A pedal + F lever problem - common?

[Pete Burak]

Concerning string 6 G#, I too have found that the wound 6th will pretty much eliminate the A+F tuning issue, but it created other issues for me, namely increased pedal travel on full tone raises and lowers, which are of higher priority to me (from an S12U standpoint) than the A+F (which I fixed with a compensator).

I agree, there are alot of players out there with only a half tone raise on string 6 that could benefit from the wound 6th fix for the A+F position tuning issue.

[Joey Ace]

Lots of good advice here, but I gotta add:

Learn to listen while playing and move/slant your bar slightly as needed.

I think of it as a Feedback-Loop in a machine.
Constantly monitoring and correcting.

I believe this is why so many great players can sound in tune, even though they use different tuning methods.

Someone here once said, "A flock of birds does not turn at the same time, they just give the illusion that they do."
Likewise, I don't think I play perfectly in tune, but I try to give the illusion that I do.

[Don Walters]

Joey's comment reminds me of the first time I took my new Carter to the Winnipeg Convention. Al Brisco checked it out, tweaked the tuning, then fired off a few awesome sounding licks. John Lacey had never tried a Carter, so he sat down at it, tweaked the tuning to his ear then fired off a few awesome sounding licks of his own. Then I took over and it sounded awful. So I tweaked it to my ears and it sounded ....never mind

------------------
Don Walters
Carter D-10, 8p/6k
Session 500 with Lemay Mod


<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Don Walters on 12 December 2002 at 10:41 AM.]</p></FONT>

[Ricky Davis]

Jimmy Day always said: "You can't Listen to a Picture".......Think about it.
Ricky

[Abe Stoklasa]

Here's a question for all you guys:

I don't own a fancy tuner, just because I don't know what's good or not. However, I have a great ear. I just tune as close as I can on the tuner, then tune by ear for the rest, until you don't hear the "WAH WAH's" anymore. Should I be doing this a different way?

[Larry Bell]

Abraham,
If it sounds in tune, it is in tune.
Simple as that.

What you're doing is called 'tuning the beats out' and it's one way of arriving at Just Intonation (another way of saying 'what your ear naturally expects to hear). That is, more or less, what the Newman chart gives you. If you DID use a tuner, I would suggest that you tune your guitar in a quiet room very carefully, write down the settings, and hang on to it in case you had to tune in noisy surroundings. I believe that every steel player should be able to tune all strings and changes just using a single reference note. You are a step ahead of many.

[Bob Blair]

Larry, I endorse what you just said 110%. Nicely put.

[Tony Prior]

Nathan, welcome to the world of extended knee levers..Don't forget to remember all this stuf when you add another 3 or 4 !

AND..Larry is the real deal. His knowledge and ability to describe the tuning issues are top notch.

tp

[Nathan Delacretaz]

Well the thanks are going to keep on flowing... (Carl, Randy, Frank, et al - thanks for the encouraging emails and tuning info)...Ricky, I picked up your tuning charts on email this a.m. And Larry, thanks for the university-level reading on this subject! ha ha

I had begun wondering about JI tuning/cabinet drop/etc. and this all gives me plenty to contemplate for a good while! Where I come from, if the tuner reads straight up and your truss rod is more or less adjusted, you're good to go! ha ha

With a group of steel consultants like you guys, I'm going to run out of excuses for my shoddy playing before long!