In my experience, unless there are lomg lower changes added such as lowering #5, B to A (e9) or#5, G to F (c6) (which means that more slack needs to be put into the raise system to accomodate the lowers), theres no reason that a p/p cant feel like an all pull.
Some people who work on these things make the mistake of leaving off some shock springs in order to shorten the pedal & knee travel.
That will stiffen up a p/p considerbly.
I've played on Buddys '67-68 p/p a number of times & am always amazed at how great it feels. If you looked underneath "The Blade" & then played it, you would be able to confirm the accuracy of my previous statements. That thing has more springs than a mattress factory
Of course, Buddy invented it & would absolutely know the correct way to make it play its best.
Another thing too,..... on those long lowers that also raise elsewhere, its good to hook the raise hooks lower on the raise fingers (experiment with it),& put 1&1/2 turns of shock spring on the
thinnest string raise rod (while adjusting in the correct ammount of slack to enable the lower to bottom out). Leave the thicker string higher on the raise finger than the thinner one & use a long shock spring on the thicker to even out the feel & help the 2 to start & end together. Shock springs mean just that... to soften the shock of cranks hitting collars at different times. To leave them off adds stiffness & multiple feels of the strings activating....& that is more distracting to me than stiffness.
How Stiff Should P/P Pedals Be?
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- Bob Snelgrove
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- Bob Snelgrove
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- Joined: 4 Aug 1998 11:00 pm
- Location: san jose, ca
- Larry Bell
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Bob,
If you only have one or two pulls on a pedal or lever there's no problem, but when one pulls both necks and/or three or more strings it can get stiffer. For that reason my 9x9 was stiffer -- it had both pedals and levers that pull both necks. My S-12 with 6x6 plays like melted butter, although, as Dr. Mike mentions, it should probably have a few more shock springs to make it even smoother.
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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro
If you only have one or two pulls on a pedal or lever there's no problem, but when one pulls both necks and/or three or more strings it can get stiffer. For that reason my 9x9 was stiffer -- it had both pedals and levers that pull both necks. My S-12 with 6x6 plays like melted butter, although, as Dr. Mike mentions, it should probably have a few more shock springs to make it even smoother.
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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro