My new Excel Superb

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 2 May 2006 10:47 am

OK guys and gals, there has been some discussion on the Excel lately , so I thought I would write a little bit about my Excel U-12 Superb ….First of all , let me thank my good friend Bill Stafford for putting up with me as I have drilled him on the Excel probably more than he has even wanted to be …. Without Bill’s help, I don’t know if I could have made the purchase ….He should be given an honorary “Good Guy” award for all his help .. Next , I would like to thank Don and Scotty for getting my order straight , and it came to me EXACTLY as I ordered it !!.. Some may think that this is a no brainer …I had all my measurements written down EXACTLY where I wanted what to fall …..For example, my pedal steel was made to the height I wanted it made to …..My levers are were I wanted them to go in conjunction with my foot pedals ….My copedant was what I wanted without any excuses …. Do I want what I want ? …..You darn right I do , and this is my FIRST NEW pedal steel so I wanted it “MY WAY “ ….. Mitsuo is a MASTER of engineering !!…..He gave this steel to me that way I wanted it , and it plays so sweetly !!… You will see that Mitsuo is in the Hall of Fame for a reason should you every play with the underside of this steel ….It’s a true marvel of engineering ….more on this later …

The Excel Superb U-12 is a keyless pedal steel with a 25 1/2 inch scale …Since the scale is so long, you have more tension on the strings, and since there is more tension , you have no problem with the lower strings sounding flubby ….They are very pronounced, and they are very clean and clear ….You don’t have to worry about your copedent being too much for the Superb….It has a 5 up , and a 5 down changer !!…. I’m not sure how the changer works , but it is not like your conventional pedal steel where you are more apt to break a string….speaking of which I have not broken one yet and have played the day lights out of this thing !!…You don’t have round cams that move …The string is attached and held in place at the changer end , and there is far less string touching to break and it’s not on much of an angle as to put unesessary wear on the string …GREAT design ….The tuner end is just as tricked out ….It has like a floating tuner block ...All the strings are attached to this block that has a rod going to it from the “ anti-detune” device which is connected to the A/ B/ and C pedals …There is a threaded rod with very fine threads , and little threaded adjusters where the rod goes thru a bracket that is attached to the cross rod for that pedals pull ( very hard to explain , you’ld have to see it to believe it ) ..So for example when you mash down on the A pedal , this adjuster is adjusted on the rod to pull the rod however you have the adjuster adjusted ….What this rod does is pull on the tuner block to SHARPEN the rest of the strings ….So again for example , when you press down on the pedal the rod pulls on the tuner block and sharpens the strings …The A , B, and C pedal ALL have individual adjustments ….What does this do you ask ? …When you push down on any of your pedals especially 2 at a time, you end up with cabinet drop !!….With this anti detune device , the strings are sharpend to compensate for the cabinet drop …So NOW what you get when you mash your pedals , are ALL your strings IN TUNE , and when you get off the pedals , the tuning block is not being pulled by the rod and it goes back to normal , and your strings are AGAIN IN TUNE in the open tune position with no pedals mashed !!… I can not begin to tell you how good your playing sounds ( even mine !! ) when you are in tune mashing pedals, or not mashing pedals !!…. This is GENIOUS !!…. From my understanding the Emmons was the only other company that has anything similar ….

The action on this steel is about the best I have witnessed on ANY pedal steel …The Millenium, and the Zum have really nice action , and this action is right up there with them , even if you have a number of pulls hooked up , which you can do with a 5 up / 5 down changer …. The Superb also has a lock on it for your B6 playing if you want one ….I got one on mine in case I get lazy and want to stay in the 6th mood …. The knee levers and the foot pedals are really smooth !!….The pedals are easy and no flex , and the same with the knee levers ….Everything is rock solid …. There are holes in the tuner end for your tuning wrenchs ….The nylon rod tuner nuts on the changer end have holes in the end to stick an allen key ….You do NOT use a typical tuning wrench that fits OVER the nylon tuners ..I have no preference on this one ….It’s the only pedal steel I’ve seen like this …

