Compensators on the F#'s

[Lee Baucum]

In another discussion, regarding JI tuning of the fifths, the topic of compensators for the F#'s came up. As you know, it's tough to get the F#'s to be in tune (beatless) with both the B's and the C#'s, if your guitar is tuned to JI.

I understand that some folks find a happy medium for the F#'s and others use compensators, which move the finger just a hair in the "pedals down" position. That way the F#'s can be tuned beatless with both the B's and the C#'s.

Tell me about those compensators. I understand they are just additional pulls, but surely they can't be moving very much. Do you attach them to the B to C# pedal or the G# to A pedal? Can they be set to pull the entire travel of the pedal or do they engage right at the beginning or end of the pedal travel? If those pulls are picked up right at the end of the pedal travel, I would think that could be a bit distracting. It could feel like a half-stop and prevent the smooth transition from one note to the next.

Lee, from South Texas

[Earnest Bovine]

I don't like the C-word, but I do have micro-tonal pulls on F# strings on some of my steels.
I don't always use them; in other words sometimes I back off the tuning nut so it does nothing, if I tune closer to ET. At most I might pull 3 or 4 cents, for those times when I use a bigger comma in the meantone tuning.

Of course the pulls should be as slow as possible so that you don't feel them at the end of pedal travel. On one of my steels I have an extra cross shaft to gear down the micro-pulls so they are ultra-slow and smooth.

Here is a diagram where (-) indicates a micro-lower, and (+) indicates a micro-raise.

<font face="monospace" size="3"><pre>
LKR 2 3 RKL
F# (-)
D# -D,--C#
G# +A
E -D#
B ++C#
G# +A
F# (+) (-) (-) -F,--E
E -D#
D (D),-C#
B ++C#
G# +A
E (E), ++F#
</pre></font>

On most of my steels there are not enough empty holes in the changer for all these pulls, and I make do with less, such as just lowering string 1 with the A pedal, and string 7 with the B pedal.

Also I included my RKL in the diagram. If you set it up carefully, or if you get lucky, there will be a microtonal stop on RKL, allowing a micro-lower of string 7, with a feel stop when string 2 licks in. On the old Sho-Bud, this happened by accident. This made it easy to lower that F# whenever it sounded a bit high.

[Bobby Lee]

I tune my 7th string F# to be in tune with the pedaled C#. On the lever that lowers my E strings, a compensator pull raises the F# about 10 cents so that the B6th chord is in tune.

The compensator hooks onto the rod puller at the position closest to the crossbar so that it really doesn't move much at all. I don't feel it but I do hear the difference.

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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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[Steven Welborn]

I just switched mine from the B pedal to the E lower lever like Bobs. Close to the shaft. Much better.