Pedal Steel with Frets

[Alan Brookes]

I've been building hummels (i.e. board zithers, Appalachian Plucked Dulcimers) for about 30 years. I also play the steel guitar. About 150 yrs, ago someone came up with the idea of putting pedals on the harp, and I believe this to be the motivation to put pedals on the Hawaiian Guitar. The steel guitar and (plucked) dulcimer have a lot in common, in that they are both fingered from above. About 20 yrs. ago I built an electric hummel/dulcimer, with removeable fretboards. By changing the fretboards you could have a diatonic major scale, a diatonic minor scale, a chromatic scale, or no scale at all. In this "No scale at all", you have a lap steel. And as a lap steel I've played the instument for many years.

The question is:
As steel guitarists you've become used to having no frets to consider. What about an instrument which is played from above like a dulcimer, but has pedals. Basically an Appalachian Ducimer with pedals ?

The next step is a Hurdy-Gurdy. For those not aware, a Hurdy-Gurdy is a fiddle-like instrument, but instead of a bow there is a rosin-soaked wheel which turns and makes constant contact with the strings, creating a constant input of chords.

Any ideas ?

G

[Bill Hatcher]

Gene Fields of GFI guitars has already built some pedal guitars with one of the necks fretted.

[A. J. Schobert]

I would think it would need alot of strings to compinsate the lose of frets, did you see john ratzenbergers made in america? he showed Lyons and Healey (miss spelled?) harps and the pedals on a harp don't need tuning however they aren't spring controlled so the pedals don't spring back to normall position wich isn't good for PSG, however I do like the idea of eliminating tuning pedals and knee levers, my wife's aunt plays the harp. Just to add to your post

[A. J. Schobert]

disregard my post I thought you where asking something else