Different tension between pedals

Bill Atkinson · From: Western Australia

Hi All,
I'm hoping I can get some help/info re pedal tension. I have a Mullen D10 8/4 and the tension between the A, B & C pedals feels different to the point where the B pedal, being harder to press, sounds out of tune when both A & B pressed even though the tuning and the string and the individual pedals tuning is correct. I'm still in very early days with this instrument (5 months) so I'm not sure if this is just bad technique or I need to flip the steel and adjust things.

Things I'm assuming:
1 all the pedals should be level with each other
2 pedal tension should be the same on all pedals no mater which string is being
raised or lowered

Thanks, Bill
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Paul Sutherland · From: Placerville, California

I would say both of your assumptions are false.

I like my pedals to feel level to my foot when I'm pressing the A & B pedals together or the B & C pedals together. Some pedals have more travel than others because of the strings they are raising or lowering. The heights of the pedals off the floor is completely irrelevant to me.

The pressure of each pedal or lever is also heavily dependent on how many strings they are raising or lowering, the diameter of the each individual string, and how much each individual string is being raised or lowered. On the lowers, the amount of tension on the lower return springs is also a factor.

So don't worry about the issues you have raised unless some pedal or lever is really hard to activate.

You mentioned the B pedal being hard to work. That pedal should have the shortest throw of the three pedals because it's only a half tone raise on the G#s. It should also have the lightest pressure. I suspect you are simply not getting the pedal all the way down with your foot. Try raising and/or lowering first the B pedal and then the A pedal and see what works for you. Once the A & B pedal combination feels good, then do the same thing with the B & C combination, but only make the adjustments to the C pedal as you have already established the B pedal height.

There is no substitute for trial and error.
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Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Paul is right - it's where the pedals bottom out that counts. If they're in a neat line in the up position, that's coincidence.

If you swap bell crank holes to get a lighter action you will also get increased travel. You might regard this as either an inconvenience or an aid to expression. That will depend on how flexible your ankle is.
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Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

Naming what guitar you have (always) matters in terms of identifying problems, if they exist, and solutions.

The info above is correct. More commonly, the C pedal is stiffer than A&B and is usually the one that just needs getting used to.
The B pedal being the one that catches your attention might indicate something being out of adjustment.
Ideally, you can find a way to conclude that all is within acceptable parameters and just learn to physically adjust to the guitar. Fine tuning the guitar to suit your preferences should really wait for you to develop a better sense of what those preferences might be.

However, the more info you can provide, the better you can be helped here to determine if the guitar ought to be tweaked.

Leo Grassl · From: Madison TN

All of the above are great advice and I agree completely, however the main issue you stated was that your B pedal sounds out of tune when both A and B pedals are pressed. If the guitar is set up correctly and you are definitely at the bottom when both A and B pedals are pressed it is also possible that the tuning method you are using does not suit your ears. How are you tuning the guitar?

Not all tuning methods suit all players and they vary quite a bit. Assuming that your guitar tunes accurately and you are using a pre determined tuning chart made by someone else (i.e. Peterson Tuner pre sets or The Jeff Newman tuning chart) you may need to try another method that suits your ears. One way to find out what your preferences are is to learn to tune by ear which takes time and practice but is well worth the effort for all steel players.

Bill Atkinson · From: Western Australia

Thanks everyone, Paul, after reading your comments and checking the pedals, your comments were spot on. Back to practice, practice, practice
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