My Chief Mechanic, Bobby Bowman

Randy Beavers · From: Lebanon,TN 37090

A few months ago I bought a '67 Emmons from Carter Guitars that they had taken in on trade. It had been robbed of parts, only 4 floor pedals remained. It was extremly nasty underneath but the topside was in great condition. At first I passed on buying the guitar because so much was missing. After some coaxing from Larry Sasser and Bobby Bowman I bought it. Now is when the fun begins. I scrounged parts from everyone I knew, and some I didn't untill this quest. Now I have something truly special! A vintage push-pull with 8 floors and 8 knees. I have been told by just about everyone about how bad a p-p would play with my set-up on it. Not so! The pedals are easier than any guitar I've owned. I know Bobby spent an extreme amount of time getting everything just right, and it shows. He has some different ideas on how to set these guitars up to make them play easier. I would compare it to fine tuning a race car. Also the guitar now looks almost new. I won't even discuss "tone" here other than to say, it's "MY" tone. This guitar produces what comes out of "me" with more clarity and sustain. Be it good or bad. Computer gurus understand GIGO, how can a guitar be any different? The best sounding guitar has to be simply, the one that reproduces the most accurate resonance of all the strings frequencies. But I've already said more than I meant to on that subject!

Anyway, if you have an old p-p setting around that doesn't play as easy as you like, check with Bobby and see what he can do for you. I think you'll be surprised at how he can revive these "Classic" insturments.

[This message was edited by Randy Beavers on 23 June 2003 at 11:44 AM.]

[This message was edited by Randy Beavers on 24 June 2003 at 05:54 AM.]

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

You said a mouthful, Randy. I know you're proud of your new guitar. There's nothing like an old Emmons -- I will always own one. You've always sounded great on all the brands I've heard you play -- both 'back in the day' in StL and on your recordings. I'm sure the push-pull will bring you great joy. You don't have to worry about GIGO -- but then, I don't think you EVER did on Zane's guitars or Bruce's.

------------------
Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Tommy Minniear · From: Logansport, Indiana

Congrats on your new/used guitar Randy! Are you going to be playing it at NTSGA's Super Jam X1V? Looking forward to hearing you and possibly your new guitar!!! And: Yes, I agree! Bobby Bowman is a master pedal steel mechanic - "picks good too"! For not getting into the "tone issue", you summed it up about as well as I've heard or read it put.

------------------
Tommy Minniear
www.ntsga.com

John McGann · From: Boston, Massachusetts, USA * R.I.P.

Hi Randy- it would be great to see your copedant setup to see what is possible on an older guitar- assuming single raise/single lower? Thanks!

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

Incorrect assumption, John. On a push-pull, you can raise or lower any or all strings as many times as you like. Only the max raise and max lower are tuned at the endplate, but you can have any number of tuners underneath the guitar. It's really a pretty cool mechanism.

I too would like to see what Randy's got going underneath that guitar.

------------------
Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 23 June 2003 at 11:08 AM.]

John McGann · From: Boston, Massachusetts, USA * R.I.P.

Thanks Larry- wow, i (obviously!) had no idea that was possible- how do you tune those raises and lowers that aren't accesible at the endplate?

Kenny Dail · From: Kinston, N.C. R.I.P.

Randy, you sure sounded good in Wilson NC. I realy enjoyed your show.

------------------
kd...and the beat goes on...

Randy Beavers · From: Lebanon,TN 37090

I'll post my set-up tomorrow when I have a little more time. I've got to leave to go fishing in about 20 minuites! One of the "neat" things I have though is a 2-way knee lever on my left knee. Push it right and it lowers the E's on the E9th. Push it left and it lowers the 6th string on the C6th a whole tone. Mack Atchenson made and gave me this lever shortly before he passed away. Something that makes it even more special to me.

Al Marcus · From: Cedar Springs,MI USA (deceased)

John McGann-I had 3 Emmons PP in my lifetime and wished I had Bobby Bowman then to set them up. They are hard for a player to do.

You tune the other pulls by trial and error underneath the guitar. By setting those set screws on the pull rod farther from the bellcrank until you ear tells you it is right.

Say if you have tuned the E to F# at the endplate, then to tune the E to F on the Same Rod, you position that set screw farther from the bell crank.

