Mullen steels /cab drop

Jimmy Gibson · From: Cornwall, England

How many of you the members own and play a Mullen steel?I have a 12 string universal that seems to have quite a lot of cabinet drop, not only on the 6 string but others also,it is strange that a guitar of this kalibra should suffer with this problem, i thought i may have solved some of the problem in the fact that some of the roller nuts were in the wrong slots on the nut i only relized this because of the bad string buz on the first fret, it improved it but it is still noticable.I spoke to the Mullen people [Del]and sent them the details they ask for S/N and a pic, but have had nothing back from them so far {but im sure i will,they are nice people but maybe a bit busy at the moment},and i just wondered if any other Mullen players have this problem, or have i got to put up with it?That is the only thing i don`t like about the guitar,it is a great looking guitar.JG

richard burton · From: Britain

Jimmy,
I am surprised at a Mullen having significant cabinet drop.
I only have limited Mullen experience, so perhaps I played a good one. I have spent some time with a Mullen Herby Wallace D10. I was very impressed with the virtual lack of cabinet drop, by far the best steel I have encountered in this respect.
R B

Jimmy Gibson · From: Cornwall, England

Hi Richard,it`s nice to have a reply from this side of the pond for a change,and thanks for your coments.Since i put the topic on this Morning i decided to re string the guitar again,this the second time in less than a week,and i do not believe it,i probably got a bad batch of strings because i have put on a new set of strings and the cabinet drop has nearly gone,i knew there must have been a reason because the guitar is one of the best built steels i have seen,it plays like dream.Ijust hope my joy is not premature,i don`t want to have to put new strings on every week. JG.

rpetersen · From: Iowa

Hi Jim - I sent you an email you might want to read..........Ron

------------------
Ron Petersen &
The Keep'n Tyme Band
Mullen Universal 12 - 1975 Session 400 - Nashville 1000

Robert Thomas · From: Mehama, Oregon, USA

HWP Mullen D-10. No cabinet drop!

Gary Carriger · From: Victoria, Texas

Jimmy (and Robert),

This isn't an indictment of Mullen guitars (I own and play one), but I have yet to find a pedal steel that doesn't have cabinet drop (and have owned and played several brands). Learn how to tune your particular guitar to accomodate for it.
Gary

Jimmy Gibson · From: Cornwall, England

Gary,i have been playing steal for over 35 years,and i do know how to tune a steel,if you read my topic again you will se i only asked if any Mullen owners had the problem of cab drop,i did not once say i could not tune it.i was just wondering if i was alone with my problem with the Mullen that is the only reason i asked,but thanks anyway for your imput.The guitar is great in evry other dept.JG.

Herb Steiner · From: Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064

Jimmy
A couple thoughts for you:
I've owned three Mullen guitars, four Fessenden guitars, numerous Sho~Bud and Emmons guitars. All have/had varying degrees of body flex, which is what I believe we call "cabinet drop." Each instrument was an individual and had differing levels of this characteristic. The only modern pedal steel to not have this that I've seen is an Emmons LeGrande III.

I believe the way to overcome this problem is to adjust your tuning and your hand positioning, both very slightly, to compensate, and possibly have tuning compensators on certain strings if your guitar copedent allows it. Retraining your hand positioning goes along with training your ear to hear intonation anomalies, and perhaps widening your vibrato. The steel guitar is simply not an instrument of perfect calibration.

------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

Jimmy Gibson · From: Cornwall, England

HI Herb,it seems i have missled you and others in thinking i am having problems playing the Mullem because of the cabinet drop.well to put the record straight and say sorry if i have,and to say that i have no problem playing the guitar,and as i said in a previous reply a set of new strings and putting the roller nuts in their correct slot in the nut have helped to ease the problem.i had a set of stainles steel strings on before and they seemed to have more drop than the nickel wound ones i replaced them with,maybe the stainless strings have more tension than nickel,maybe somone can answer that question.

JG.

[This message was edited by Jimmy Gibson on 19 December 2004 at 10:18 AM.]

[This message was edited by Jimmy Gibson on 19 December 2004 at 10:20 AM.]

Mark Herrick · From: Bakersfield, CA

I don't think anyone is intentionally (or maliciously) saying you don't know how to tune or play your guitar. (Those responses can be reserved for my tuning and playing ability!)

I agree with Gary and Herb; it's pretty much the nature of the beast, to one degree or another. (And Herb definitely knows this beast.) I think the difference in tension between stainless or nickel strings of the same gauges would be negligible; the plain strings and the underlying core of the wound strings are the same on both anyway. Different gauges would affect the tension more.

BTW, I have a Mullen SD-10 and it has a degree of "flex" or "cabinet drop."

------------------

Herb Steiner · From: Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064

Jimmy and Mark
I believe that stainless steel strings, which I use (George L's currently) have more tension than those made of nickel steel, but how much more I do not know. The more technical heads amongst us probably have that information, and to what degree the extra tension affects cabinet flex.

------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

Forum Index > Pedal Steel		Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: