Converting non-pedal to pedal

Mark Addeo · Post by **Mark Addeo** » 29 Jan 2016 3:30 pm

Oh, no. I didn't buy it. I just saw it out there not too long ago and saved the pictures. Some lucky person bought it though and I'm guessing got a good deal. A best offer under 1200 was accepted.

I did buy an orphan single neck basket case I just made into a lefty though. Here are some pics. Sorry, I'm a bit off topic. No benders on this rustic lefty beaut.

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Llorens del Rio · Post by **Llorens del Rio** » 27 Feb 2016 3:15 am

Mark Addeo wrote:This Fender Stringmaster with pedal modifications sold on ebay not too long ago. Seems to have gone for a steal (no pun intended). I'm a lefty but would love to have owned this. Clearly, they knew what they were doing! Description for the pedal mod read as follows:

'56 Fender Stringmaster that once belonged to steel guitarist Marian Hall. The pedal modification was done by her husband and operate the 4th 5th 6th and 7th string on the front neck.

Hi Mark, hi all!

So funny to see this post, never ever happened to me before that i own a guitar with such a story.

I bought Marian's stringmaster last month from a fellow musician from SoCal.
The guitar is now with me in Barcelona where I live, it arrived well and after some work on the electrics and rust is now playing amazingly.
Mark, I am lefty too. I always wanted a stringmaster and when I saw this one I didn't doubt it. Stringmaster + pedals + Marian hall.
It's now setup for left handed of course.

I don't know if anyone knows anything about this guitar but if you do, I would love to know more about it.
The seller told me that he bought the guitar from Tk Smith and before that, it belonged to
RC Alllen, and that the pedals were added by Marian's husband.

It is a "55 stringmaster with two pedals.
Pedal A raises strings 2&3
Pedal B raises strings 4&5
I have it tuned to e9th. Hi to lo: E B G# F# E D B E

I have now split the pedals and pedal A raises 2nd string to C# only and B raises 3rd string to A only too. This way I can practice rocking my foot in the right way and also follow instruction with more or less the right setting.

Does anyone have any ideas on why the original pedal settings?
Does anyone have any info about this guitar being used by Marian?

Please feel free to add and throw ideas for turnings, etc,

By the way, thank you all of all the articles, discussions, information, tutorials, tips.etc, through the years. It really helps if you live abroad like I do.

This forum rocks!

Cheers
llorens

Jeff Mead · Post by **Jeff Mead** » 27 Feb 2016 4:13 am

Llorens,

It's great that you are using this instrument. You are one of the very few people in the world still using a Stringmaster with added pedals!!

It was obviously meant for you because, as a left hander, the reversed configuration of pedals on 2345 is probably more useful than the original right handed configuration of 4567.

I can't imagine what the tuning or changes would have been on it when Marian Hall owned it.

I found an interesting article in Vintage guitar magazine (http://www.vintageguitar.com/2993/marian-hall/) where she says:

"When I got the 1952 Bigsby D-8, I used E6th and A6th. Even before hearing Bud Isaccsâ€™ famous pedal intro on â€œSlowlyâ€ (by Webb Pierce), I had some idea to experiment. I had Paul Bigsby put a hand lever on the side of my steel; it changed the A6th to an E13, and that was my way of getting three necks out of two. After finally hearing Bud and figuring out the intervals, I had two regular pedals put on the E6th to change it to E13"

Maybe someone can figure it out from these clues as she might have had something similar in mind for the Stringmaster? I can't work out how to get from E6 or A6 to E13 by changing strings 4-7.

What tuning are you using on the other neck?

Llorens del Rio · Post by **Llorens del Rio** » 27 Feb 2016 4:55 am

Thanks Jeff, I can't express the joy of playing and having this guitar!
Its a great transition for me from lap steel to pedal steel.

By the way i have named her Marian, of course!

The front neck is C6th.

I had to leave the pedals in "right handed" position due to the holes in the bar for the pedals. I know i would have to have them on the other side for lefty but i need to figure out how to drill holes in the metal bar to move the pedals to use with my right foot.

Here are some pics of Marian at home in Barcelona

Post on!

cheers

Jeff Mead · Post by **Jeff Mead** » 27 Feb 2016 5:06 am

Did you think about unbolting the necks and swapping them so the higher/thicker neck (with the pedals attached) is furthest from you as it would have been originally? (you would need to re-wire and drill a new hole between the necks and re-locate the jack socket but I'd be tempted).

