E9 "C" pedal, Emmons setup, one bellcrank or two?

[Andrew Noecker]

I'm a beginner and I am having trouble getting my "C" pedal to sound right. My steel has the "C" pedal set up with one bellcrank pulling strings 4 and 5. Is this common? What do most players have?

I know that most of the problem is me, I just want to be sure that I'm not learning on a steel with an oddball setup.

[Ryan Barwin]

It's not a common way to set up the C pedal. What kind of guitar is it?
What doesn't sound right about it? Are the C# and F# (with the pedal down) in tune? Do they start raising at the same time? Do they reach the raised note at the same time? How is the pedal action? Does it feel smooth?

[Scott Swartz]

I have my Williams set up like this, it will depend on the design of your rod/bellcranks.

The Williams bellcranks can accept the rods from either "side" and when you do this they come out the same as the changer spacing so no problem there.

The B and E strings will require different leverage at the bellcrank so that does not create an issue either, I use hole 3 for the B string and hole 5 for the E.

[Andrew Noecker]

It is an EMCI SD10. The bellcranks work with rods from either side. I think I will try messing around with the "C" pedal height, because the notes seem to move together pretty well, and the action isn't too stiff, (what do I know right?
The pedal height is now lower than the "B" so I'll start there. I think I need to bring it up higher.

Thanks for the replies, I'll check back later with the results. I just didn't want to be playing around with a setup that was doomed from the start. So thanks again.

[Bobby Burns]

I think Scott Swartz is right. If your rods go through the side of the crank, and can go through either side, one crank does the job just fine. Less parts, less clutter, less weight, are all good things. You wouldn't need both rods in the same hole anyway, so why use the extra part? I think your problem is either the choice of holes used in the crank, the choice of connecting holes in the pedal or pedal rod connection, or the pedal is hitting the floor befor it hits the stop.

[Bobby Boggs]

Two cranks are standard on an Emmons for the C pedal. But one should do the job.