Fender PS210

Bob Adams · Post by **Bob Adams** » 5 Feb 2010 3:47 pm

For any of you who haven't seen one of these in a while! I thought I should post! I think it is the biz!

Your input is much appreciated,

http://www.pedalsteel.co.uk/Vintage-Fender-PS210

Sincere thanks, Bob

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 5 Feb 2010 4:08 pm

Very cool, and as rare as they come, but it's a Fender PS210.
Here's a pic of one that belongs to Gene Fields (who had a big hand in the design & development, I believe)...
Check out the built-in seat.

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 5 Feb 2010 4:09 pm

Thats the first ZB that I ever saw with metal on the aprons.

Roger Shackelton · Post by **Roger Shackelton** » 5 Feb 2010 4:14 pm

HI BOB,

These photos are of a "FENDER PS-210", built around 1970.
I believe GENE FIELDS designed the FENDER PS-210.

A FENDER 2000 is a D-10 PSG, which are cable operated guitars. They were normally painted in a
"SUNBURST" finish.

ROGER

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 5 Feb 2010 4:17 pm

wow, never even heard of that guitar. that is wild. the built in seat is insane!

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 5 Feb 2010 4:34 pm

Kooky, huh? I wonder what it sounds like. Anyone have a recording of one?
Here'a a couple more pics.

Bob Adams · Post by **Bob Adams** » 5 Feb 2010 4:54 pm

thx guys! Site tabs and titles fixed! I will update in a few days with some of your extra input! I don't know if Basil has recorded anything with it but I'll find out!

cheers! Bob

Russ Wever · Post by **Russ Wever** » 5 Feb 2010 8:36 pm

wow, never even heard of that guitar.
that is wild. the built in seat is insane!

That seat design wasn't a part
of the (few) production models.
Gene designed it into
his personal steel.
~Russ

Allan Munro · Post by **Allan Munro** » 5 Feb 2010 9:26 pm

What an amazing thing! I can see how much of it works but I don't understand how the connection to the actual changer is arrived at. I love it!

Allan.....

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 5 Feb 2010 10:48 pm

I have the owner's manual on pdf, and if anyone wants a copy, shoot me an email and I'll send it.
There's some diagrams, but stll alot of unaswered questions as to how it actually works.

Nicholai Steindler · Post by **Nicholai Steindler** » 6 Feb 2010 2:32 am

That's possibly the hottest PSG I've seen. Would love to hear it.

Russ Wever · Post by **Russ Wever** » 6 Feb 2010 2:49 am

Scroll halfway down
->here for the story of
the PS 210 from Gene.
~Russ

basilh · Post by **basilh** » 6 Feb 2010 6:00 am

After tonight's gig I'll record a short video and post it, AND maybe I'll point out how the mechanism works..

Just imagine being able to reconfigure from ABC (Emmons) to CBA (Day) in about 3 minutes, AND the capability of changing the pedal and knee lever spacing and positions in a similar timespan..

Out of the 14 that were made I know of only a few (6) that are still accounted for, and I'm not sure but I know that mine is probably the only one being played in public weekly (VERY WEAKLY)

How about a register of known owners.

richard burton · Post by **richard burton** » 6 Feb 2010 7:34 am

This is what happens when I think that I have completed a quick copedent change

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 6 Feb 2010 9:26 am

basilh wrote:...Just imagine being able to reconfigure from ABC (Emmons) to CBA (Day) in about 3 minutes, AND the capability of changing the pedal and knee lever spacing and positions in a similar timespan...

Three years ago Basil demonstrated this to me. I told him what copedant I wanted and he changed it to what I said within a lot less time than 3 minutes.
I've always thought that one of the main failings of steel guitar design is having to turn the instruments over to change the copedant. Another instrument you can change quickly is the Harlin MultiKord, but it's not so advanced as this Fender, nor would you expect it to be as it was produced many years beforehand.

Roger Shackelton · Post by **Roger Shackelton** » 6 Feb 2010 10:44 am

In the early 1970s when the FENDER PS-210 was manufactured, it was a very radical change in steel guitar technology.

Too bad only 15 were produced.

ROGER

Bob Estes · Post by **Bob Estes** » 6 Feb 2010 11:48 am

Here is serial #6

Scott Howard · Post by **Scott Howard** » 6 Feb 2010 3:48 pm

Why did no one else ever pick up on the design and produce something close. It looks like a good idea to me and I see several things I like about it. I remember seeing it in a Fender catalog when I was starting out.

Danny James · Post by **Danny James** » 6 Feb 2010 5:00 pm

Many thanks to Russ Wever above, who gave us a place to click and see the article on Gene Fields, the designer of the Fender PS-210 In it is given a tremendous amount of information about the construction of the changer. It is interesting in that it includes in part 2, --- " The changer was operated by set screw bars similar to the multi-kord."

Gene's design of the changer itself was no doubt an improvement. The way the pedals and knee levers were tuned according to the article, was similar to Jay Harlin's of the Harlin Bros. original design and patent. It is well known that Jay was the inventor of the Multi-Kord and the first to hold a patent on a pedal steel guitar.

It seems the Fender PS-210 had some features that would be most desirable if they were incorporated on the modern pedal steel guitars being built today.

I have found out recently that Jay Harlin had some other designs he was working on. There was talk of a lawsuit concerning patent infringement is the reason the Electra Harp by Gibson was discontinued.

Eric Stumpf · Post by **Eric Stumpf** » 6 Feb 2010 6:00 pm

Sometime last year a PS210 was for sale somewhere (was it here, or eBay? I don't recall) that had been one of Gene Field's personal guitars. It had one neck that was fretted so that it could be played ala Thumbs Carlisle style. The Fields guitar pictured in this thread also apparently has a fretted outer neck. This wasn't a standard feature of these guitars but really, does it get much cooler than that?

Jay Jessup · Post by **Jay Jessup** » 6 Feb 2010 6:20 pm

basilh wrote: Out of the 14 that were made I know of only a few (6) that are still accounted for,

How about a register of known owners.

Billy Cooper has more cool stuff than most of us have ever seen hanging on the wall of his steel guitar showroom in Orange Va as decorations, one of them is a PS210.

Paul Redmond · Post by **Paul Redmond** » 6 Feb 2010 7:31 pm

On Gene's personal guitar, yes, the front neck is fretted, has eight strings, and is played "Thumbs-style". His rear neck has 12 strings and is tuned either to a D6th or G6th...I forget now.
The thing I find most amazing about these guitars is the shift mechanism which moves all the pulling linkage from one neck to the other, also switching one pickup on and the other off. There is an over-ride switch underneath if both pickups are to be on at the same time.
On the guitar I have (#11), the pull travel can be stopped either at the drawbars on the endplate, or via a strong metal stamping containing #8-32 adjustment screws. The latter allows all the drawbars on the changer to then "float" rather than bottom out.
The various components in the pulling linkage have a large number of holes which allows for an almost unlimited number of leverage/travel settings on each pull. The short pullrods, according to Gene, were made of re-threaded bicycle spokes which are threaded into round sleeves for length adjustment. In short, the guitars are almost limitless in adjustment capabilities.
IMO these guitars would still be very viable today more than four decades after they were first conceived. Despite their diminutive overall size, the little buggers are pretty heavy, but I'm confident that with some changes in design, the weight issue could be overcome.
The changer itself is awesome in design with one cast finger riding "knife-edge" inside the other, then the assembly itself riding on a knife edge plate on the body...zero friction!!!
The pedal rack is held to the front legs with an underwater camera enclosure locking device containing a cam-type lock. These locks are mounted on their own hinges...just twist the cam loose and rotate the "hook" out of the way for rack removal. Adjustment of the pedal rod length is made easy using some sort of commercially-available, spring-loaded connector which then couples onto a lathe-turned nylon sleeve screwed to the side of each pedal. If you want to change the rod length, you just uncouple the swivel and screw it in or out to alter the rod length, then re-couple it...no wrenches needed.
AND it DOES sound like a Fender!!!
PRR

Jody Sanders · Post by **Jody Sanders** » 6 Feb 2010 9:39 pm

Gene is still one of the best designers out there. Jody.

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 6 Feb 2010 9:50 pm

very very cool. wow.

Danny James · Post by **Danny James** » 9 Feb 2010 7:29 am

[quote="basilh"]After tonight's gig I'll record a short video and post it, AND maybe I'll point out how the mechanism works..
----------------------------------------------------

Bazilh, we would love to hear you play your Fender PS 210 and demonstrate how the mechanism works.

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