Llorens del Rio · Post by **Llorens del Rio** » 27 Feb 2016 6:10 am

i did not know you could unbolt the necks, where are they bolted?

Jeff Mead · Post by **Jeff Mead** » 27 Feb 2016 6:22 am

Llorens del Rio wrote:i did not know you could unbolt the necks, where are they bolted?

Just take off the chrome diamonds and undo the bolts with an Allen key.

The necks shouldn't be glued and it should just come apart unless it was bolted together before the paint had dried properly.

Of course, don't forget about the wires that run between the necks!!!

Llorens del Rio · Post by **Llorens del Rio** » 28 Feb 2016 4:28 am

Thanks jeff I will have to look into that!

I have been thinking on how to make the most of the pedal config to sound as much PS as possible on 8 string specially on the top strings

I might move my initial E9 tuning one string up but I have doubts about the top string D# or F#?

Any suggestions?

Jeff Mead · Post by **Jeff Mead** » 28 Feb 2016 7:35 am

Llorens del Rio wrote:Thanks jeff I will have to look into that!

I have been thinking on how to make the most of the pedal config to sound as much PS as possible on 8 string specially on the top strings

I might move my initial E9 tuning one string up but I have doubts about the top string D# or F#?

Any suggestions?

You have a few possibilities there.

So your possible changes are on strings 2345 so it makes sense to move the strings down one so you have the G#s on 2 and 5 and the B on 4 allowing the regular AB pedals. You've got a short scale guitar so the high G# shouldn't cause too many problems. Lots of music there. You could get really ambitious and rig up a knee lever or an extra pedal to raise the E to F. I have a 6 stringer rigged up with AB and E raise and it surprising how much stuff you can play on it.

For string 1, you could go for D giving you a 7th in the no pedals position or a G giving you the 7th in the pedals down position and the ability to do the Mooney "Swinging Doors" lick.

The other possibility would be to tune it to F and use it the way you would use the E raise - either for a 7th or in conjunction with the B pedal for the 3rd inversion of the major. Also a nice diminished chord with A&B. If you picked a gauge suitable for an F# you could alternate between F and G (or even F#) depending on the needs of the song.

One other thing to consider - since you aren't really going to be playing anything very "modern" sounding on it, you could go traditional and have an "Isaacs" pedal raising both the G# and A strings on one pedal and use the other to raise the E to F# to get some Mooney licks?

Llorens del Rio · Post by **Llorens del Rio** » 29 Feb 2016 2:07 am

thanks Jeff, as you say lots of music there! I will look into best option for me.

At the moment I am just starting with the instrument and i still do not even use volume , imagine!

To be honest i always thought playing pedal steel would be out of my reach but I must say after one month i think i will make it (at some point). I guess itÂ´s all down to how much do you want it and how much are you willing to do for it!

cheers

Chris Byars · Post by **Chris Byars** » 18 Apr 2016 9:06 am

I'm planning on doing this myself or finding someone that has specific experience with FenderDual Pros and/or Customs. Something much like what Erik and Mark have posted.

I gig with a Fender Custom triple with enough wear, tear and character that I don't feel bad about modding it. I mostly play it standing up with some one-piece legs I constructed (harware store parts!). I've overhauled my Fender 400, so I am partial to using cables and pulleys for either a classic single or two-pedal I-IV change on the outside neck tuned close to the early Bud Isaacs "Slowly" E9.

I want to set it up so that the pedal/s may be used standing or sitting with the original legs. I imagine I would need two different length pedal bars for standing and sitting. The main thing I am stuck on is where to put the changer. At the nut or the bridge?

Bobbe Seymour had a Dual Pro for sale once that Shot Jackson had added pedals to. He added another leg really close to the tuner-side leg and used it to make a really short pedal bar. I wish I could see a bunch of pictures of that guitar. I wonder who bought it?

Chris Byars · Post by **Chris Byars** » 18 Apr 2016 9:53 am

Looks like James Farmer had one: http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... ca47b68459

Bill Sinclair · Post by **Bill Sinclair** » 18 Apr 2016 11:33 am

Chris,
What a great complementary thread to this one. Thanks for digging that up. The Fender Custom T8 I picked up recently has a couple of 1/4" holes drilled through the tuning pan for the inside neck. Presumably for one of those "coat hanger" arrangements.

Chris Byars · Post by **Chris Byars** » 19 Apr 2016 3:04 pm

Cool find!

If I were only concerned with one string, I would recreate the clothes hangar method. Maybe I still would if I could figure out a way to pull two strings and have a thumb screw for fine tuning the pull.

