little lower, but not that low. A and B should feel like they are the same from the floor when your foot is on them. B pedal has less travel than A and C. Hope this helps.
_________________
SHO-BUD SUPER PRO D10(8+10)
EMMONS LL-III D10(9+9)
Too many Amps |
|
|
|
Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
|
Posted 2 Jun 2024 6:30 pm
|
|
Maybe I'm not understanding or perhaps this is too obvious, but you state you are a new player so.....see the pedal where the jam nut has been loosened and moved upward?
You can release the connector from the pedal and screw the pedal connector up on the rod to make it shorter. The pedal connector has a sleeve that you pull up to release it from the pedal.
That's the way you adjust pedal height on nearly all pedal steels and raise the pedal further off the floor.
The pedal travel screw you reference is for setting the amount of travel for the mechaincal linkage of the string pulling mechanics. You shouldn't need to bother that screw and it's not recommended to be adjusted under normal circumstances. |
|
|
|
Ed Tamboni
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
|
Posted 3 Jun 2024 4:02 am
|
|
Thanks Jerry - so I can remove the B pedal rod and then screw it in further in order to shorten it, is that correct?
What's strange is I've only had this instrument a week or so and that B pedal was not this low initially...I don't know what I could have done to lower it, I surely didn't make any adjustments to the rod length.
Another question - those pedal rods have a little hook at the top that fits into a small hole in order to connect them. I had a difficult time getting those hooked ends to fit into the holes. I must be doing it
wrong because I had to squeeze them in with a pair of pliers. It worked, but didn't feel like the proper way to connect them.
Is there a trick to fitting the rods into the holes?
Ed |
|
|
|
Ed Tamboni
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
|
Posted 3 Jun 2024 4:18 am
|
|
Sorry for all the questions...I'm slowly getting somewhere though...
See in my pictures the changer fingers...just watched a video on setup where the guy says those changer fingers should all be in-line as a starting point.
Mine are not in-line at all, some are forward, some are back.
Would it be wise to set them all in line, then start over?
Ed |
|
|
|
Ed Tamboni
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
|
Posted 3 Jun 2024 4:54 am
|
|
Got it fully in tune and all pedals tuned.
The B pedal height corrected itself when I adjusted the changer fingers...I lined up all the fingers that had a rod connected and started over, went step by step and I'm now in tune and all pedals tuned.
But holy smokes, there's a learning curve here as far as playing goes...this is going to be a lot of fun. |
|
|
|
Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
|
Posted 3 Jun 2024 10:11 am
|
|
didn't post correctly
Last edited by Jerry Overstreet on 3 Jun 2024 10:18 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
|
Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
|
Posted 3 Jun 2024 10:17 am
|
|
| Quote: |
Ed Tamboni wrote:
Thanks Jerry - so I can remove the B pedal rod and then screw it in further in order to shorten it, is that correct?
What's strange is I've only had this instrument a week or so and that B pedal was not this low initially...I don't know what I could have done to lower it, I surely didn't make any adjustments to the rod length.
Another question - those pedal rods have a little hook at the top that fits into a small hole in order to connect them. I had a difficult time getting those hooked ends to fit into the holes. I must be doing it
wrong because I had to squeeze them in with a pair of pliers. It worked, but didn't feel like the proper way to connect them.
Is there a trick to fitting the rods into the holes?
Ed |
1. Yes, that's the way you adjust pedal height off the floor, but appears you don't need to do that now. I would suggest that when the pedal heights are set to suit you, tighten up the jam nut against the connector so that they don't come out of adjustment when they are removed.
2. Sound like you may be attaching the pedal rods from the wrong side of attachment tang. You shouldn't have to do anything to attach them unless someone has monkeyed with the hook bend.
It sounds like the guitar was just all out of adjustment from someone's lack of knowledge on how it goes.
Also sounds like you have a pretty good understanding of the mechanics and have a pretty good handle on how they work. I believe you are on your way to understanding how the mechainics affect the way you and your guitar plays.
Best of luck, but keep asking any questions you may have. Many of us have played the Sidekick abd Red Baron but they also have many things in common with all pedal steels. Cheers and Happy Pickin'. |
|
|
|
