The Steel Guitar Forum Store 

Post new topic Range ? Travel of Keyless Tuners ?
Reply to topic
Author Topic:  Range ? Travel of Keyless Tuners ?
Bert Brown

 

From:
North Carolina, USA
Post  Posted 5 Jul 2018 10:34 am    
Reply with quote

Im considering a Sierra Session or Williams 400, both keyless.

I'd like to be able to tune individual string down or up a whole step (without using the pedals. It gives me open strings that fit the key at hand.

Question, Will the keyless tuners allow this OR are they only for fine adjustments ?
Thanks in advance
Bert
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Lee Baucum


From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
Post  Posted 5 Jul 2018 11:01 am    
Reply with quote

I have a keyless Williams 400 Series S-10.

There should be no problem doing that. You would need to experiment a bit to find out how far away from the roller nut would be your starting position.

Give the builder (Bill) a call and discuss it with him. He's a great guy.

Here are some photos of my guitar:

Click Here
_________________
Lee, from South Texas - Down On The Rio Grande

There are only two options as I see it.
Either I'm right, or there is a sinister conspiracy to conceal the fact that I'm right.


Williams Keyless S-10, BMI S-10, Evans FET-500LV, Fender Steel King, 2 Roland Cube 80XL's,
Sarno FreeLoader, Goodrich Passive Volume Pedals, Vintage ACE Pack-A-Seat
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Ken Pippus


From:
Langford, BC, Canada
Post  Posted 5 Jul 2018 11:16 am    
Reply with quote

Either the Williams or the GFI keyless system would Le you do much more than that. The string gauge will be the limiting factor.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Jim Sliff


From:
Lawndale California, USA
Post  Posted 6 Jul 2018 7:45 pm    
Reply with quote

It's a combination of the string gage and tuner "ratio". Other than the configuration the "math" is the same as with any other tuner and depends on how the specific ones to be used are made and what strings you use.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Ross Shafer


From:
Petaluma, California
Post  Posted 7 Jul 2018 11:29 am    
Reply with quote

The pre-2017 Sierra keyless tuners are a bit travel challenged which is why a good amount of pretensioning on that pesky 3rd string (E9) strings is helpful. That said, the Sierra tuners may still be capable of what you want to do.

The new Sierra keyless tuner has lot's of travel.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Jon Light


From:
Saugerties, NY
Post  Posted 7 Jul 2018 1:43 pm    
Reply with quote

This is an interesting and new question here on the forum.

But my first thought is: if you are talking about changing tunings between songs on the stand, is any keyless guitar tuner friendly enough to do that on the fly? If yes, then I'm learning something (I've never been close-up to a keyless steel and I'm a bit hazy on the practical details.)
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Randy Schneider


From:
SW New Mexico, USA
Post  Posted 7 Jul 2018 1:48 pm    
Reply with quote

Jon,

The keyless tuners on my CMI use the same 3/16" tuning wrench as is used to tune the nylon nuts on the changer end. Works fast and easy - and there's plenty of available travel in either direction.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Jon Light


From:
Saugerties, NY
Post  Posted 7 Jul 2018 1:57 pm    
Reply with quote

So I suppose that once you have 'do it with your eyes closed' feel for it, no problem. Thanks for helping me see it.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Randy Schneider


From:
SW New Mexico, USA
Post  Posted 7 Jul 2018 2:05 pm    
Reply with quote

The hex part sticks straight out so they are easy to see, and all the screws turn the same direction, just as you would expect a screw to turn (well, because they ARE screws!). Clockwise to tighten the string, counter-clockwise to loosen. Maybe even easier in that sense than opposing keys.

The one kicker is that you need a small allen wrench to loosen/tighten the screw that holds the string in place. So that could be a bit of a hassle in the case of a broken string.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail


All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Jump to:  

Our Online Catalog
Strings, CDs, instruction,
steel guitars & accessories

www.SteelGuitarShopper.com

Please review our Forum Rules and Policies

Steel Guitar Forum LLC
PO Box 237
Mount Horeb, WI 53572 USA


Click Here to Send a Donation

Email admin@steelguitarforum.com for technical support.


BIAB Styles
Ray Price Shuffles for
Band-in-a-Box

by Jim Baron
HTTP