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Author Topic:  Need help with new pedal steel I found
Robbie Hughes

 

From:
Georgia, USA
Post  Posted 18 Jan 2020 7:20 pm    
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I recently purchased my first pedal steel as a project. It appears to be homemade and the guy I purchased it from said he got it from an estate sale where the owner had passed away. It appears to be well made and the man who made it was mechanically inclined. After some research, it appears to be set up in order to achieve a jimmy day setup with one neck in his E9 style and the other set up for his C6 tuning. The problem I have is that while the C6 neck has all the rods for his style, the pedals appear to be switched up. Like p8 and p5 being switched and all the others not in the right place. I also have no idea how the knee levers are incorporated into the design. I have included a photo of the underside. I hope someone can give me some sort of guidance. Any help is appreciated.




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Johnie King


From:
Tennessee, USA
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 7:26 am    
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Whoa! That’s a strange steel to be honest I don’t know if this steel would ever make a good working instrument.
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Ross Shafer


From:
Petaluma, California
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 7:49 am    
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wow!
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Jack Hanson


From:
San Luis Valley, USA
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 7:58 am    
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Looks like it may have been built by the Chrysler Corporation about 1959.
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Charley Bond


From:
Inola, OK, USA
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 8:25 am     New Steel
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One thing you `might do is this, get ahold of Tommy White's copedent & check out his Rodding Info, to see if anything you have on your Guitar, is in concert with what you have. Sorta like using a benchmark to start the development.
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Bobby D. Jones

 

From:
West Virginia, USA
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 8:40 am     need help with new pedal steel I found
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Since I started trying to build a steel guitar in 1968-69-70 era this is interesting.
Being sort of a console guitar, Looks like a pull and release changer, pedals on right side of a right hand guitar, No fret boards, Double split pickups, IMPERIAL Car tag on front.
Was this guitar some ones unfinished dream before Shot Jackson and Buddy Emmons started developing the pedal steel guitar as we know it today? Was they ahead of the time.
It would be interesting to be able to get the history of this guitar for history sake.
There would be a lot of work trying to make a good playable guitar from it, But would make a heck of a conservation article for a steel guitar show.
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Donny Hinson

 

From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 9:13 am    
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Jack Hanson wrote:
Looks like it may have been built by the Chrysler Corporation about 1959.


Laughing Laughing Laughing
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Richard Sinkler


From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 9:30 am    
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Ya just gotta luv that angled leg.
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Bob Carlucci

 

From:
Candor, New York, USA
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 10:27 am    
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Yikes.. Thats a d 10 too.. VERY interesting.. From the pics, it actually seems to be pretty well built, and in close to immaculate condition.. I doubt you will find many steel players that know very much about this steel..

Here's my advice.. I would try and find someone locally that plays pedal steel and knows them well. Have them look it over, and play it, and give you an honest opinion.. I see no reason from the pics why it would not play well, but no one here will be able to determine much from the pictures.. If it plays in tune, stays in tune and sounds good, its good, thats all there is to it.. You might have a one of a kind very cool instrument there, that no one else has or ever will have.. You also might have an unworkable clunker oddball thats impossible to play.. Only someone that plays, and understands pedal steels will be able to help, only after seeing it in person, checking the pull system design and integrity, tuning it up and playing it.. If you were local I would LOVE to set that thing up, play it, and see what she can do.. There are most likely a few guys near you that feel the same.. thats what I would do.. Meantime, its VERY cool, and you might have a gem there, who knows.. It looks like a clean straightforward and simple pull system.. I like it.. a LOT!.... bob
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Bob Carlucci

 

From:
Candor, New York, USA
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 10:30 am     Re: need help with new pedal steel I found
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Bobby D. Jones wrote:
Since I started trying to build a steel guitar in 1968-69-70 era this is interesting.
Being sort of a console guitar, Looks like a pull and release changer, pedals on right side of a right hand guitar, No fret boards, Double split pickups, IMPERIAL Car tag on front.
Was this guitar some ones unfinished dream before Shot Jackson and Buddy Emmons started developing the pedal steel guitar as we know it today? Was they ahead of the time.
It would be interesting to be able to get the history of this guitar for history sake.
There would be a lot of work trying to make a good playable guitar from it, But would make a heck of a conservation article for a steel guitar show.


Looks like there are suppossed to be a lot more pedals.. check all the cross shafts and bellcranks.. The pedals are one the right yes, but it looks as though they are supposed to be all along the pedal rack. bob
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no gear list for me.. you don't have the time......
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Greg Lambert

 

From:
Illinois, USA
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 11:37 am    
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It reminds me of the first home made helicopter. lol . Could be fun to play with though.
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Dennis Detweiler


From:
Solon, Iowa, US
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 12:56 pm    
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Yikes! One in a million guitar! I don't see a fret board? The wood is birdseye maple. It would be interesting to track down the history on it. Yes, Imperial by Chrysler or by Margarine? Definitely a conversation piece. It's workable, but limited.
Looks like he only had one short piece of wood left for the pedal rack so he bent the leg to fit it?
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1976 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics 427 pickup, 1975 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics X-12 pickup, Boss 59 Fender pedal for preamp, NDR-5 Atlantic Delay & Reverb, two Quilter 201 amps, 2- 12" Eminence EPS-12C speakers, ShoBud Pedal, 1949 Epiphone D-8. Revelation preamp into a Crown XLS 1002 power amp.
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Lee Baucum


From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 1:38 pm    
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Are both front legs angled in?
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Gabriel Edell


From:
Hamilton, Ontario
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 2:22 pm    
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Pickups look interesting - guitar or bass pickups?
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Lee Baucum


From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 3:30 pm    
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I wonder what those two devices are, near the changers.
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Richard Sinkler


From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 4:15 pm    
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Dennis Detweiler wrote:
Yikes! One in a million guitar! I don't see a fret board? The wood is birdseye maple. It would be interesting to track down the history on it. Yes, Imperial by Chrysler or by Margarine? Definitely a conversation piece. It's workable, but limited.
Looks like he only had one short piece of wood left for the pedal rack so he bent the leg to fit it?


It was a "fretless" model. Laughing
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David Ball


From:
North Carolina High Country
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 4:22 pm    
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Gabriel Edell wrote:
Pickups look interesting - guitar or bass pickups?


They have five pole pieces each--looks like they were made for a ten string steel to me. Kinda like the Supro string-through pickups or a P Bass...

Dave
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David Ball


From:
North Carolina High Country
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 4:22 pm    
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Lee Baucum wrote:
I wonder what those two devices are, near the changers.


Reverses for lowers maybe???
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Dennis Detweiler


From:
Solon, Iowa, US
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2020 6:57 pm    
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Reverse mechanisms for lowers was my guess too.
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1976 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics 427 pickup, 1975 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics X-12 pickup, Boss 59 Fender pedal for preamp, NDR-5 Atlantic Delay & Reverb, two Quilter 201 amps, 2- 12" Eminence EPS-12C speakers, ShoBud Pedal, 1949 Epiphone D-8. Revelation preamp into a Crown XLS 1002 power amp.
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Bob Carlucci

 

From:
Candor, New York, USA
Post  Posted 20 Jan 2020 7:09 am    
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I could be wrong but I am wondering if this might be a raise only design.. I see no springs that you would see with a pull release..and I just see one pull finger for each string unlike a typical all pull set up... I would LOVE to have that guitar here to look it over!
I too see no fret markers, unless they are simply painted on, and we don't have a good angle... bob
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I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!

no gear list for me.. you don't have the time......
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Robbie Hughes

 

From:
Georgia, USA
Post  Posted 20 Jan 2020 8:33 am    
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Here are a few more pictures. I don’t think the guy actually got around to finishing the guitar. I’m still confused on how the knee levers would be set up. I’ll check out my local area and see if I can find anyone who plays near me.


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David Ball


From:
North Carolina High Country
Post  Posted 20 Jan 2020 10:07 am    
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Looking at the first picture posted, if you look at the top gizmo we're guessing is a reverse mechanism, you can see that that's actually what it is. If you flip both of those levers down, the one on the left will fall on top of the one on the right. If you pull on the right hand lever, it will lift the left hand lever, "pushing" rather than "pulling." It does need a spring though. Just not finished yet.

Dave
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Donny Hinson

 

From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
Post  Posted 20 Jan 2020 4:31 pm    
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With those skinny changer axles, that's thing's probably a prime candidate for "cabinet drop" and detuning. No wonder it was used so little. Oh Well
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Bob Carlucci

 

From:
Candor, New York, USA
Post  Posted 20 Jan 2020 8:35 pm    
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Donny Hinson wrote:
With those skinny changer axles, that's thing's probably a prime candidate for "cabinet drop" and detuning. No wonder it was used so little. Oh Well

I thought the same thing originally.. However it looks as though that might be more of a knife edge arrangement, with the pin in front of the fingers not though them.. That and the fact that they are pulling over a roller bridge might stabilize things...... or not....

I would like to set that thing up to play... Maybe the OP would sell it... bob
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I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!

no gear list for me.. you don't have the time......
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Bobby D. Jones

 

From:
West Virginia, USA
Post  Posted 20 Jan 2020 10:45 pm    
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Those key head bars are neat. Looks like they are an assortment of different thickness pieces of aluminum held together by the threaded tuner shaft and nut and the lock screw on each tuner. And then all the screws shown underneath to hold them steady and secure. The First and 10 tuner plates are full, The cutting one end off each tuner plate to make it fit is unique also.
I would love to hear the history of this one, If someone is living to tell it.
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