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Topic: New Fender 400 Copedent and Album That Features It |
Dennis Montgomery
From:
Western Washington
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Posted 3 Dec 2021 1:39 pm |
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Hi all, I keep my Mullen SD12 in Extended D9 but my Fender 400 is up for any crazy thing I come up with! A couple months ago I woke up with an idea for a new 8 string copedent optimized for strumming big chords across all strings and based on strings 10-8-6-5-4-3 of a traditional Emmons E9 copedent.
Here's what I came up with and put on my Fender 400 with 2 knee levers:
| Code: |
|LK|P1|P2|P3|P4|RK|
.010 G#| |G | | |A | |
.015 E |D#| |D | | | |
.020 B | | | |C#| |A#|
.022 G#| |G | | |A | |
.030 E | | | | | | |
.038 B | | | |C#| | |
.056 E | | | | | | |
.066 B | | | | | | |
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The main idea is that the big 8 string open E major has 1 pedal or knee for each change to a different E root chord interval.
LK lowers only the high E to a D# for a Major 7th
P1 lowers the major 3rd's to minor 3rd's
P2 lowers only the high E to D for a dominant 7 (and a minor 7th in combination with P1)
RK lowers only the high 5th a half step (a diminished triad in combination with P1 and a half diminished 7th in combination with P1+P2)
After this I had a couple pedals left so decided to have them make the same changes as the A & B pedals of an Emmons E9.
P3 does the same as pedal A in Emmons E9
P4 does the same as pedal B in Emmons E9
I found mixing the new changes with the Emmons A & B yields some interesting chords as well. In open position:
P1+P3 = C#dim
P2+P4 = Esus4 m7
Note that alterations to get the major & minor 7th are only made to the high E on string 2. Also making the minor 7th changes to the E on string 5 muddied the chords up too much. When playing you really have to play those high strings stronger than the lower to get those 7th chords to pop, but I found leaving the lower octave E's alone works best to keep the root strong.
The root position of the chords (mostly) follows E up the fret board so it's very intuitive. In addition P3 & P4 take on the function of the Emmons E9 A & B so changes the root positions for some added variety (of course in open position P3 = C#m, P3+P4 = A). This is obviously much more limited in chord types and inversions to Emmons E9, and it's not designed to give the flexibility the "chromatic strings" introduce but that's fine as it's not meant to replace or offer an alternative to E9...apples and oranges. The goal was to introduce a copedent where chords are normally strummed across all 8 strings. I believe that goal was reached, and it's a lot of fun to play!
A couple notes for my fellow Fender 400 friends. First, to get a .066 string on the low B I had to very carefully drill out the tuning peg hole just a tiny, tiny bit. Second, notice that LK & P2 both lower string 2 different intervals which a stock 400 can't do. This works because I put a physical "stop" on the LK lever with an adjustable turnbuckle that is set to only allow the lever to pull roughly half the distance on the same string 2 tuning finger that P2 pulls. Once adjusted it's just as stable as any other 400 change (pix attached).
Anyway, after putting this copedent on I had all kinds of ideas to try and over the course of November, one idea turned into a song which eventually turned into another and so on. As the album took shape I decided on a concept surrounding the most famous 11 of the 11th month. Namely, Armistice Day when the WWI hostilities ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. The album is an instrumental work released under one of my one-man-bands, "The Alchemy of Atlantis" that seeks to portray 11 chronological concepts of WWI history that occurred during the war in 11 songs. To further honor the number 11, the total album running time is 33 minutes & 33 seconds 
The Fender 400 is the core of all songs and is augmented with M400 Mellotron and poly-synthesizer textures.
If you want to hear this copedent in action, the album is available on my youtube playlist: "The Alchemy of Atlantis - Armistice" and can be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfXm8aXRTFz2Pz_GXhvmjne7lPEtsplyW
Thanks!
Tuning bay showing that big fat .066 on string 1.
Pic of my 400 with the arm rest shelf I attached. Planning to paint and finish it next spring when the weather warms up.
This is the turnbuckle that restricts the throw of the left knee lever so it only pulls about 1/2 as much as P2. Both are assigned to the finger that tunes the drop in string 2. Once I got it dialed in, it's been very stable
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Hear my latest album, "Celestial" featuring a combination of Mullen SD12 and Synthesizers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhh6b_xXTx4&list=PLfXm8aXRTFz0x-Sxso0NWw493qAouK
Hear my album, "Armistice" featuring Fender 400 on every song:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfXm8aXRTFz2Pz_GXhvmjne7lPEtsplyW
Hear my Pedal Steel Only playlist featuring Mullen G2 SD12 on covers like Candyman, Wild Horses, Across the Universe & more...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfXm8aXRTFz2f0JOyiXpZyzNrvnJObliA |
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Richard Alderson
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 4 Dec 2021 10:04 am If you have never owned an old Fender you might not realize
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Hey Dennis - You are not getting a lot of replies, but ....Isn't it great to have a guitar that you can change the Copedant to anything you want in 10 minutes flat !? Probably most readers have never experienced the Copedant freedom you have got Dennis. These Fenders are ideal for those with a creative spirit who want to explore new territory, invent their own tunings, and need to be able to switch from one Copedant to another at a moments notice. The only limit is your imagination, although only 1 raise/1 lower per string. And I would say 8 strings is about right for fooling around/experimenting, less complicated than 10 strings would be. Ben Elder has a 10 string model for sale right now. I should try out some pedal Dobro tunings with mine !! I don't have six changes the way you do, but I have used mine in the past for C6th no pedals, 8 String E9 with chromatic strings, ABC and E lowers, 8 string E9 with no chromatic strings, AB pedals, and E lowers/E raises, (no C pedal) and right now I have got it tuned up to C6th with 4 standard C6th changes. That's a lot of different set ups for one guitar! These things are versatile. They are not the final answer, but they are sure great for trying out ideas and switching experimental Copedants around.
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Derby SD-10 5x6; GFI S-10 5x5; GFI S-10 5x5; Zum D-10 8x7; Zum D-10 9x9; Fender 400; Fender Rumble 200; Nashville 400; Telonics TCA-500. |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 4 Dec 2021 10:53 am
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I love Fender steels, particularly the long scales. There’s lots to be said about a “plain vanilla†strum-able tuning like that one. You can change it up quickly on a Fender and try ideas out. This is my 1000 with back neck removed. I got it in parts and pieces, some of which I made myself. Right now it’s in a B6 variant.
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Kevin Maul: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Decophonic, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing. |
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Michael Sawyer
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 4 Dec 2021 12:53 pm
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I play Fender 400's,tuned in C with E9 style changes.
I have turnbuckle stops ,like you,for half tone pulls to get 2 raises on a string. |
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Dennis Montgomery
From:
Western Washington
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Posted 4 Dec 2021 4:59 pm
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Thanks for the comments guys. I absolutely love how quick and easy it is to try different copedent ideas on the 400. And I also love how easy it is to make improvements. I think adding both knee levers cost me about $50 worth of stuff from the home depot hardware aisle - and it only cost that much because it did take some trial and error before I found the best design
Richard, I've probably had at least 8 different copedents on mine over the past 4 years. Some were ideas that didn't work out but 3 were solid enough to record with and I documented the changes so I could swap them out later. I agree that 8 strings is a great platform for trying things out.
Kevin, I believe I've seen pix of your 400 before on the forum. I think it's so cool that you've got those effects mounted onto the deck like that (not to mention the Sneaky Pterodactyl on the front). What effects do you have on there - if it's not a trade secret
Michael, cool to hear you're using those turnbuckle stops too for the same purpose. Thanks again to the home depot hardware aisle
_________________
Hear my latest album, "Celestial" featuring a combination of Mullen SD12 and Synthesizers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhh6b_xXTx4&list=PLfXm8aXRTFz0x-Sxso0NWw493qAouK
Hear my album, "Armistice" featuring Fender 400 on every song:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfXm8aXRTFz2Pz_GXhvmjne7lPEtsplyW
Hear my Pedal Steel Only playlist featuring Mullen G2 SD12 on covers like Candyman, Wild Horses, Across the Universe & more...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfXm8aXRTFz2f0JOyiXpZyzNrvnJObliA |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 4 Dec 2021 10:13 pm
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I call it a 500 because it’s one half of a 1000….haha
The effects revealed: there’s a micro delay that’s not in the picture. I keep the compressor on all the time at a low setting. The blue box gives me octaves, usually low, but also does a nice doubling/chorus thing. Triangle Buff is a pretty fuzzy Fuzz, sounding close to what Sneaky used. The Phase 95 I usually keep on the 45 “Script†setting at a slow speed. The Mod Factory I use for Tremolo mostly but also does a good Univibe and Chorus, among other things I rarely use. I like having the controls right in front of me and I don’t find that they get in my way.
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Kevin Maul: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Decophonic, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 4 Dec 2021 10:29 pm
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Very unusual! It shows how even an antique pedal steel can me used to create new sounds and even a new kind of music. Thanks for sharing.
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Dennis Montgomery
From:
Western Washington
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Dennis Montgomery
From:
Western Washington
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