THE TONE:

OK all you ney sayers about sustain on a keyless pedal steel ….With the 25 1/2 inch scale , this thing not only has TONE for days, but SUSTAIN for days also !!…. Every string rings out loud and clear, even the bottom strings that normally go THUD on most other pedal steels …. In all honesty, if you leave the EQ on your amp set the same , and you compare the Excel to other pedal steels , it is a BRITE sounding pedal steel …However , you can dial in and EQ the tone of the Superb to achieve the tone you want …. It’s much easier to achieve a change in EQ and STILL have a great sounding pedal steel if it’s brite to start out with ….If you have a dull , and a bassy toned steel , you can not do much with it ….It will surely cut through any mix !!… The harmonic’s jump out of this thing like crazy !!… I can’t say enough about the tone of this pedal steel …I LOVE my Excel !!… Now if I can get Mitsuo to put an interchangeable pickup system in , I will have the pedal steel that I have been searching for !!…. I’m 90% there already !!….I’m sorry for the long thread , but I thought I would tell you about my new Excel ….I’m a happy camper !!…..Sincerely, Jim

[This message was edited by James Quackenbush on 02 May 2006 at 11:54 AM.]

[This message was edited by James Quackenbush on 02 May 2006 at 11:56 AM.]

Got Copedant ? ......[This message was edited by James Quackenbush on 03 May 2006 at 07:44 AM.]

ed packard · Post by **ed packard** » 2 May 2006 11:16 am

Jim...you forgot the ridge along the fingertop to reduce plain string sizzle.

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 2 May 2006 12:55 pm

Ed,
Thanks for your input ...I'm sure there's a lot I forgot to add

....
These Excel's are surely nice !!.....Jim

Carlos Polidura · Post by **Carlos Polidura** » 2 May 2006 2:18 pm

james......
you could not have said it better.
i have a d-10 keyless and i love it.
carlos

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 2 May 2006 2:29 pm

Nice!!

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 2 May 2006 2:59 pm

Oop's .....Special thanks also to Michael Johnstone for his help in my decision making also .. ....Sorry Mike !!....If I could only remember more , I'd stop forgetting so much ....

David Wren · Post by **David Wren** » 2 May 2006 3:04 pm

Holy Cow!

Looks like a "transformer", you know now it's a steel guitar, but it can transform into a Light Armored Vehicle.....

Maybe we should start a new class of PSG, the SUG (Suburban Utility Guitar)

Of course just kidding, looks very nice! (but the milage will kill you - hee hee).

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Dave Wren
'96 Carter S12-E9/B6,7X7; Twin Session 500s; Hilton Pedal; Black Box
www.ameechapman.com

Bill Stafford · Post by **Bill Stafford** » 3 May 2006 3:36 am

So glad to see this about the EXCEL! Thanks James and Ed. And once you really inspect one of these steel guitars, and then own and play one, you will be the "...transformer".
A marvelous instrument by the best company in the business.
Bill Stafford

John Sluszny · Post by **John Sluszny** » 3 May 2006 8:48 am

Superb!!!indeed!

Curt Langston · Post by **Curt Langston** » 3 May 2006 9:43 am

Engineering genious! You will never have a need for another guitar. You may want another guitar, but you will not ever NEED another.

Very nice looking rig!

Smart physics through and through!

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 3 May 2006 2:40 pm

Curt,
I'm sure I will WANT another steel .....or 2 ?, ...................................................or 3 ? .............................I like even numbers ............4 sounds good to me .......

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 3 May 2006 5:02 pm

James,

Great description of the Excel Superb. Mine is one of the first Superbs Mitsuo built. The way I came about getting it was:

Laurie and I had the honor of being Bill and Betty Staffords house guests for a couple of days in 2004. This gave me the opportunity to inspect Bill’s new 14-string Superb in great detail. I was so highly impressed that I went home and wrote a Microsoft Word document titled “My Dream Guitar.” I specified every detail as you had done, James. Then a few months later Laurie and I attended the International S. G. Convention. We ran into Bill Stafford in the hallway, and he asked if we had ever met Mitsuo. We said, “No” so he took us to Mitsuo’s booth and introduced us to him. Bill said, “Roy, what do you think about Mitsuo’s steels?” I said, “The best engineering I have ever seen.” He said, “Sit down and try that one.” I said, “Bill, I don’t play the chromatic tuning.” He said, “Well just strum a few chords and see how you like the tone.” I strummed across the strings and looked up at Bill and said, “Hey, that’s my tuning.” At that, Bill, Laurie and Mitsuo burst out singing “Happy Birthday” to me. It was a total surprise to me. Laurie had gone into my Word files and printed out my specification and sent it to Bill asking him to order it from Mitsuo. Laurie hadn’t even given me a hint at what she had going; she even allowed me to lug my Sierra D10 all the way from Florida to St. Louis – knowing all along the Excel Superb would be waiting for me when I got there. Mine is an S10 6 + 4 tuned to E 6/9 with a lock-in lever that pulls it into an A6 identical to the standard C6 but three frets lower. The steel is everything I wanted one to be.

Bill Stafford is a great friend, Mitsuo Fugii is a great designer and builder, and Laurie is a great wife – but, sorry, boys, she’s already taken.

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Visit my Web Site at RoysFootprints.com
Browse my Photo Album and be sure to sign my Guest Book.

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 3 May 2006 6:25 pm

Roy,
What a great story !.... Smart woman your wife !!.... Funny you mention Sierra ....I think that there are quite a few guys who were playing Sierra's that went to Excel's , now if Mitsuo would put the interchangeable pickup's in the Excel , I'd be elated !!......Jim

Chippy Wood · Post by **Chippy Wood** » 3 May 2006 11:17 pm

Hi James,
I can endorse everything you have said about the Excel, when I saw Bill's at the Dallas show last year I was knocked out by them and in particular Bill's mastery of his instrument.
Bill went out of his way to tolerate me and my questions and I spent a lot of mine and his time watching and listening to him.

I'm getting one.

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Ron (Chippy) Wood
Emmons D10
Emmons D12

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 4 May 2006 6:07 am

Chippy,
You won't be sorry .....As I stated in my thread ...If you EQ everything flat ( all your tone controls at 12 o'clock on most amps ) , the tone you will get is BRITE ....Adjust your tone controls to taste ....You DO have a tone control built into the Excel that will roll off some high's .... A lot of folks describing the Excel tone will say that it is "thin" ...... I would not consider the Excel as a "thin" sounding instrument at all any more than I would say that an Emmons P/P is "thin" sounding ... Are they full and round sounding like a Zum ??....No ...Are they clear and brite , and cut like a knife if they have to ? ...Yes !!.... They sound a heck of a lot closer to the tone of a P/P than to the tone of a Zum .... One not being any better sounding than the other, just different ...Is the Excel for everyone ?
No ...Just like other pedal steels on the market are not for everyone .....This is why I say again ....variety is the spice of life ...

..Sincerely, Jim

Don McClellan · Post by **Don McClellan** » 8 May 2006 9:02 pm

I can't get over how awsome this axe is! Can you give us a hint as to the price? Don

Don McClellan · Post by **Don McClellan** » 8 May 2006 9:09 pm

WOW!!!! What are those little dots above the fret marks? Fine looking axe! Don

Chris LeDrew · Post by **Chris LeDrew** » 9 May 2006 4:16 am

That is the best-looking keyless I've seen yet. It resembles a sports car.

Don McClellan · Post by **Don McClellan** » 9 May 2006 7:24 am

What are those little dots on the fret board above the fret marks? Thanks, Don

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 9 May 2006 8:32 am

Don,
They are little diamond shaped markers and other than being "weird graphic's " I can't say what they are ..... Other than cosmetic , I can't really see a use for them ....Any other Excel owners care to comment ? .....?????......Jim