That is where the trial and error comes in. They do have an adjustable set screw with a spring, like the old barrels on the sho-buds, that you the can reach underneath, if you can, and set the correct distance.

Then after that they do stay in tune pretty good.

Personally, I liked the old Rack and Barrell tuners on the Sh0-Bud Professional, which you could tune from the endplate, with no limitations.

If you change tunings and experiment with pulls as I do, and a lot of us do, that is an important feature....al

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Al
Your method for tuning the half-pulls on the PP is obsolete.

The correct way to do it, with factory parts, is the "half-stop swivel." This is a regular bell-crank swivel with the rod hole enlarged and threaded with a spring-loaded hollow tap screw inserted into the thread. The pull rod passes throught the tap screw. This tap screw is what meets the brass collar on the pull rod. By moving the screw in and/or out from the bellcrank swivel, thereby lengthening or shortening the effective length of the rod, the pull is correctly tuned.

------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

Herbster, I think Al described the same Emmons half tone tuner in his fourth paragraph.

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Gentle readers, allow me to reprise, sans prolixity, the utterance of the late, great Gilda Radner in her timeless excursion into glorious thespianism, that dramatis persona being the role of Emily Litella

Frank Parish · From: Nashville,Tn. USA

Good Lord Herb,
I can't read Hankeys posts and now you're starting to do it too! You guys, lets keep it simple for those of us with a honky tonky education.

Larry Beck · From: Pierre, SD

Here's a Matte Black S-10 Emmons that I just got a few hours ago from Bobby.

Smoothest, easiest Emmons I've ever played. Thanks Bobby!

Eric Myers · Posted 23 Jun 2003 7:21 pm

If it wasnt for Bobby I wouldnt be where I am today =) Not sure where that is exactly but I couldnt have gotten here without him - a true gentlemen and advocate to the Steel guitar - thank you!

Jody Sanders · From: Magnolia,Texas, R.I.P.

Dr. Bowman is the MAN. Jody.

Randy Beavers · From: Lebanon,TN 37090

O-K, here goes:

Standard 8 pedal "Emmons" floor set-up with one exception, on C6th, I lower the 9th string a whole tone on the 8th pedal. If anyone has any questions about how I use that I'll be glad to explain. If you have any advice about how to use it, I'll be glad to listen. That's how I came to use it in the first place. When Paul Franklin speaks, everybody listens, or they should.

E9th
LKL back, raise 4 & 8 1/2 tone
LKL front, lower 5 1 tone LKV lower 5 & 10 1/2 tone
LKR lower 4 & 8 1/2 tone

C6th
LKL Lower 6 1 tone
(this lever is also the E9th LKR)
LKV lower 4&8 1/2 tone, raise 1, 1/2 tone
LKR lower 5 1 tone

RKL Lower 6th on E9th 1/2 tone
lower 3 on C6th 1/2 tone

RKR lower 2, 1 tone W/1/2 stop & 9 1/2 tone
on E 9th
raise 4 on C6th 1/2 tone

[This message was edited by Randy Beavers on 24 June 2003 at 01:15 PM.]

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

Looks like a great setup Randy. I would like more info on how you use the the C6 9th string whole tone lower, if you please.

I still don't have the E9 5th (or 10th) string whole tone lower. I was under the impression that it was used quite extensively with the 6th string whole tone lower and the half tone lower on 4&8. You obviously can't use it with the half tone lower on 4&8 since they're on opposite sides of the same knee. I would appreciate examples of how you use that too.

------------------
Jim Smith jimsmith94@attbi.com
-=Dekley D-12 10&12=-
-=Fessenden D-12 9&9=-
-=Emmons D-12 push pull 9&4 (soon to be 9&9)=-
Stereo Steel rig w/Boss GX-700
IVL SteelRider w/JV-880

Bobby Bowman · From: Cypress, Texas, USA, R.I.P.

First of all,,,thanks to all you guys for the kind words. It's appreciated more than I know how to express.
Without controversy, I only hope that my work speaks for itself. I try in my limited knowledge to do it right.
Now, concerning the Beavers' copedent.
Everything is listed right except for the E-9 9'th string lower. It only lowers a half tone, not a whole tone.
As far as my repair business goes. I appreaciate each and every customer that I have had, do have now and hope to have in the future. Without sounding rediculous, I need all the work I can get. Feel free to contact me at any time for any reason. I'll do my best to be of worthy service to you.
Thanks,
BB
Bobby Bowman
281-856-9453
19920 Westcliffe Ct.
Cypress, Texas 77433

------------------
If you play 'em, play 'em good!
If you build 'em, build 'em good!

