My pedal steel guitar makes a lot of noise

[robert orth]

Hi
I am a new player approximately 2 years. My pedal steel was made and shipped to me from a maker down south. It seems like it is making more and more fiction noise as it gets older( I sprayed a good quality lubricate on all the moving parts but still get the noise. I can live with it as I practice but I hope to be able to play in church someday soon and think this would really be annoying to the rest of the band..
question.... are higher quality units quieter and I would think smother in the action?
If it is time to upgrade ? what range of cost would be a good estimate. I am very serious as a player , as a life long classical guitar player I am having such fun as I practice daily..would appreciate any informative feedback
Thanks

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[Jerry Overstreet]

I would suggest you disclose the area of Michigan where you are located. That way, some steelers with mechanical knowledgeable close to you can look over your steel and evaluate it and the issue.

It'll be a crap shoot trying to guess what's causing the noise. Best of luck getting it sorted.

[Roger Rettig]

It's hard (impossible) to appraise your situation from what you've described. How old is the guitar? What is it?

I ask this because, many decades ago when I was first doing recording sessions in London, we'd often have an issue with mechanical noise emanating from my ZB D-10. If they'd put a mic in front of my amp (common back then), it would also pick up the extraneous and undesirable undercarriage noise from my steel. Baffles isolating the amp solved it, but that ZB was noisy until I got rid of it.

Is it a mechanical noise (from the pedals, etc.)?

[Donny Hinson]

There should be almost no “friction noise” from a pedal steel as you’re playing! There will be a click, sometimes, as your foot contacts the pedal, and another click or thunk when the pedal hits the stop. But there should be no noise in between!

Note: a lot of players only lube the parts on the body of the guitar, but the pedals and the ball or pedal studs (that the rods connect to) are a frequent source of squeaking or groaning noises. A tiny amount of grease or oil will cure that.

[Eric Philippsen]

The amount of mechanical noise a steel makes is related to the make and model. Some are rattle-traps. Some less so. Some far less so.

There are things one can do to help. As mentioned, lubrication is a biggie.

Some steel designs allow the bell cranks that attach to the rods to rest against the cabinet. Then, when the pedal is engaged and released that bell crank slams against the cabinet wood making an inevitable “clunk”. I put a small felt circle under that bell crank so the sound is eliminated or lessened.

[Bobby D. Jones]

If the guitar has an extruded aluminum pedal bar, With the pedals enclosed in the extrusion itself. Some pedals have plastic sleeves on each side of the pedal. Sometimes as they turn in the extruded grove will make scuffing sounds. A little Petroleum jelly/Vasolene will do it. If it has a stop on end of pedals in the grove, With a set screw. Remove 1 stop, Pull all pedals out, And just a thin coat of vasoline on the pedal aluminum and plastic contacting inside the pedal bar, Is all needed.

Check the pedal/pedal rod connectors will sometime make noise, If the sliding connector is not turned till the ball shaft is in the slot. If the ball in the connector is dry will sometime make strange noises also.

Good Luck finding the noise and a cure, Happy Steelin.

[Bob Hoffnar]

What kind of oil are you using?

[Wayne Brown]

What make and model of a guitar do you own that is making this noise.
thanks
wayne