Excel 12 String Keyless With E9/C6 Lock Lever Review

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 10 Feb 2017 3:37 pm

Here's a review of my new (to me) Excel Superb 12 string keyless guitar with lock lever switchable open tuning and knee levers. It goes accurately from a 12 string extended E9th tuning to a 12 string extended C6 tuning with the flip of a lever! This adds the original G back on top of the C6 tuning, retains the modern high D string and also adds a high F string like the top two strings on E9th. Listen to the C6 part of the song I'm Not Crazy and you can hear the chromatic lead in!

Click here to check out the detailed review!

Larry Lenhart · Post by **Larry Lenhart** » 10 Feb 2017 3:59 pm

Greg, thanks for this review...I have been curious about these steels and if that system works...I had a chance to buy one a few years ago thru Scotty.

Glenn Demichele · Post by **Glenn Demichele** » 10 Feb 2017 5:25 pm

AWESOME

Daniel McKee · Post by **Daniel McKee** » 10 Feb 2017 11:13 pm

It sure sounds good. That is really neat that these can go from E9th to C6th instead of B6th.

Richard Alderson · Post by **Richard Alderson** » 11 Feb 2017 6:17 am

This is the most wicked awesome guitar ever. The possibilities are endless. I love having a guitar with so many levers that you can make discoveries and combinations out of thin air, and its magic when it happens. Also the ideal gig guitar. I am so glad it not only went to a good home, but that with all of Greg's resources its possible for gapers like me to experience and examine this amazing piece of engineering close up. I have wanted one of these ever since Michael Johnstone posted his Excel 12 keyless a few years back. Mike does quite fine without the 9th string D, and gets another bass string out of his set up.

Scott Duckworth · Post by **Scott Duckworth** » 11 Feb 2017 9:54 am

Definitely a well built desirable guitar.

K Maul · Post by **K Maul** » 12 Feb 2017 4:43 pm

Uh oh!
This looks fantastic.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 12 Feb 2017 5:56 pm

It is a GREAT guitar but everything involves making some sort of trade off! I would like to have two more knee levers on C6 and might machine my own if I can't locate a low cost supply. I would add the low E to F change and the high A to G# change back in from my original D-10 tuning.

The small guitar means you can have a really light case and really light overall weight. The small guitar footprint is great for saving stage or studio space but it might not suit some players because you have less of a back arm rest and the angle of your legs, ankle, hands and back are changed compared to a wide body guitar. The effects of these changes on you won't show up in a half hour of playing but will become more apparent after you spend say 4 hours playing at one sitting. I've determined that for me, this is the ideal home/studio guitar.

The super ideal guitar would have the Excel open tuning change system AND perhaps 6 knee levers and 5 floor pedals that ALL change for each tuning. The Williams crossover does this but with two 10 string necks. I am finding that the 12 string tunings offer a lot in the studio for full range sounds and single string riffs. Out in a noisy club I'm not sure the lower E9 strings would stand out as much but they do offer more rhythm vamp possibilities.

Quentin Hickey · Post by **Quentin Hickey** » 12 Feb 2017 7:16 pm

I would say that they are the most innovative guitar out there today wow!

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 16 Feb 2017 4:53 am

If anyone is looking for Excel parts, Mitsuo is readily available via email. He responds to my emails within a day with parts quotes and precise answers to questions. I've ordered longer legs, pedals rods and two knee levers for the C6 mode of this guitar and easy payment via PayPal.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 16 Feb 2017 4:27 pm

After playing this guitar for a while I discovered that the vertical knee lever is easily accessible from the middle of the guitar while using the C6 pedals. I updated the copedant to show this more clearly as the extreme width of the vertical knee lever I think was done on purpose to facilitate this. With the freed up RKL I added the A to Ab change. I have two more knee levers coming and they will be tight squeeze underneath!

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 16 Feb 2017 8:42 pm

A couple of the pedal combinations are moving a good bit of tension - does it jump around and/or detune much?

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 17 Feb 2017 5:18 am

Cabinet drop is less than 2 cents on pedals 1 and 2. The guitar is rock solid and does not seem to want to wander around at all. All the pedals and knees work smoothly and pull quite easily. There is a huge range of adjustment on the pull assist springs and Mitsuo has them backed way off on the multiple pull pedals.

Keep in mind that the floor pedals, for example, are not pulling both tuning's worth of strings. So for example pedal 8 is just pulling 3 strings at once, not the 3+3 that the addition of the E9 + C6 charts would imply. And the RKR and RKL are switching between two different cross-shafts with the lock lever so they are not pulling all the strings on both tunings at the same time.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 28 Feb 2017 7:16 pm

Just wanted to let everyone know that parts from Mitsuo in Japan are readily available. I got 2 knee lever kits, longer legs and pedal rods in about 3 weeks from ordering to delivery! The parts assortment with the knee lever kits was very generous looking at the supply of tuners, cranks, rod lockers, levers etc!

Glenn Demichele · Post by **Glenn Demichele** » 28 Feb 2017 8:57 pm

I'm glad you're both happy, but she used to be my guitar. I let her go because of irreconcilable differences.... think I'll go write a country song.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 1 Mar 2017 5:18 am

This guitar has a tiny footprint and that took a few hours to get used to. The tone is the best on any guitar that I've ever owned including the BJV Sho-Bud and my old Emmons PP. I bought more parts because I think this is a keeper for me and worth putting all my copedant changes on. Getting close to letting the other 12 string go because this is all I'll ever need.

Glenn, I assume you divorced this guitar before mailing her to me? So weird, I had a pot metal Sho-Bud that was as dead as a banjo. Hated that thing. Sold it to some guy who loved it to death!

I know the 12 string thing can be an issue for 10 string players. This really killed me for a few days but with a little practice I don't have to search for my favorite grips anymore. Having the extra low strings on E9th and the chromatic strings on top of C6 is turning out to be awesome!

Glenn Demichele · Post by **Glenn Demichele** » 1 Mar 2017 7:04 am

Yes, we were together for a year, tried counseling, then divorced. Good thing we didn't have any kids.
She sounded great, was easy to travel with, and even help me refine my blocking technique. But like so many marriages, the reason ours failed was because of her dimensions.

My Franklin has forgiven me for my polygamy. I am a cad though, I still have one eye out for a keyless D10 as a back-up/beater guitar. The Excel was too good for me...

Mike Vallandigham · Post by **Mike Vallandigham** » 1 Mar 2017 11:28 am

My 2008 E9/C6 Excel is making me think of selling my 1975 PP. The sound is soooo different. It's strange to switch between the two.

The Excel has a VERY bold clear tone, reminds me of my Mullen RP. (which I sold to finance the Excel. Wish I had both.)

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 1 Mar 2017 11:39 am

I started with a really sharp clear tone on this guitar then stated playing with the volume pedal and amp EQ. On these tracks I came close to a Sho-Bud played through a Webb amp sound on both "necks" (LOL):

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Excel%2012%2 ... rt%201.mp3

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Excel%2012%2 ... rt%202.mp3

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Excel%2012%2 ... rt%203.mp3

Quentin Hickey · Post by **Quentin Hickey** » 1 Mar 2017 12:18 pm

That's a nice clean tone your getting there Greg. You must be tickled pink with that fuzzy guitar. I bet it's got nice tight mechanics too.

Jim Pitman · Post by **Jim Pitman** » 1 Mar 2017 3:43 pm

I was really impressed with the U12 EXcell I got a chance to play in the Excell booth at last years Dallas show. Your critique and demo are further affirmation.

Ken Metcalf · Post by **Ken Metcalf** » 2 Mar 2017 4:26 am

Compact Universal guitars are better if you lower your Es on the left or RKR.
I learned this of course the hard way.
Lower your Es with RKL and then try to reach pedals 6,7,8 and legs are crossed.

Mitsuo is the man!

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 2 Mar 2017 10:22 am

Ken, this thing is really compact but great on a small stage or studio. I've gotten so I like the compact bodies the best and have gotten away from liking the big bodied furniture piece look.

It took me about 80 minutes to swap in the longer legs, pedal rods (had to swap all the threaded end connectors and ID markers over and adjust length) and move the C6 D to D# change from pedal 5 to pedal 8 so I could work it independently on it's own and with pedals 5 and 6. It works a lot like the 1st string F# to G change on E9th.

I've got two new knee levers to install on the C6 side and am thinking about the lower E to F change and the C to C# change. Comments welcomed!

Now both the Williams and Excel guitars are about the same height:

Old copedant:

New copedant:

Jim Pitman · Post by **Jim Pitman** » 3 Mar 2017 8:15 am

Greg, that's an interesting way to document your U12 copedent, ie, as if they were two different necks. I imagine this is helpful when figuring out tab for one or the other.
Is this indicitive of your approach to playing U12?
In othe words do you treat them as two different tunings, and use the lock lever frequently?
I started on U12 35 years ago. I may not be the norm, (or unique) but I tend to treat it as one big tuning. Some of my original PSG instrumentals will have pasages that float between the 6 and 9 mode in fact. I have only used the lock lever while transposing C6 TAB to B6.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 3 Mar 2017 8:28 am

Jim, this is not at all a universal tuning! The lock lever changes the open tuning between E9 and C9 as shown. It also changes the function of the RKL and RKR levers. The copedant shows that two full 12 string guitars are provided on just one set of 12 strings. It just takes a second to flip the lock lever and I've done this often in the middle of song.