Any advise for long legs? I can't use volume pedal

Paul Ouellette · From: New Hampshire, USA

Question. I've been playing about 7 months now and have long legs. I have a hard time using the volume pedal without hitting my knees. Does this happen often? You can raise the back legs but that tilts the fret board. you can't raise the front because of the pedals. I'm not freakish I'm 5'11". Any ideas. I play a stageone by Zum steel. Thanks

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

The type of pedal will have something to do with it. The old Ernie Ball pedals have more travel and may be more problematic. Besides their standard pedals, Goodrich, Hilton, maybe others offer a low profile pedal that will give you more vertical leg clearance.

Another option: You can buy or build a liftkit to raise your guitar 1 or 2 in. Consists of pedal rod extenders and a couple pieces of pipe to put between your pedal bar and front legs.

You can find 'em here: http://www.steelguitar.net/ [see parts on the sidebar, then liftkits], probably Show Pro guitars and I know you can buy the rod extenders here from the forum's store. [link at top of page.]

Or, if you're pretty handy and have the resources, you can make your own with some standoff's, 10-32 set screws, and a couple pieces of alum. conduit/pipe cut to length.

[Whoops! I missed that you're playing a Stage One, I don't know if the front legs are adjustable on those.] Embarassed

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

I agree with Jerry, there's a lot of difference in volume pedals where hieght is concerned. One solution might be to simply raise the back with blocks or leg extensions of some kind. Another would be to lower the volume pedal, as illustrated on the link below. Also, on a single neck guitar, it's usually okay to have the back a little higher than the front...sometimes a half-inch is all that's needed.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=2078402&highlight=plywood+raise#2078402

Don't forget that shoes with thick soles or heels make the height problem worse, too! Wink

Normally, you can raise the whole guitar pretty easily, and then all you have to do is find a way to extend the pedal rods a little (either at the top or the bottom) and use some sort of spacer to move the pedal bar down as well.

A guitar being too low is a common problem, but there's lots of solutions.

Al Carey · From: Dublin, NH USA

I use a Goodrich L120, the L meaning low profile. I also raised the back of my MSA to make more room, it didn't bother me that it threw it off level. My Sierra was raised to the max available by the previous owner.

Where in NH are you?
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Daniel Policarpo · Posted 1 Jun 2013 6:13 pm

I'm 6'2" and use a Stage One. I've got my right side up just a hair to allow a little room for the leg+volume pedal. I use a Morley Little Alligator and the profile is low enough to give me the clearance, and the rods are just long enough so my pedals aren't raised high, either. What make of volume pedal are you using Paul?

Jerry Roller · From: Van Buren, Arkansas USA

Paul, I stock 1" raise kits that I sell at a very reasonable price. You can extend the legs 1", put included spacers on the front legs between the leg clutch and the pedal board, screw the included extensions on the pedal rods between the rod and the connector and the guitar has 1" more leg clearance.
rollermusic@cox.net
Jerry

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

The extension kits work well. I have a 1" kit on my Carter.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, NV400, NV112 . Playing for 54 years and still counting.

Bo Legg · Posted 2 Jun 2013 5:52 pm

I always bring a carpet in case of a slippery floor.
I have used a 2x4 placed underneath the carpet on the right side underneath both right legs.
That raises the right side up 1 & 1/2" and gives me leg room when I use a big volume pedal.
It hardly effects the pedal height on the left side of an E9.

Tom Keller · From: Greeneville, TN, USA

I had a similar problem. When I went to the low profile style volume pedal such as the Goodrich L 120 my problem was solved.

Jerry Roller · From: Van Buren, Arkansas USA

Another problem with the guitar being too short for you is lack of proper leverage on the knee levers. An inch can make a lot of difference in how hard the levers are to work, particularly the RKR. If your knee is jammed up next to the pivot point of the lever it can discourage you from even using it.
Jerry

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

I agree with Jerry - get a lift kit. I'm tall and really have to use a lift kit - I get severely cramped when I try to force my legs under a standard-height pedal steel. I'm around 6'4", and lift 2-4", depending on the steel - a standard-height D10 about 2", under-standard-height and/or single-body more like 3-4". Before I figured out I needed this, I basically had to take my right shoe off to play, arrggh. At 5'11", an inch might well do it just fine.

Howard Steinberg · From: St. Petersburg, Florida , USA

Before getting a lift kit, check the height of your guitar from the bottom of the end plates to the floor. I believe standard height id 26 to 26.5 inches. If you are at standard height, a 1 inch lift kit should work. For whatever it's worth I'm 6'2" and 1 inch of lift allows me to play with shoes on.
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Justice Pro Lite (4-5), Justice D-10 (8-5)x2 , Quilter Steelaire, Hilton Pedal, BJ's bar.

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

To me, the biggest issue is the distance from the bottom of your foot, with whatever shoes you want to wear, to the top of your knee. I want the guitar high enough so that I have reasonable rear apron clearance and can work a vertical lever properly, seated so that I can comfortably work the pedals. I'm tall, but a lot of that height is in my legs - it's not just the total height.

This is how I set these up. With whatever shoes you want to wear, set your seat so your thighs are at a comfortable angle relative to the floor and you can work the pedals well and your arms address the steel at a comfortable angle. To me, the seat height is important to this, and remember to factor in the fact that you're going to raise the steel up a bit. Over the last several years, I've gradually lowered my seat height, but it's still higher than a typical steel seat. Now sit at the steel and raise the back legs of the steel until you have reasonable clearance under the rear apron and can work the levers well. If you're tall or have long legs, the top will probably be significantly pitched downward, from back-to-front. Now detach the pedal rods from the pedals and raise the front legs until the top is level, front-to-back, or if you prefer it an angle, to that angle. Finally, measure how much you raised the front legs as the height from the end of a pedal rod to the place where it normally connects to the pedal. You now know how much lift you need. This will maintain the level of the pedals above-the-floor you had before. If you'd like to move the pedals up or down relative to the floor, factor that into your lift calculation. I just round the height up or down to the nearest inch to allow me to use stock hardware.

I make my own front-leg raise collars out of thin metal tube just larger than the outer diameter of the front leg extenders using a pipe cutter, and use 1" and/or 2" standoffs to extend the legs. But if you're just doing one guitar, I'd just buy a set already made up, as Jerry suggested.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

On my Carter, I put a 1" lift kit on because I wanted to start playing in cowboy boots. That raised my knees up so my right knee was too far up on the knee levers causing the leverage problem discussed above. It also made my raised my vertical knee levers to where they were too close to the bottom of the guitar and they would hit the undercarriage when fully engaged. So I raised the guitar 1". I also switched to a low profile volume pedal, but can still use my regular height volume pedal if I want. But now, if I want to play in tennis shoes, it is a little high for that and I have to adjust my vertical levers to come down farther.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, NV400, NV112 . Playing for 54 years and still counting.

Peter den Hartogh · From: Cape Town, South Africa

How do you raise these legs?

Jerry Roller · From: Van Buren, Arkansas USA

Peter, I have 1" extensions that screw onto the top of non-adjusable legs like yours.
rollermusic@cox.net

Niels Andrews · From: Salinas, California, USA

I am only six feet tall but have long legs, I have raised four guitars with parts from the hardware store or machine shop. Even raised my Carbon fiber Millennium an inch for under a hundred dollars. just made a Delrin bushing for the front and bought new stainless rods for the eight pedals and cut to length and threaded myself. Not a big deal, but it is great when you play a guitar that fits you.
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Good Stuff like Zum S-12, Wolfe Resoport
MSA SS-12, Telonics Combo.

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