Pedal and lever names

[Jeshua Lehman]

I am just starting, but I continue to have problems interrupting some tab and how to incorporate it to my guitar. My biggest problem at the time is that I don't know the names of my pedals. It seems that many people use different names for the same petal in my "Pedal Steel Guitar" book by Winnie Winston and Bill Keith they seem to use a R lever as interchangeable with the F lever and L with the E lever. Below is my present copedent any help with names would be appreciated. (Mr. Mickey Adams if I have any problems with my copedent chart I would be grateful for any correction, I made the chart using my tuner after I got the steel home so there might be problems.) Also, If you have a favorite licks using one of these petals I would appreciate the help getting started.
Mullen D-12 pre-RP 1980's serial number 2001
E9th Franklin A B C LEFT OUT LEFT IN LEFT UP RIGHT OUT RIGHT IN
1 F# - - - - - - - G# -
2 D# - - - - - - E D/C#
3 G# - - A - - - - -
4 E - - - F# F Eb - -
5 B A C# - C# - Bb/A - - -
6 G# F# - A - - - - F# -
7 F# - - - - - - - -
8 E - - - - F Eb - -
9 D - - - - - - - C#
10 B A C# - - - Bb/A - - -
11 G# - - - - - - - - -
12 E - - - - - - - - -
C6th 4 5 6 7 8 LEFT OUT LEFT IN LEFT UP RIGHT OUT
1 F - - - - - - G - -
2 D - - - - - E - - -
3 G - G# - - - - - - -
4 E F - F - - - - - -
5 C - - - D - - - - B
6 A - - - B - - - - -
7 G - F# - - - - - - -
8 E - - D# - - - - F -
9 C - - - - C# - - - -
10 A C - - - - - - - -
11 F - - - - E - - - -
12 C - D# - - A - - - -
Thanks
Jeshua Lehman

[Jeshua Lehman]

how do individuals get a excel chart into their post?

[C Dixon]

I hope the following will help you Jeshua.

The first pedal steel guitar of "country music" reknown was played by Bud Isaacs, who had the builder put a pedal* on his non pedal Bigsby multi neck steel.

This pedal was later split by Buddy Emmons into our present A and B (usually our 1st and 2nd) pedals.

Jimmy Day then did the same split, but he arranged the pedals in a B and A setup.

The C pedal was next which pulls the 4th and 5th strings a whole tone. This has pretty much remained standard ever since, with either A B C (Buddy Emmons setup) or C B A if using the Jimmy Day setup.

The first popular knee lever lowered the 2nd and 8th strings a half a tone each. And it was called the "D" Lever. NOT (as some think) because of what it did, rather it was simply the next letter in the alphabet.

Later, Buddy changed this lever to lower the 2nd string a whole tone. And later a "half-stop" was added to this lever. That has remained standard to this day.

Then, someone (I am not sure who) added a 2nd knee lever and they removed the 8th string lower on the D lever, and added it to the new lever. So that the new lever lowered both the 4th and 8th strings a half a tone which is standard today. Some called this the "E" Lever, but some called it the "D" lever and then called the first lever above the "E" lever. That confusion still exists today, sadly.

Then Lloyd Green added a 3rd lever that raised the E's to F. That is still the case today and is standard. Also I believe Lloyd is responsible for adding another knee lever which raised 1 and 7 a half tone. Obviously, it was refered to as the "G" lever.

Again, NOT because (as some think), of what it did, but because it was the next letter in the alphabet. the raising of the 7th string did not last very long on standard tunings, because Buddy Emmons removed it and instead lowered the 6th string a whole tone.

Much later a 5th knee lever was added and it lowered 5 and 10 a half tone. Some called this the "H" lever, others the "Bb" lever, some the "X" lever and so on.

Today 5 knee levers is now standard. Some have more than 5 on E9th but most only have 5.

Now as to labeling these knee levers on a setup (copedent) chart, they do NOT use the above designations. Rather they use the physical movement of the lever to indicate its location on the guitar.

L=Left

R=Right

K=knee

So RKL would = "Right knee Left"

And LKR would = Left knee Right.

And so on.

LKV would = Left knee Vertical meaning the lever was raised "UP" with the left knee.

As to what they do, it varies some what, BUT a "standard" has evolved and unless a person designates it otherwise, most all manufacturers will ship the following:

A raises 5 and 10 a whole tone

B raises 3 and 6 a half tone

C Raises 4 and 5 a whole tone

RKL raises 1 a half tone and lowers 6 a whole tone.

RKR lowers 2 a whole tone with "half-stop" (D) and lowers 9 a half tone.

LKL raises 4 and 8 a half tone

LKR lowers 4 and 8 a half tone

and finally

LKV lowers 5 and 10 a half tone.

There is however a new scenario coming up rapidly which is bound to change this standard IMO.

Paul Franklin came up with a new knee lever that:

Raises 1 and 7 a whole tone and raises 2 a half tone.

He also came up with a pedal (usually pedal 4) that lowers 4, 5 and 10 a whole tone.

Finally, Paul added a 3rd pull on the C pedal. IE: he pulls the 8th string also a whole tone.

You will hear these changes of Paul on countless hit recordings.

So players have found ways to adopt some of these changes by sacrificing one or more existing changes. But some are adding additional knee levers and/or pedals to get the full PF changes without sacrificing.

If you have any more questions, feel free dear person.

And may Jesus richly bless you in your noble quests,

c.

* Actually, Bud Isaacs had Bigsby add 2 pedals, but the 2nd pedal's use, is beyond the scope of this post.

[C Dixon]

Jeshua,

I published a book titled "The Evolution of the Pedal Steel Guitar". In it I lay all the above out in an evolutionary and graphic manor.

Most of the books (100 were published) have been sold, but I have a very few left. I will be happy to send you one for free (I will pay the shipping) if you wish.

Just give me your mailing address and I will mail it post haste.

c.

[Mickey Adams]

Jeshua please post some pics of that gorgeous vintage mullein d-12! What beauty that is,

[Richard Sinkler]

First off, there is no standard for naming the knee levers (although some will tell you different. If you don't believe me, spend your hundreds of dollars on courses and find out for yourself). The A, B, and C pedals are pretty standard, but in close to 40 years, I have seen no real standard in naming the knee levers. My best advice would be, Don't worry about what someone else calls the pedals and levers. Learn what strings they alter and what that sounds like (and maybe a little theory to know what is going on musically). If you worry less about the naming conventions, and more about what is going on musically, you will be much better off.

[Erv Niehaus]

If the petal was red, I'd maybe call it a rose petal.

[Mark van Allen]

What Richard said- as a beginner, while it's easy to get caught up in nomenclature and begin to think in terms of "mashing the B pedal", the beautiful musicality of the Pedal Steel guitar requires that we internalize the sound and action the pedals and knee levers make musically. This can be done as theory, the sound we hear, or hopefully both.
Example, learn that the A pedal raises just the 5th and 10th strings a whole step- and what that sounds like with any pedal combination, and eventually as you're playing when you "need" that sound, you know automatically how to get it, both within chords and single note lines.

I started learning from Winnie Winston and Jeff Newman material, and so I thought of the E to F raise as the "F" lever.
I then ran into some tablature from a famous player that notated that lever as RKL, which was the physical location on his guitar, but not on mine... that requires making a mental note when playing through that course that every time you see "RKL" it's actually the LKL on "my" guitar. The same change might be designated "F" on many other courses.

Any course should contain a chart showing what each pedal/knee lever does(ie;raise 4th and 8th string E notes to F), and you simply find what lever on your setup is making that same change. On some courses you will find a pedal/lever you don't have- see if you can approximate those changes with bar slants or an alternative position. As an example, some players have a (often left vertical) lever lowering the B notes to Bb, and you might see a lick using the 4th and 5th strings being played, then that lever used to lower the 5th string a half step. If you don't have that lever, you can accomplish the same thing by sliding down one fret, and activating the knee lever raising the 4th string a half tone, effectively lowering both strings a half tone, and then raising the 4th string back up to where it was.

Mental gymnastics for sure, but all the more reason for learning your own setup in terms of what does what. It's also loads of fun to figure out!

[Jeshua Lehman]

Thank ya'll that was very helpful. My address is
5846 Jockey Street
Galway NY 12074

[Tim Heidner]

WOW!!! That's a whole lotta geetar for a beginner, don't have to worry about any upgrades any time soon!
Sweet!

[Jeshua Lehman]

[Jeshua Lehman]

It finally work! That was more effort then it was worth, but I atl east know how to do it now.

[C Dixon]

Jeshua,

Thanks for posting your address. I will mail you the book on Thursday.

For whatever it's worth:

1. Your E9th neck is refered to as an "Extended E9th" setup. It differs from the "Universal tuning" in several ways.

2. And a number of players are refering to your 1st pedal as the "0" pedal. Most however, put these changes on the 4th pedal. It is one of the newer pedal changes that PF came up with. Again, you will hear the sounds this pedal makes on countless hit recordings.

'Hope you enjoy the book, dear brother,

c.

[C Dixon]

Jeshua,

I just came back from the Post Office. I am sorry I did not mail it yesterday; as I promised you. I had an unexpected out of town guest pop in on me, and there was no way I could do it yesterday. But it is on its way now.

Also, to the other 6 that ordered the book, they have also been mailed. I am waiting for an address of the only other one who wanted it. As soon as I get it, it too will be IN the mail.

If per chance, I messed up and forgot someone, PLEASE let me know, and I will rectify that post haste. The test will be: ALL (with the exception of the "waiting on address") requested books, HAVE been mailed, and should surely be at your address by one week from today..again let me know if you do not get it.

I have no more to give out, or sell. And there will not be any more. The costs are just too great to justify the efforts. I did keep 10 or so, for posterity's sake and/or my kids sake, IF they want them. They can do as they choose when I go.

My thanks to those who asked. I am truly humbled. And I praise Jesus for that.

c.

[David Nugent]

Jeshua....Most courses that I have seen will have a chart printed on the first few pages as to what the reference names are for the knee levers.

[Rick Winfield]

F W I W,
Here's my take:
2nd lower- D lever
4&8 lower- E lever
4&8 raise- F lever
6 lower/split w/1st raise- G lever
5&10 lower- X lever

If you use Tab, be sure to check out what NOTES are applied to the levers used by the authors.
Good luck & have fun !!
Rick

[Ray Minich]

This is one of them "Rights of Passage" that has to be figured out by each participant.

Current business lingo is "tribal knowledge".

Hey Carl, can I get one of them books from ya?

[Erv Niehaus]

[C Dixon]

This is one of them "Rights of Passage" that has to be figured out by each participant.

Current business lingo is "tribal knowledge".

Hey Carl, can I get one of them books from ya?

Ray,

I am humbled you would want one. Sadly, they are all gone. Like I said ealier, I saved 10 for posterity.

Thanks again for asking dear friend.

Maybe I am reading something that was not meant, but it seems that some are suggesting that I said there are standards in the labeling of knee levers. In any case, let me assure the world:

There are NO standards when it comes to "labeling" pedals and knee levers. I simply gave what they are called by various players in the evolution of the PSG, since its onset. I spelled this out clearly in the book.

In fact the first real confusion came into being, when the 2nd knee lever was added. Some called it the "D" lever (even though we already had a D lever!). But some call it the "E" lever. That to me is confusing.

However, having said this, there IS a "standard" PSG setup, among builders, regardless of what the pedals and knee levers are labeled by various players and/or builders.

I know this, because in my many telephone and personal surveys (researching the facts before I wrote the book), MOST use the labels [not necessarily the locations] shown in Erv's chart.

In addition, there IS definitely a standard in what manufacturers of brand new PSG's ship. And that standard is over 80% of what buyers ask for*.

Yes, there will always be those that go and think outside the norm, but again the "standard" setup of mostly what builders ship is:

E9th

Pedal 1 raises 5 and 10 a whole tone.

Pedal 2 raises 3 and 6 a half tone.

Pedal 3 raises 4 and 5 a whole tone.

LKL raises the E's a half tone.

LKV lowers 5 and 10 a half tone.

LKR lowers the E's a half tone.

RKL raises 1 a half tone and lowers 6 a whole tone.

RKR lowers 2 a whole tone (with half-stop) and lowers 9 a half tone.


C6th (G as the 1st string)

Pedal 4 raises 4 and 8 a whole tone.

Pedal 5 raises 1 a half tone; lowers 5 a half tone; raises 9 a half tone; and raises 10 a whole tone.

Pedal 6 raises 2 a half tone; and lowers 6 a half tone.

Pedal 7 raises 4 and 5 a whole tone.

Pedal 8 raises 7 a half tone; lowers 9 a half tone; and lowers 10 a tone and a half.

RKL raises 4 a half tone.

RKR lowers 3 a half tone.

c.

*This standard is changing however. More and more players are:

1. Replacing the raise on the first string on RKL from a G to G#. (A few players are adding to this knee lever, the raising of the 2nd string a half tone).

2. Removing the raises on pedal 4 (C6th) and intead: Lowering 5, 6 and 10 a whole tone on E9th.

BOTH of these shifts from "standard" is due to what PF did. And what a blessing they are. Praise Jesus for Paul.

Finally, some are eliminating the standard changes on the 4th pedal; moving the A, B and C pedals to the right one pedal each; and putting the 5, 6 and 10 lower on the 1st pedal and calling it "The '0' pedal.

Where it will all go in the future is anyone's guess.

[richard burton]

No! No! No! No! No!

Carl,
with the greatest respect, dont name the knee levers by their position on the steel eg. LKL, name them by letters of the alphabet eg. the 'E' lever lowers the 4th and 8th strings a semitone, it doesn't matter a jot where the lever is sited on the steel.

[C Dixon]

Or in a chart form, the "STANDARD" setup is....


[tab]
1 2 3 LKL LKV LKR RKL RKR

F# G
D# D/C#
G# A
E F# F Eb
B C# C# Bb
G# A F#
F#
E F Eb
D C#
B C# Bb


4 5 6 7 8

G G#
E F
C D B
A B B Bb
G F#
E Eb
C C#
A B
F F# E
C D A[/tab]

C.

[b0b]

I'd hesitate to call any complete physical arrangement of the pedals and levers "standard", as there is no arrangement that is used by a majority of players. Most of the functionality has been standardized, but knee lever positions are still all over the map.

[Rick Winfield]

I once had an old MSA D12, with the E lower on the RKL, and I much prefer that location, to the somewhat "factory standard" of today's LKR, but..the more I play, the more I desire to "drift" away from the standard,hoping to develop my own set-up.
Rick
PS: Since there is sooo much learning material available, for the "so called" standard, it is probably wise for a "newcomer" to take that path, at first.

[Ray Minich]

It would appear that our "tribal knowledge" more frequently describes the pedals by what they do rather than their physical location.

That's my summary opinion based on 15 years of buying, reading, and forgetting thousands of dollars of steel instruction material.

What I've learned? Ya gotta play the d@%n thing to learn it...

Pardon me, Jimmy Day's backin' up the possum on XM-13, gotta go...

FWIW: Any one of the "standard" copedants (that word again) is a good starting place. I started with Big E's layout (almost). The letter designations can make tableture difficult to follow at first, if your change ain't where the book's is.