Newbie Question and New Guitar Story

LeAlan Carter · Post by **LeAlan Carter** » 15 Apr 2014 5:47 pm

I'm putting new strings on an E9 Pedal steel for the first time. How tight are these 1-4 Strings supposed to be? I keep wincing every time I turn the tuner a little more creeping close to E then G#.. Feel like any second these things are gonna snap. Do I need to drop them back down a whole octave where they are a little loose? Haven't gotten to the 1 and 2 strings yet.

Also a little story behind this guitar. My Granddad built over 126 pedal steel guitars in his lifetime and played quite a bit as well until Arthritis set in. I would spend a lot of my summers as a kid sitting in his basement watching him hand craft parts for these guitars with nothing but a drill press, bench grinder, and a few saws. He even hand wound his own pickups. He got me involved in music and I have played guitar since I was 13. I always wanted one of his Pedal Steels, but I never asked as he was a retired brick mason and this was how he brought in extra money. When he passed away most of the guitars went to his kids or were sold. I even went on a search for a few years, but the ones I found people did not want to sell.

Luckily my Aunt recently ran into someone that had bought one of his guitars but had not been used in some number of years. He wanted it to go back to the family and she offered it to me. So I here I sit, trying to get it ready to play. Just strumming over the open strings brings back memories of sneaking into his basement, and running my hand across his guitar. I'll try to get some pictures up here shortly.

LeAlan Carter · Post by **LeAlan Carter** » 15 Apr 2014 6:00 pm

That's not my sippy cup...

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 15 Apr 2014 6:06 pm

Don't drop them down an octave to where they are loose. Not only will it sound bad, but I doubt you will get the pedals to work correctly. Do you have a regular 6 string guitar? Or someone with one close by? You can get the 4th string where it should be by tuning it to the first string on the 6 string. Make sure you are using the right gauges for each string and you shouldn't have any problems.

LeAlan Carter · Post by **LeAlan Carter** » 15 Apr 2014 6:24 pm

Yeah I have 6 Strings out the wazoo. I know I got the right gauge strings I bought a pack of D'Addario E9th Pedal Steel Guitar strings. Most of the Wound strings and the Unwound B string I was able to get to tune up right after it started winding up enough to hold itself on the nut and bridge. The E string was kinda scary but its tight. But 1-3 feel.. squishier? Like I can almost press them down to the "Fretboard." And I can tune them up higher but when I get about a whole step from the target it feels like any second the string is gonna snap.. Or am I just being a Nancy and go ahead and keep turning it?

LeAlan Carter · Post by **LeAlan Carter** » 15 Apr 2014 6:28 pm

Looking at:
http://www.daddario.com/DADProductDetai ... 4c7fd44529

It looks like the tension should be higher on the last 3 then all the others...

LeAlan Carter · Post by **LeAlan Carter** » 15 Apr 2014 6:31 pm

Okay I did it without a string breaking and losing an eye... Nothing to see here.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 15 Apr 2014 6:32 pm

Cool.

Mitch Ellis · Post by **Mitch Ellis** » 15 Apr 2014 7:35 pm

LeAlan,

That's one of the best stories I have ever read on the forum. I'm glad that you have one of your Granddads steels. I have things that belonged to my Grandparents so I know how you feel. And it's a great looking steel! Your Granddad did fine work!

Mitch

Mitch Ellis · Post by **Mitch Ellis** » 15 Apr 2014 7:37 pm

[quote=

That's not my sippy cup...[/quote]

Mitch

Larry Jackson · Post by **Larry Jackson** » 15 Apr 2014 8:49 pm

That's a great looking steel LeAlan! Glad you got one...I know you will treasure it.

Peter den Hartogh · Post by **Peter den Hartogh** » 17 Apr 2014 9:25 am

Did you put the strings on in the sequence illustrated below?

Or did you sequence them according to size?
For example:
1-011
2-013
3-014
4-015
If you did it this way it would be incorrect.

LeAlan Carter · Post by **LeAlan Carter** » 17 Apr 2014 9:31 am

Yeah I put them on as shown in that order on the pack of strings, not by size. I got it tuned up and its working fine, I just kept getting the feeling they were going to pop any minute when I got them close to where they were supposed to be.

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 17 Apr 2014 9:33 am

Peter's point is good--I hope you are aware of the broken sequence of strings 1 & 2. They were added to the standard 8 string E9 pedal steel guitar. If the 10 string tuning had been invented from scratch I surely doubt it would be like this but this is, for a fact, the standard.

Ah--just saw your post. Good.

You will probably break strings--the blood is badge of honor.

LeAlan Carter · Post by **LeAlan Carter** » 17 Apr 2014 9:37 am

Yeah I am definately going to order some in bulk.. especially those last 4. I was just trying to be careful since I only had 1 set on hand.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 17 Apr 2014 9:43 am

We tighten the bejeebers out of the strings. An electric guitar tunes a .010 to E, we take it up to G# and A. They're tighter than your drunk uncle.

LeAlan Carter · Post by **LeAlan Carter** » 17 Apr 2014 9:45 am

HA! I had to scroll up to see if I mentioned my Drunk Uncle in this story...

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 17 Apr 2014 9:46 am

the best way to put strings on is, using a string winder, get the ball end on, hold the tuner end of the string through the hole with a cross over pattern to lock it down....leave just enough slack in the string for a few wraps and quickly wind that sucker right up to pitch. don't creep up or inch your way up. it's either going to break or not, but usually it won't.

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 17 Apr 2014 9:55 am

Years ago someone once suggested that that you should slowly, slowly ease 'er on up, stop short, easy there, easy there....ah, there it is.

Some one else responded 'what, are you trying to fool the string, pretend you were going for a slack pitch and then surprise it before it can respond?'

That has stuck with me. I no longer try to outwit a steel wire. Because:

A) I can't.
B) It'll do what it's going to do. But the fact is that if you do things right and keep the guitar well maintained it is not really an issue.

Scott Duckworth · Post by **Scott Duckworth** » 17 Apr 2014 11:43 am

Just remember, if it breaks move your hands quickly... bing!

Also, I am guilty of "creeping up" on the G#...