ZB Pedal Steel Guitars - Please help!

Jon Hyde · Post by **Jon Hyde** » 18 Oct 2012 2:47 pm

I got rods from Michael for a couple of levers on my new/old ZB and they are perfect. I haven't been able to get all of them in place yet but the one lever I did add them to was great - just like the originals.

Josh Rossow · Post by **Josh Rossow** » 2 Nov 2012 5:07 pm

Hey guys, I was bored again checking out steels on eBay and found this cool old
Bakersfield s-11, thought you might want to check it out. I probably should go push some pedals and practice now.

Brendan Mitchell · Post by **Brendan Mitchell** » 2 Nov 2012 9:10 pm

Yeah I saw that , very nice . Pity they had to trim the horns though .
It is listed in the for sale section of this forum .

Russ Tkac · Post by **Russ Tkac** » 11 Nov 2012 5:43 pm

Here is Tom Brumley's solo as posted on another thread for I Sang Dixie. Great tone and playing.

http://picosong.com/3RHD

Josh Rossow · Post by **Josh Rossow** » 19 Nov 2012 7:17 pm

Hey guys,
The top of the pedal rods, where they connect on my zb, keep popping in and out as I play. They don't come totally out but it's makes for annoying time playing and makes klunking sounds. As you can see I put small strips of weatherstripping behind the rods a while back, and that kept them from moving until now, the stripping has flattened out. Any other ideas from keeping this from happening?

Bob Hamilton · Post by **Bob Hamilton** » 19 Nov 2012 7:30 pm

Take some of those washers out of there, only needs one under the angle pivot point. B

B. Greg Jones · Post by **B. Greg Jones** » 19 Nov 2012 7:52 pm

Yes, Bob is correct. There was only one washer there originally. Someone has added them. That should cure your problem but be careful that you dont strip the threads out of the aluminum when you take that bolt out.

Greg

Josh Rossow · Post by **Josh Rossow** » 19 Nov 2012 8:06 pm

I just tryed taking a washer out but the rod will still back its way out. I wonder if notching the rod at the inside part where it hooks through would make a differance. It's almost like the bend at the top of the rod should be more than 90 degrees.

Bob Hamilton · Post by **Bob Hamilton** » 19 Nov 2012 8:34 pm

That will help Josh, the bend should be a little sharper than 90, but try filing it out, the rods can be brittle if not heated and bent. I've had to file a couple of my ZBs rods for the same reason. B

Josh Rossow · Post by **Josh Rossow** » 20 Nov 2012 4:41 am

Bob & Greg, thanks for the info, this will help.

Joe A. Camacho · Post by **Joe A. Camacho** » 16 Dec 2012 10:48 pm

Great info, I have the same problem with mine.

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 25 Dec 2012 11:14 am

Looks like Wally Murphy's (brother of Big Jim Murphy) old ZB D-11/10 is for sale in Az.
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/msg/3499169581.html

DZ

Bob Hamilton · Post by **Bob Hamilton** » 25 Dec 2012 12:16 pm

Nice one Dave, that 11/10 of mine that you played is serial no. 0008, but it's only 8 and 4. That low E sure comes in handy at times. Have a great Christmas, BH

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 25 Dec 2012 12:39 pm

Thanks Bob. I have to show you what I did with my S10 ZB. It has Kline parts for the pedals/rods and Fender pedals. Plays like a dream. I realized that no matter what I did I could not dial it in as good as my D-10. I realized that the geometry is different and decided to do some experimenting, without butchering the guitar!
DZ

Bob Hamilton · Post by **Bob Hamilton** » 25 Dec 2012 1:12 pm

Sounds like a fun project Dave, are Kline parts still available?

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 25 Dec 2012 2:09 pm

I don't know. A talented machinest could fabricate them. I borrowed them from the S12 Uni that I converted to an extended E9. I'll post some pics soon.

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 25 Dec 2012 8:31 pm

I converted my late 70's D -10 to a similar type under carriage like a Kline. Mine also plays good and is easy to change setups. The E9th works a lot like a Cline and the C6th works like an Emmons push pull with the little springs on the pull rods at the bell cranks. Both methods work great once dialed in, didn't hurt the tone at all and is about 100 times easier to work on. I know a lot of the die hard ZB 'ers would not recommend but the cross bar mechanism is the pits as far as I'm concerned. I'll post some pics also later. J

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 25 Dec 2012 9:05 pm

I'd love to see the pics. The balanced pulls are genius but I think the workings are a bit crude, nothing against Zane. He got it rolling, Joe Kline fine tuned it. Klines are easier to tinker with. I'm taking her out on the bandstand next weekend for a test run. If it goes well with no hassles I may get fancy and have parts fabricated.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 26 Dec 2012 8:27 am

I looked at the pictures of Wally Murphy's guitar.
That guitar must have a longer body than most 11/10 guitars. Usually on the 11 string neck, it was necessary to cut off the "horns" on the tuner head on that neck in order to fit the cabinet.

Bob Hamilton · Post by **Bob Hamilton** » 26 Dec 2012 5:57 pm

You're right Erv, they're longer (and heavier) than the D10 ZBs, but that string is great to have. Dave, let me know how it goes, maybe we can team up on the fabrication, I will need lots of parts if I go that way. B

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 28 Dec 2012 8:23 am

Here's a few pics of my ZB in process of converting. On E9th, the pedal bellcranks are upside down because of the angle of pull to the changer and works great. Wasn't necessary on C6th. These pics also have helper springs which I later took off because didn't need them. I also am going to put pedal stops that have to be timed about a 64th after the changer bottoms out to give more of a positive feel. Maybe you all can get and idea of the workings. I also have C6th neck going now and will post some pictures of it later. Only problem I'm having is pedal noise thru the pickups. I think it is because pickups are in direct contact with body and am going to try to fix that and keep originals pups. Guitar sounds and plays awesome. I'd take her anywhere.

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 28 Dec 2012 9:34 am

Looking good Henry! I found that with my Kline parts the pedal noise was reduced a lot. Also I put the extra bend in the pull rod to align it with the finger. It helped the pedal response. Before I bent them the rod would flex in a little before it pulled.

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 1 Jan 2013 12:23 pm

Worked like a champ on the gigs. No hassles!

Bob Hamilton · Post by **Bob Hamilton** » 1 Jan 2013 3:12 pm

Good news Dave.

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 1 Jan 2013 4:29 pm

That's great Dave. I see you kept the same bars on the apron on your ZB. I eliminated those and put new ones in that are a little heavier gage and of course I had to drill new holes and all but turned out ok. It's got no cabinet drop. I'll post some more pics later.

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ZB Pedal Steel Guitars - Please help!

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