Steel Guitar Legs

Bruce Bouton · Post by **Bruce Bouton** » 14 Nov 2022 1:23 pm

I think this is a retorical question but I'll ask anyone. Do the light weight legs change the tone of a guitar?

Tony Rankin · Post by **Tony Rankin** » 15 Nov 2022 1:39 pm

I have them on a Franklin, Mullen G2, and a Zum Hybrid. My ears don't detect any difference.

Mike Sweeney uses them. You might want to get his take on them.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 15 Nov 2022 2:03 pm

Bruce Bouton wrote:Do the light weight legs change the tone of a guitar?

I seriously doubt it. At least, not enough to hear in a band situation.

But hey, let's find out!

Play your guitar without using any pedals or levers. Play chords and notes all up and down the neck, recording what it sounds like. Then make another recording using just the guitar body (no legs, rods, or pedalboard). Place it on your lap, and then play the same things you did before.

Now compare the two recordings, and report back to us.

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 15 Nov 2022 3:07 pm

Short answer, no

Ron Funk · Post by **Ron Funk** » 15 Nov 2022 5:00 pm

Nope.

Ron

Jim Pitman · Post by **Jim Pitman** » 17 Nov 2022 5:52 pm

I have no experience with them but my concern with lightweight legs is they may not be as stiff and thus allow the guitar to move around with knee lever actuation.
Can anyone speak to this?

Kelcey ONeil · Post by **Kelcey ONeil** » 17 Nov 2022 7:06 pm

I don't know the answer to this, but I can say that a good guitar will vibrate the legs to where the strings' energy is easily felt in them, and you can put your ear to them and clearly hear the tone. If the guitar's resonance affects the legs, it's possible they could have some effect on the overall resonance of the guitar.

Johnie King · Post by **Johnie King** » 18 Nov 2022 5:34 am

No difference in sound
But why did Sho Bud not continue too use this leg design.
Rose Shaffer on the new Sierra steels, chose too solve the loose leg Syndrome..!!!

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 18 Nov 2022 6:00 am

I tried a set of aluminum legs that I got from the person in Nashville that sold them. I put them on the Franklin D-10 I had. I didn't think it had the stability and sold them.

GFI's have aluminum legs, but a different design.

Doug Palmer · Post by **Doug Palmer** » 18 Nov 2022 6:32 am

If they do, I am putting 8 legs on my guitars!

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 18 Nov 2022 9:23 am

In most cases, a simple garden hose rubber washer or an O ring that size will stop the loose leg problem. You can get them at any hardware store. Just tighten hand tight and they will stay.
As far as aluminum legs changing tone, if Robbie Primm says they don’t, I believe him. He had got one of the best and most critical ears to tuning and tone than anyone I know.

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 18 Nov 2022 10:45 am

Kelcey ONeil wrote:I don't know the answer to this, but I can say that a good guitar will vibrate the legs to where the strings' energy is easily felt in them, and you can put your ear to them and clearly hear the tone. If the guitar's resonance affects the legs, it's possible they could have some effect on the overall resonance of the guitar.

That describes my little Williams Keyless S-10. I can feel the vibrations with my left foot on the pedals.

Damir Besic · Post by **Damir Besic** » 21 Nov 2022 2:18 am

Bruce Bouton wrote:I think this is a retorical question but I'll ask anyone. Do the light weight legs change the tone of a guitar?

Bruce, I don’t think you should be worried about that , you could have wooden legs on your guitar, and you’ll still sound great …

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 21 Nov 2022 5:15 am

Kelcey ONeil wrote:I don't know the answer to this, but I can say that a good guitar will vibrate the legs to where the strings' energy is easily felt in them, and you can put your ear to them and clearly hear the tone. If the guitar's resonance affects the legs, it's possible they could have some effect on the overall resonance of the guitar.

When I was playing Franklin guitars the legs had that quality that Kelcey described.
I did a test with light legs and there was enough of a difference to make me not use them. So maybe the legs having an effect on the tone only applies to steels with that resonate quality.

The difference is pretty subtle so it probably doesn’t matter much. For me all those super subtle aspects of tone start adding up after a bit so I fight for each one.

Roy Carroll · Post by **Roy Carroll** » 21 Nov 2022 8:20 am

I use the aluminum airline legs on my G2 Mullen. There is no tonal difference that I can hear. My RP has steel legs and I have swapped legs many times. No difference in tone at all.
My back appreciates the lighter legs for sure!

Ken Morgan · Post by **Ken Morgan** » 21 Nov 2022 9:59 am

Maybe the wrong place to ask, but…

Don’t steel guitar legs act in the same manner as mic stands, in that resonances from the floor can come up thru them and cause some differences? I know mics are much more sensitive than pickups, but sometimes mics can get real muddy when mounted on hollow stages, too close to subs, etc.