I like the pushing plungers through the keyhead like Bigsby and Jackson did. I need more machinist friends

Bill Sinclair · Post by **Bill Sinclair** » 19 Nov 2018 1:21 pm

I'm resurrecting this interesting old thread in order to link this other interesting resurrected thread, for future reference:

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtop ... highlight=

George Geisser · Post by **George Geisser** » 18 Dec 2018 6:17 pm

So I bought a Gibson Console Grand about 15 years ago and it had this changer on the front neck and thinking I was doing the right thing I removed the mods, put a regular bridge back on then forgot about it till recently. I recently watched some Ozark Jubilee with Doc Martin on steel and found out that he did these mods 50 years ago for some of the local steelers. I was amazed at the workmanship given the Era etc. Any insight would be appreciated. Hope you enjoy

Mark Addeo · Post by **Mark Addeo** » 20 Dec 2018 1:48 pm

Not sure how I missed these posts for almost two years! Too funny that a lefty (Llorens Del Rio) bought Marian Hallâ€™s modified Stringmaster on eBay.

Llorens, I have made two lefty D8 Stringmaster steels from tortured abused steels. I wouldnâ€™t have the stomach to modify a clean one but Iâ€™m happy to leave a few lefty ones behind that will live a better life. If you want the details on separating and swapping those necks I can help.

Iâ€™m getting good at it. Iâ€™m about to make a lefty T8 from modified â€œpedalâ€ steel Stringmaster. This was a real hack job! Perfect for a guilt free lefty T8.

Not to derail the conversation into a lefty Stringmaster thread but have a look! These pics will put us back the subject!

Thomas Engleman · Post by **Thomas Engleman** » 6 Aug 2023 3:41 pm

Hey folks. I think I started this talking point in 2020. Showing my 1953 Stringmaster with the 2 pedals I added in 1958....while in trade school. I played that Fender off and on until 1968...with a local Country Band named The Country Cousins...based in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania (Bethlehem). A friend Casey Hunter...put a blogspot together for me over the last year. Here is the link.

tomengleman.blogspot.com

I believe there are a couple videos that I made in 2020...following putting the old Fender...home made pedals back together and. I played it through my 1953 Fender Super Amp...still very functional. I'm 81...don't play much anymore...but I like Dobro...still tinkering with that...or should say those, since I a few.
It was wonderful plying with Country bands in the late 50's and 60's. Back then the Country Music was "Music"!
Get in with me if you want to.
dobrotome@yahoo.com

Tom Engleman in Bethlehem, Pa.

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Michael Greer · Post by **Michael Greer** » 8 Aug 2023 7:09 am

Michael Greer · Post by **Michael Greer** » 8 Aug 2023 7:11 am

Michael Greer · Post by **Michael Greer** » 8 Aug 2023 7:13 am

Michael Greer · Post by **Michael Greer** » 8 Aug 2023 7:14 am

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 8 Aug 2023 8:19 am

I'm not sure about a bigger hunk of wood, like a triple neck or a quad, but any pedal mods to a lap or a console steel is asking for big detuning of the unbent strings, plus mods take away from the value of the guitar and are considered a no-no in the resale and steel worlds.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 8 Aug 2023 9:32 am

Chris Templeton wrote:I'm not sure about a bigger hunk of wood, like a triple neck or a quad, but any pedal mods to a lap or a console steel is asking for big detuning of the unbent strings...

Common sense says definitely not. If so, there would be no benders on straight guitars, as there are no lap steels with less "wood in the neck" than a straight guitar.

...plus mods take away from the value of the guitar and are considered a no-no in the resale and steel worlds.

Anything current really has no collector value, and mods done to current models (if done properly) can even increase the value of some instruments. This was the case with modified Stringmasters and Gibson Consoles back in the day because so many players actually wanted the pedal sounds so badly. Once the 1960's came and players heard pedals, almost no one wanted a non-pedal steel guitar! Pawn shops were full of 'em, and most sold for under $100.

Michael Greer · Post by **Michael Greer** » 8 Aug 2023 9:50 am

I have seen some pretty crude " coathanger...basement work shop" mods on some old Fender and Gibsons.

I feel very fortunate to have this Fender modified by Mr Shot Jackson back in the day.
It is definitely in a different class.

It includes the extension rod to allow for stand up playing as shown in picture one.

Single pedal to go from a 1 to 4 chord by pushing the two pins upwards ( Shot sourced these pedals from a dragster builder !)

A neat piece of steel and pedal steel history.