Lynn Stafford
From:
Ridgefield, WA USA
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Posted 27 Jul 2012 8:27 am |
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I can tell you from firsthand experience, that there are several differences in the Promat changer, as compared to the OEM Emmons PP changer. First, and foremost, the Promat guitar is a high quality, virtual metric clone of an Emmons PP (emphasis on metric). Every and I mean every part and fastener is metric sized, right down to the threads for the legs, as they will not interchange with the industry standard 1/2-13.
But getting down to the changer: The raise fingers are made of stainless steel and the lowers are aluminum (with M4 screws being used to adjust the open note, as opposed to the 6-32 Nyloc screws on the Emmons fingers). Notice the "lightning holes" drilled through the raise fingers in the photo below.
I haven't taken a Promat changer apart, so I can't speak for the dimensions of the fingers, or the diameter and material of the axel, but I'd venture to say that it's most likely 14mm, as opposed to 9/16" (and it may even be stainless as well). Mr. Papic, who is an excellent machinist by the way, seems to prefer using stainless steel in many components of the Promat guitar.
These changers would not be a drop-in replacement by any means, but of course Mr. Papic could provide one that would, if he chose to. The Promat sounds very good but there is a tonal difference (with the stainless fingers among other things) so you'd be making a departure from the famous Emmons PP tone. I'm a Design Engineer and understand where he's coming from, with the changes he's made in the way the drop rods and raise hooks attach. Personally, I've never experienced a problem with the "old" Emmons design being excessively noisy when the drop rods actuate the lower fingers, or the way the hooks attach from the side rather than the new center-pull design (holes 1 and 2 only). I also prefer that the drop rods extend a little further into the slightly larger holes in the Emmons lowering fingers. Otherwise, when you manually tune the drops, the rods tend to fall out, which can be very anoying to me! The standard Promat lower fingers have holes sized in such a way that the drop rods do not freely slide through. This does not allow the rod to engage deeply enough, nor allow some movement when the finger rotates on the axel. If you try to force the rod deeper into the hole, it just causes a bind, which impacts the free return of the finger against the body cavity. The ball end design of the new changer is not a bad idea, but I'd still want the rod to be able to extend into the finger a little more than is shown it the photos to allow it to stay put, when manually moving the finger toward the screw stops in the end plate. I recently had an instance where I manually checked the drop of the 6th finger of my E9 neck (while on the band stand) and the drop rod fell out of the hole! A major inconvenience, trust me!
These are just a few of my thoughts, so you can take it or leave it; from a die-hard Emmons PP fan.
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Best regards,
Lynn Stafford
STEEL GUITAR WEST
http://www.steelguitarwest.com
Steel Guitar Technician (Restoration, Set-up, Service and Repair work)
Previous Emmons Authorized Dealer & Service Technician (original factory is now closed)
ZumSteel Authorized Service Technician
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