Ideal Material to build a pedal steel body

Harold Parris · Post by **Harold Parris** » 26 Jan 2004 8:44 pm

If you were building a pedal steel guitar, what would you make the body from? I have a changer and other parts and have pondered building a steel for years now. I have thought over several materials to use for the body but I would like input as to what you think would be ideal. I know it will be time consuming and hard work to get one completed. It's just something I've wanted to do. There are all kinds of beautiful woods and space age materials available. Any suitable material will be expensive but I have most everything I need except the body. I would like your ideas on what you prefer.

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Sierra Session and MSA Classic Guitars, Nashville 400, Session 400, and Evans FET 500 HiVolt, and Gretsch Nashville Pro Steel Amps, Keith Hilton Digital Sustain pedal and Digital Sustain Box .
Harold Parris email hparris9@aol.com

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 26 Jan 2004 9:44 pm

Wood has had a very successful run over the years. The guitar I build for myself, after the next one that I'm currently designing, will be some sort of wood D-11.

Because I know more about metal than I do about wood, I naturally gravitate towards metal guitars. The downside of working with metal is it requires specialized skills. Metal also tends to be more susceptable to temperature changes, which does wonders to the tuning. Because tuning isn't an issue in a lot of the music I do, metal works very well for me.

I made a titanium tube frame (1" dia, .028" wall) 10 string lap guitar last fall, that has an aluminum fret board and "body" to hold the pickup and electronics. I didn't have enough time to machine a headstock, so I just used one off a Super Pro.

It doesn't have the "woodsy" I-used-to-be-a-tree sound, but it does sound very nice and it has a lot of sustain. Owing in part to the 25 1/2" scale and that it doesn't flex. Plus, titanium is a very "musical" metal. It is, however, very pricey. I made a mention, over in the light weight guitar post, about a double neck pedal guitar that I'm currently working on that will have a titanium frame.

Another interesting metal is Inconel 718 that I've been playing around with a bit.

Ed Naylor · Post by **Ed Naylor** » 27 Jan 2004 4:43 am

I have experimented with all kinds of wood and material over the years. 35 years ago I built the "Fiberglass" guitar-It didn't sell.Probably MAPLE wood would be the choice. I recently did a BAKELITE body and it sounds great. Who knows- The public makes the final decision.Ed Naylor Steel Guitar Works.

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 27 Jan 2004 6:40 am

Emmons' uses hardrock Maple. I believe that has a lot to do with its benchmark sound. I do think however that the new MSA millenium is on the right track. I admire those that are willing to seek a better way.

carl

Wayne Baker · Post by **Wayne Baker** » 27 Jan 2004 8:00 am

Maple with ebony inlay.

Wayne Baker

Joerg Hennig · Post by **Joerg Hennig** » 27 Jan 2004 11:52 am

If I were to make one I´d try cherry. Somewhere I´ve read that it´s not too different from maple as far as density etc., and then at home I have that little table that holds my steel accessories that´s made out of cherry ad it looks real cute.

Regards, Joe H.

Jackie Anderson · Post by **Jackie Anderson** » 27 Jan 2004 12:09 pm

Wood is certainly the easiest material to obtain and work with, and it certainly has been demonstrated that wood -- particularly various maples -- works, both structurally and "musically." By "musically" I mean that some woods contribute much more than others to the sustain, richness of overtones and other subtle components of the sound of the instrument. Ash and some mahoganies, among other woods, also have been well proven to have good structural and "musical" properties. There are other woods which may be good in one but not both of those respects. Looks are important, too, of course, but most of us would place a higher priority on structure and sound, and then try to optimize the cosmetics: it's got to work and hold together; it's got to sound good; it would be nice if it also looks good.

Be aware, however, that all boards with the same wood name are definitely not created equal: they can be fairly predictable structurally, but much less so "musically." Consistency in both respects is a major factor in favor of metals, or composites. Mail ordering wood is a real shot in the dark. Whatever wood you decide to use, it would be best if you could pick through a pile of the stuff and rap each piece with your knuckles: it's easy to distinguish the ones with the most resonance, and the best ones will sound a nice musical note. If you have an opportunity to compare some different woods this way, it could be a real ear-opener!

