Pedal Steel Guitar Mechanics Video

Mickey Adams · Post by **Mickey Adams** » 2 Mar 2014 5:36 pm

I am in the process of producing a 2 hour video on steel guitar mechanics...I am soliciting input form the forum on this topic.SO PLEASE...SOUND OFF...I will charge 100.00 per disc.(plus shipping)...In the real world thats a high price i realize...On the other hand, it equates to the cost of you shipping your guitar across the country, one-way, to have someone else work on it..and taking the chance on it being damaged.
EVERY day I get calls pertaining to simple issues associated with todays modern all-pull guitars. Anyone that has called here and asked advice from me knows that I will jump at the opportunity to work through your issue, and to educate you as we work it through, and ask for nothing other than a good word here on the Forum..
If you purchase this video, i will guarantee, unconditionally, that you will be able to: Strip your guitar to the cross-shafts, and reconfigure it however you please. You will have a thorough knowledge of the pull ratios from the bell-crank to the changer. You will understand Pedal Stops, Half-Stop feels, Splits.....and a WHOLE lot more...
I will walk through the reconstruction using a Mullen Guitar. All of the knowledge you gain will be easily useable on ANY all pull guitar.....
Knowledge is power......Please post...

Dustin Rigsby · Post by **Dustin Rigsby** » 2 Mar 2014 6:51 pm

Something that is sorely needed. I remember a Jeff Newman video where he said "sooner or later you'll have to work on this thing" !

Bob Simons · Post by **Bob Simons** » 2 Mar 2014 6:59 pm

Hundred bucks is a lot for some of us older fellas, but I suppose anything that would lessen the confusion, terror, and sickly anticipation of disaster I feel when I approach the underside of the guitar will be worth it.

(Owner of an MSA M3 U12 9 and 6)

Dustin Rigsby · Post by **Dustin Rigsby** » 2 Mar 2014 7:14 pm

Yeah I cringe at the thought of shipping a guitar across the country almost as much as I do at the thought of tearing into the undercarriage. This could be the video equivilant of a chiltons manual for your guitar !

Ken Campbell · Post by **Ken Campbell** » 2 Mar 2014 7:15 pm

Knowledge is power. Anything that can make some of the basic issues easier to resolve so we can all spend more time on the top of the instrument will be a good thing. More detail is better....

Kc

Jr. Watts · Post by **Jr. Watts** » 2 Mar 2014 7:46 pm

That would be a disk that I would be very glad to pay $100.00 for. I just paid over $80.00 for reprints of factory manuals for a 1948 Willys Jeep that I am working on. A video on the mechanics for pedal steel would be very welcome. Put me down for one. Jr. Watts

Leo Grassl · Post by **Leo Grassl** » 2 Mar 2014 8:09 pm

Mickey,

When will the video be available? What a great idea!

Thanks,

Leo

John Scanlon · Post by **John Scanlon** » 2 Mar 2014 9:39 pm

A few thoughts.

Mickey Adams wrote:I will charge 100.00 per disc.(plus shipping)...In the real world thats a high price i realize...On the other hand, it equates to the cost of you shipping your guitar across the country, one-way, to have someone else work on it..and taking the chance on it being damaged......

First, on price. I live in the real world. If you recognize it equates to that cost of shipping, and that's your kind-of competition for this project, how about reducing it to where it's less than that cost? You may want to price it based on your costs (to produce the video) and sales estimates, not your customers' costs. Making the first one is your biggest expense - after that, it's a few cents for each copy. A lower price may also help you sell many more copies and increase your profit....maybe by huge margins.

Second, I think it's a great idea and a sorely-needed resource. I often wish there was a sticky about basic, 101, all-pull guitar maintenance. The closest thing is http://www.steelguitar.com. I recently basically had to almost completely disassemble my Marlen and re-rod it, making several other adjustments and modifications, including bending rods. There wasn't a good one-stop resource readily available here. (Luckily, I had the help of a generous forum member who walked me through the process over several weeks via email and phone calls.). The upside to this is that with this reality of no such resource, each psg player becomes a psg mechanic, too, and that's a good thing. The education I received working on my own guitar was invaluable. I'm sure I would have benefitted from such a video.

Good luck!

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 2 Mar 2014 11:21 pm

I applaude what Mickey is doing! Making a good video is expensive. Besides that in the real world 1 sold video will be copied at least five times. So this price is OK!
Good luck with it, Mickey.
Regards, Johan

Tony Glassman · Post by **Tony Glassman** » 2 Mar 2014 11:27 pm

Good idea Mickey! The amount of man-hours to produce such a detailed video not to mention of the sharing of acquired knowledge and experience make this price point very reasonable.

If one doesn't have the ability to repair or maintain their guitar, they are, in some sense, a slave to it. $100 is a cheap price for freedom..... in my book.

Dennis Wireman · Post by **Dennis Wireman** » 3 Mar 2014 4:58 am

mickey great thing you come up with here my friend Maybe show how to change from day to emmons. about rodding, splits, half stops etc.

Dickie Whitley · Post by **Dickie Whitley** » 3 Mar 2014 6:07 am

I think for what you are offering, the price is fair.

I know Jeff Newman often made mention of what the costs/expended time were to write & produce the lessons he did for his video/DVD series. It's not only the cost but the threat of people illegally copying and selling his content and thus loss of sales/revenue.

I think this is a great and wonderful undertaking by Mickey and I applaud his effort. You can put me down as well. Thank you for the time and effort you putting into this, deeply appreciated.

Leo Melanson · Post by **Leo Melanson** » 3 Mar 2014 7:25 am

From my perspective .. there is a great need for this information. Most of what I have learned about guitar tech has come from the advice and assistance from experienced members of this forum. In fact .. Mickey was kind enough to spend an hour on the phone with me this Sunday. I learned more during that hour than I have in a few years. Thanks very much Mickey .. I will try to pay it forward. A comprehensive video/manual guide to steel guitar tech would be a great tool for all players.

You cannot play steel guitar without some understanding of how things work under the hood. It would be like driving a hot rod but never opening the hood.
On older guitars you need some tech knowledge to get things working (Bobby Seymour has a good video on Emmons PP tech, but it is limited to that instrument), and on new guitars .. it would be great to have a reference on all the various setup options, limitations and copedants.

Jeff Heard · Post by **Jeff Heard** » 3 Mar 2014 7:36 am

I think a hundred bucks for something like this is more than reasonable, especially when you consider that Mickey has posted a huge number of FREE steel lessons on Youtube for everyone to access. Thanks, Mickey. I'll order one for sure!

Mike Wheeler · Post by **Mike Wheeler** » 3 Mar 2014 8:07 am

Having seen lots of your instruction videos, I have to say, you have a great talent for staying on point and being concise. You speak clearly and make yourself understood very well. Those are qualities that will make your "mechanics" video priceless.

It seems to me that you are asking more for suggestions about content. How about covering the various ways of installing, or setting up. splits...screws behind the changer fingers, installing extra pull rods, and maybe even the Bradshaw "L" device? Maybe you could touch on some of the unique issues found in 12 string universal setups. How about correct pedals height from the floor? Or setting up good knee lever angles?

One topic could be how to document your current copedant (bellcrank and changer rod positions) for those who just need to do a complete tear-down for cleaning, and want to put everything back the way it was.

Geesh, there's so much that can be included....maybe you should make it a 3 hour video!

I'm sure other pickers will have more suggestions. Come on people, let him have it! He asked for it!

Don McGregor · Post by **Don McGregor** » 3 Mar 2014 2:57 pm

This is BIG! And a real deal at $100.
I've done a lot of video production, and know how much work, and how many hours go into a project like this.
Too, I have been struggling with the underside of my Robbins D-10 for a while, with no one around to actually show me how to do anything with it. As soon as I can, I will buy this video, knowing it will save me many times the purchase cost by teaching me how to work on my own steels.

Jarek Anderson · Post by **Jarek Anderson** » 4 Mar 2014 11:45 am

double post

Jarek Anderson · Post by **Jarek Anderson** » 4 Mar 2014 11:49 am

Sounds like a great idea. Many of us are a good piece away from a mechanic. I work on all my other guitars, and would love to have the know how for all the mechanices under my steel too.

I'm wondering if you could talk about adding changes to your copedant. I think you're talking about this when you referenced the ratios of pulls. Also: a bit about gear down axles might be of use (at least to us Carter owners).

I would buy this as a video, but also as a book... I prefer to read it, and have the text to reference, but that may not be the same for everyone. From my perspective, ideally it would be a book with some video supplements, but that's just me.

It's at least a little more difficult for your book to be copied and sold than it is for a video.

It will be a great resource either way, I'll be on the list when you finish it.

Don McGregor · Post by **Don McGregor** » 4 Mar 2014 2:06 pm

General maintenance, cleaning, and lubrication are my first priorities to get comfortable with.
Also, I'd like a better understanding of how to set up and tune pedals and levers. For instance, I managed to get my E9 pedals fairly well in tune, and adjusted the AB&C pedals so that they were ergonomically better for my left foot to work. Now, I'm still trying to adjust the knee levers so I can reach them while pressing pedals. Sometimes I think this instrument was built for taller players.
Anyway, I've got AB&C and my E raise and lower levers working pretty good, but can't seem to get the rest to pull and release to the proper pitches. With a better understanding of how they work, I'll have a better chance of getting it right.
Neither of the last two owners of my Robbins used the C neck, and therefore, it is gunked up, and sticks every which way. Two of my C neck pedals don't rise back up when I release them. Hopefully your video will address these issues, and give me the understanding necessary to be able to trouble shoot and fix these problems myself.
Lastly, I, too, am very interested in knowing something about altering my copedent, and hope that some what I learn from this video will also apply to older types of changers. I have an old Miller D-10 that I hope to restore, but already know I would need to add one or two more levers to make me want to play it more.
After two recent knee surgeries, I don't have the bucks on hand to purchase this video right away, but within the year, I hope to get it.

Clark Doughty · Post by **Clark Doughty** » 4 Mar 2014 2:47 pm

I can vouch first hand for Mickey's ability and willingness to help all of us. I think $100 is very reasonable for the help you will get. In addition, you would have it for as long as you need it of any occasion.
I stripped my guitar down and put it all back together with Mickey's help on the phone and now I'm over the intimidation of doing something like this. Mickey is a real pro at this and I'll be first in line to order one if someone else hasn't beat me to the punch...Go for it Mickey.........clark

Cory Dolinsky · Post by **Cory Dolinsky** » 5 Mar 2014 8:55 am

Some info on adding a vertical knee lever would be great, and maybe a couple of pointers of common problems.

Dennis Lee · Post by **Dennis Lee** » 5 Mar 2014 10:45 am

How to add a 4th (Franklin) pedal?

Tom Kraemer · Post by **Tom Kraemer** » 5 Mar 2014 12:31 pm

I would buy it today.
I would love to see someone start a class at one of the steel guitar conventions on the mechanics of the PSG : "Anatomy of the PSG". Maybe even a dissection and reassembly of a guitar. A good video could come out of the process and be sold on site.
I know I would attend. Perhaps a $ million idea for someone

Tom

Mickey Adams · Post by **Mickey Adams** » 5 Mar 2014 5:07 pm

Thanks for all of your responses..my friends, and colleagues!...I started today. Beginning with a bare guitar we will start with prepping. This means tuners secure, endplates tight, cross shafts free....etc...etc...etc...Im going to have a lot of fun with this one, because...I love to teach!!!>...

Dustin Rigsby · Post by **Dustin Rigsby** » 5 Mar 2014 5:25 pm

You know Mickey, as much as you love to teach....have you ever thought about doing those steel guitar boot camp things like Jeff Newman used to do ? I don't know much about them, or what kind of logistics would be involved. I'm just thinking out loud.....

The Steel Guitar Forum