Stiff pedals.

[Larry Ray Miller]

My a,b and c pedals ar a little stiff. To soften them up a little without increasing the travel too much should I move the rods up one hole on the changer, or belcranks? Thanks foe any help.

[Charley Bond]

If you would send some pictures.... with your questions, It would make answering a great deal easier.

[Ian Rae]

Larry, do you mean stiff (as in too much friction) or heavy (because of the way the mechanism is configured)?

I would make sure everything is lubed and moving freely before changing anything around.

[Larry Ray Miller]

Everything is lubed. The pedals are factory setup, but they are harder to push than I like. This is a 2012 Russler guitar. I think that i need to move the pull rods one hole closer to the body of the guitar on the bellcranks, but I am not sure.

[Ian Rae]

There's no reason I can see not to try that and see if you prefer it.

[Brian Hollands]

Depends on which rods you're talking about. The rods between the bell cranks and the changer can't just be moved on the bell crank - it'll change length of the pull so it won't be in tune anymore. You'd have to move it at the changer end as well and thus re-time everything.
If you're talking about moving the pedal rods, that can be done without altering the pulls. Moving the pedal rod further from the bell crank will increase the length of pedal travel but decrease effort. If you can move the ball stud on the pedal itself (some have two holes to put the stud in) the one closer to the pedal axle will also decrease resistance but will increase travel. You may have to shorten up the rods if you do that.

The other option is to install springs (likely the ones on the cross-shafts) that are less stiff.

[Mike Mantey]

You can move the rod a hole closer to the guitar body, it will require more travel, but will soften the pedals. Best is to try one pedal and see if it is what you want.

[Tony Glassman]

If you’re moving raise or lower pull, rods be aware that at the changer fingers: holes that are further from the changer axle will result in easier but longer effort. Just the opposite is true at the bell crank.

If you change either, you will likely need to lengthen the pedal/knee lever travel stops to accommodate the longer, easier change.

Do Russler guitars have raise assist springs? If so it might be a simple adjustment to yield easier pulls but that can be tricky to do. Too much assist spring tension can affect lowers and open tuning.

[J R Rose]

Larry, I sent you a personal e-mail today. And Tony just explained rod connection well. Rods in holes close to changer axle makes it harder. Rods in holes of bell cranks closer to cross rod makes it easier. J.R.