Bobby Boggs · Post by **Bobby Boggs** » 21 Nov 2022 7:47 pm

Same experience as Bob Hoffar. In most cases only the player will notice. However, you can ask. But I doubt you could pay Paul Franklin to use light weight legs. I've been wrong before. And I may be this time. Maybe he'll see this thread and chime in.

Bill Duncan · Post by **Bill Duncan** » 22 Nov 2022 5:02 am

I have a broken sixth string Buddy gave me in the 70s. Sometimes I lay it on my tuner head when my picking is off. It straightens things right out. Perception is reality.

Cody Stewart · Post by **Cody Stewart** » 22 Nov 2022 7:48 am

The short answer: everything affects everything. And I agree with Kelcey and Bob. The steel/chrome plated legs seem to have a better tonal transfer to the floor. I’ve not worked on as many guitars as some have, but a fair amount. Call me crazy, but I feel my guitars behave/sound differently when I have them on different floors. This further proves my theory on leg mass and resonance. If I set my push pulls on a wood floor that has hollow space under the floor itself, I can strum the guitar and put my ear to the floor and hear the tone in the floor. So in theory, if you put your guitar on a concrete floor, it will dampen the vibration and tonal energy of the guitar. Lightweight aluminum legs will behave the same but to a different degree. With modern sonic electronics, a guy like Mike Scaggs could probably prove my theory with some ingenuity.

I know I will take some hits over this, but if I’m wrong, I want to see the proof. And I’ll buy the case of beer! Ha!

Roy Carroll · Post by **Roy Carroll** » 23 Nov 2022 6:29 am

I like the aluminum legs, no matter how much I want to sound like Paul Franklin.... I still sound like me.

Susan Alcorn · Post by **Susan Alcorn** » 23 Nov 2022 12:17 pm

I have aluminum legs on my guitar and do not hear a difference in tone. There is though, at least for me, a stability issue with aluminum legs (with the knee levers). For some people that may be a deal breaker, but for me it's just sort of a nuisance that doesn't affect my playing. I sometimes fly a lot, and the reduced weight makes a big difference.

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 23 Nov 2022 1:39 pm

Kelcey ONeil wrote:I don't know the answer to this, but I can say that a good guitar will vibrate the legs to where the strings' energy is easily felt in them, and you can put your ear to them and clearly hear the tone. If the guitar's resonance affects the legs, it's possible they could have some effect on the overall resonance of the guitar.

Here is something I've often wondered.

If the guitar is, indeed, efficiently transferring energy to the legs, is that a good thing?

Is that energy being lost by being transferred to the floor? If so, does that even make any difference?

I'm a finance/accounting guy. I don't know about such things!

~Lee

Jimmie Hudson · Post by **Jimmie Hudson** » 23 Nov 2022 3:15 pm

I build steels with Aluminum Square legs, Wood Square legs and Steel screw on legs and Aluminum screw on legs.
The legs do not change the sound of the guitar an any way that I can hear.

Rick McNamara · Post by **Rick McNamara** » 23 Nov 2022 4:25 pm

Bruce,

I read a comment on SGF one night attributed to Buddy Emmons. Words to the effect of a good guitar has legs that vibrate when you grab one of them. When I redo a guitar I have always used that as one of my criteria.

So, legs made of steel, aluminum, wood, carbon fiber, etc; do they vibrate when you grab one while your playing and/or even after you pick a chord? If they don’t you may have structural problems. Any of the Buds or Fenders I ever owned or played all tickled your hand when you grabbed a leg!

Just sayin!

Rick

Ps. Talked with you one night at Royal Oak Music Theater during setup when you were touring with Ricky Skaggs. A great show it was!

Bobby D. Jones · Post by **Bobby D. Jones** » 24 Nov 2022 10:11 pm

I went From a S10 to S12 U changing from Steel Legs to Aluminum legs and tuning together, So I had to readjust amp. for the new guitar.

When I went from a heavy S10 guitar with Steel Legs to a light S12 U guitar with Aluminum Legs. I wondered about stability too.
That was 1 of the reasons a friend wanted to sell the guitar.
His music area had a tile like floor. When I sat down at the guitar the Knee Levers was as stiff to operate as my heavy steel had, With very short travel.

While I had it turned over to change A-C pedals from Emmons to Day. I checked the knee levers, I moved the linkage on the Left Knee Levers for a little more travel with less pressure required to engage. I also added travel to the RKL raising E's, That seemed to take care of the guitar wanting to move.

With my Volume Pedal hooking over the Pedal board on the right, I have had no problem with the guitar wanting to move.

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