Ray Walker · Post by **Ray Walker** » 27 Jan 2004 2:23 pm

Jack....you hit all the nails on the head with regard to wood/species/tonal qualities etc. I will go one step further and just say that many woods that have been grouped into the "hardwood" catagory are actually very poor choices in the construction of instruments. There are several ways an experienced individual can listen to how a board sounds and be able to actually "hear" tonal qualities or the lack there of. I am pleased that you posted Jack...you sound like you have a bit of the old ways and some well learned lessons.

Regards

Ray

ebb · Post by **ebb** » 27 Jan 2004 4:29 pm

i would like to have my fender 400 solid bridge done in titanium. any recommends?

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 27 Jan 2004 5:50 pm

Ebb:
http://www.titaniumjoe.com/

Harold Parris · Post by **Harold Parris** » 27 Jan 2004 8:44 pm

I have a part MSA changer that we modified and made the back string rollers fingers out of stainless steel. It looks good and I don't think I will have a problem with string burring like aluminum changers have. I plan on making it 25 1/2 scale and keyless. If any of you have a fretboard for this scale or an old body made out of good wood, please email me. That would save me a considerable amount of work and time also.

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Sierra Session and MSA Classic Guitars, Nashville 400, Session 400, and Evans FET 500 HiVolt, and Gretsch Nashville Pro Steel Amps, Keith Hilton Digital Sustain pedal and Digital Sustain Box .
Harold Parris email hparris9@aol.com

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 27 Jan 2004 9:54 pm

Harold, I made a 25 1/2" scale fret board out of 1/8 aluminum sheet, which is fairly easy if you have access to a milling machine (Bridgeport) with a DRO and can use a calculator. I cut the frets .125 wide and .045 deep. I cut the markers with varying sizes of cutters.

After "brushing" the top with scotchbrite pads, for the brushed look, I used black pin-striping tape in the frets and colored model paint in the markers. It took about a half a day, but it will be around long after I'm gone.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 28 Jan 2004 11:16 am

I have two pedal steels that I use for performing. The Williams is maple, and it has the perfect tone for country music. The Sierra is aluminum, and it works really well for all kinds of music.

The aluminum body guitar is fine for country (I never had a tone complaint), but the wood body adds a characteristic honk that pushes it over the edge to perfection for country styles. The classic Sho-Bud and Emmons guitars are maple, as are most of the pedal steels made today. I think that maple provides the overtones that most steel players like best.

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<font size="1"><img align=right src="http://b0b.com/Hotb0b.gif" width="96 height="96">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
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Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 28 Jan 2004 11:27 am

I would like to have the body of my guitar made from some edible sedative so that when I get really frustrated & lost I can forget my troubles.

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 29 Jan 2004 10:53 am

How about super cooled potassium atoms?
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/01/28/matter.new.reut/index.html

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 29 Jan 2004 11:29 am

The Excel SuperB models come standard 25 and 1/2" necks. So you could order a fretboard from them. Its design is quite appealing I think. However you may differ in that. It is not colored as some are. Or at least it wasn't the last time I checked. It is silver on back with a unigue design.

One problem in getting a stock fret board is its shape; since there are a number of different widths, tapers and shapes of necks.

If you are interested I would suggest you give Scotty a call since he is the distributor for the Excel.

carl

Harold Parris · Post by **Harold Parris** » 29 Jan 2004 2:49 pm

Thanks very much Brother Carl. I haven't seen you since your last Atlanta Show. I certainly hope you're doing great.

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 29 Jan 2004 7:46 pm

Doctor Smith... Per the CNN article...

"But Jin says these Bose-Einstein condensates are made with bosons, which like to act in unison. Bosons are copycats. They basically want to do what everyone else is doing," she said."

Maybe they'll help us if we can introduce them to Sir John Hughey :>)

Kenny Forbess · Post by **Kenny Forbess** » 30 Jan 2004 6:31 pm

Well,,
I thought about building one from Sassafras,
It would smell real good ,

and if it didn't sound good, I could boil it down and make Tea out of it.

Words from the old folks say, "it purifies the blood",

and,maybe it'll clear my mind ?

But I think I'll just stick with the wood Emmons uses, works well for me.

Kenny

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66 Emmons D-10 8&8