Randy Beavers · From: Lebanon,TN 37090

Oops... my mistake. Yes the 9th string on E9th lowers 1/2 tone.

As to the whole tone lower for the 9th string on C6th, I'll try to give some examples. This might be hard to do without tab paper but here goes:

Lets say you're playing a song in the key of C. You are going to play a 2 minor, 5 to 1 progression. Play the 2 minor 7th on the 5th fret on strings 8,6,5,3. Then move up 1 fret, press pedal 8 and the knee lever that lowers the 3rd string, and play strings
9,7,5,3. Now go back to the 5th fret and keep the 3rd string lowered and play strings
8,6,5,3. Now go to the 4th fret and press pedal 8 and play strings 9,7,5,3. Now go wherever and play a C chord, open or at the 7th fret.

There are two examples here of lowering the 9th string a whole tone. The first, on the 6th fret is a F augmented chord, or can be used in place of. The second example, on the 4th fret is a G7th flat 9 chord with a G in the bass. Now remember two things, that augmented chord repeats every two whole tones or 4 frets, going up or down. And the flat 9 chord can be used like a diminished, repeating every tone and a half, or every three frets, up or down. See Paul, I was paying attention! Sometimes you can get too caught up in theory and spend all your alloted practice time trying to analyze just what a chord is. To me, once I have a general idea of how to use a chord, I tend to forget the theory aspect in favor of looking for all the possibilities of different places I can use it. Sometimes I come up with things I can't explain. But that's the fascination with this insturment.
I hope this helps, forgive me if my theory is not textbook.

Bobby Boggs · From: Upstate SC.

"I still don't have the E9 5th (or 10th) string whole tone lower. I was under the impression that it was used quite extensively with the 6th string whole tone lower and the half tone lower on 4&8:.

Jim, you gotta get out more.

Or buy a Tommy White CD.

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

Randy, thanks for the explanation.

Bobby, one reason I've stayed away from trying the E9 5&10 whole tone lower is that I would lose the tunable splits I already have with the whole tone raises and 1/2 tone lowers.

I'd have to go back to using extra rods for the splits, which isn't that big a deal, just haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

Randy Beavers · From: Lebanon,TN 37090

Jim, sorry I forgot to address the 5th string whole tone lower. I never did have the "Franklin" pedal, that lowered 5 and 6 a whole tone together. I wasn't willing to give up anything just to get that "lick." I did however lower the 6th string a whole tone by itself and I could get that lick by hitting the two pedals together. On the push-pull I only lower the 6th string 1/2 tone. When I really started thinking about how I used the RKL, that lowered the 6th string, probably 95% of the time I was using the tunable splits to get the minor chord. And for the other 5% I figured out how to get that another way. So I decided to just go with the 1/2 tone lower because for what I want to play, it's more important to me. I can get everything except for "that lick", which I really don't play anyway. I may have got off the subject?
Lowering the 5th a whole tone by itself opens up alot of chords and voicings that aren't possible if the 6th string lowers with it. For me, my pedal set-up is based around chords, never for "licks." There is nothing wrong with that, but I like playing piano type voicings in the chords. For instance minor 9ths, where the minor 3rd and the 9th are a chromatic apart. It would sound terrible if you played those two notes together. But combine them in a full chord together. Also the major 7th, where the tonic and the M7th are a 1/2 tone apart in a chord. That's where the 5th string lowering a whole tone by itself comes in. I use that alot with the 9th string lowered 1/2 tone and playing strings 9,6,5,4.

I hope this helps.

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

Thanks Randy, I guess I need to play with that change some more.

Bobby Boggs · From: Upstate SC.

I like to add the 7th string to the last chord Randy mentioned.Actually you can play all the way across the neck.But it sounds better to keep it below the 3rd string.

Randy tell us about the knee that works both E9 and C6th.Lowering the E to D can make for long travel even on an all pull.How'd you get around it?There has to be a trick? Or not. Thanks!.......bb

[This message was edited by Bobby Boggs on 24 June 2003 at 09:07 PM.]

Forum Index > Pedal Steel	Goto page 1, 2 Next	Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic