amputation question

[Mark Perrodin]

are there any players out there that have had a below the knee amputation of their right leg? i am wondering if you are able to push your pedals with your prosthetic. about a month ago i had a bone infection that went septic and had to have my leg amputated below the knee. it came out of nowhere and before i knew it my leg was gone. i am hoping that someone with experience with a similar situation might be able to give me some insight to what they did. i play a long scale Fender 400 tuned to Sneaky Petes tuning. i don’t use a volume pedal because with nine pedals you’ve got no room and anyways you’re busy double footing it. i have spent the last six years playing this guitar exclusively and don’t want to give it up. one of my buddies gave me a lap steel when he found out about my condition and i am gonna hot rod it with a duesenberg multibender that is on it’s way. but mostly i just am hoping that there is some chance i could play my pedal steel again. in about two months i’ll be able to ask these questions to the fella that will be making me a new foot but i’d love an answer right now as to what other players have done.
thanks,
mark

[Roger Rettig]

That's quite a set-back, Mark. My sympathies.

It occurs to me that much can be accomplished without a volume-pedal. Certainly, it's an important skill to acquire, but I find myself playing C6th a lot with both feet on the pedals. My VP is just set until I return to it.

I have often wondered about losing a limb and playing steel: I take as much care as I can but I'm a long-term diabetic and one never knows. Good for you, soldiering on!

[Jim Palenscar]

Whew- talk about a bit of a setback! So sorry Mark. One thing to do is to replace the return springs on the pedals that lower to enable you to activate the changes more easily. The stock springs that Fender used on the cable model guitars are waaaaay stronger than they needed to be and the guitar can be made to play much more easily if you replace the springs. I don't recall what size I use as I take them from a box of miscellaneous springs that I have but it's not a tough job to fine the right size. Remember they have to be strong enough to not only allow the lowered string to return from a lower but also keep the lowering part part back when the string is raised.

[Donny Hinson]

I put the standard P5 on a knee lever, and that virtually eliminated my 2-footing.

But what do I know?

[Mark Perrodin]

thank you Jim for the reply. i have swapped the springs and done several other mods to try and make for softer pedal action over the years. i wonder what Leo was thinking when he used those springs. i have been playing that guitar for a long while and can’t quite come to terms with the idea of not playing it again. thank you again for your reply.

[Bobby D. Jones]

Hit search at top of page and put in Volume Control on Hat.
There are many old threads on loss of use in right leg or foot.
TELONICS is reported to have a volume control unit that attaches to a hat. Tilting your head up and down controls the volume.
There is another old thread, About a player that has volume control under guitar, Using a knee lever to control volume.

Good Luck finding a solution to the problem.

[Andrew Goulet]

I'm so sorry to hear this, Mark. I hope you're feeling ok, and continue to mend.

From your original post, it looks like you don't use a volume pedal, so you're asking about double footing. I don't have direct experience but had a few thoughts:

-Replacing pedals with knee levers on that side

-Custom prosthetic that is "lockable" to the best pedal-pushing angle

-Custom pedals on that side that let you "snap-in" and attach a prosthetic, so you don't have to worry about aiming, just pushing down. You wouldn't be able to easily move that foot around, but you could lock it on one pedal (maybe add two knee levers on that side? Then you could get three changes on that leg without having to move and aim)

Sorry I can't offer personal experience. Take care and I wish you the speediest recovery.

[Mark Perrodin]

andrew,
thank you for your response. your suggestions are appreciated. i am going to see about the lockable prosthetic. that seems like the easiest to wrap my mind around. as an aside, it appears as if my amputation site is healing more quickly than expected and i will get the staples out in a week. then i’ll be in the hands of the people who will make my leg. you can bet that i’ll be letting them know how important it is for me to try and play again.
moving forward because there is no going back.

[J D Sauser]

I know of one great pedal steel player who got "sugar", to the point that his feet got needle pain and as things progressed, turned numb.
After decades playing without ever having to look at his feet to hit the right pedals, he had to look. He changed his setup and moved some of his most important changes from pedals to knee levers. He also was one known for playing a complex PSG setup for "ever" and surprised everybody coming out with a non-pedal steel doing much of what he was known for on PSG.

I cannot even begin to imagine what adaptations you are already going thru.
But, I am pretty sure that with some adaptation not just on your part but maybe your tuning and setup, you will prevail.

Respect!... J-D.

[Mark Perrodin]

thanks J-D

[Rick McNamara]

Well said JD Sauser! You had the words I’m sure many of us couldn’t find to inspire Mark!

[Travis Bubenik]

Mark I just wanna say - you’re an inspiration - I’ve got some pretty brutal lower limb neuropathy issues (and I’m only in my 30s, jeez) and I’m often thinking - what the heck am I doing trying to learn an instrument that’s so dependent on the worst parts of my body - but hey man, if you’re stickin with I sure can! Right on!!

[Mark Perrodin]

thanks for the reply Travis,
i am glad to hear you’re gonna keep going. for me pedal steel has
been a cruel bitch mistress that i’ve been attempting to learn
since 1988. i tried and failed then. i didn’t get another pedal
steel until 2015. i still don’t understand much about a lot of
the steel guitar. it might just be me. i had my epiphany when i
started playing an old long scale fender 8 string pedal steel.
it spoke to me. i started to understand what the pedals could
do. how to double foot it and get half-diminished chords or
minor-major chords or perfectly tuned splits. long story short,
i really want to play it again and i will someday soon i will. and
you should keep at it too. always find a way Travis.

[Ben Elder]

(This post is by way of empathy if not directly helpful information specific to a Fender 400. But you have Dr. Palenscar on the case, so that's promising.)

I noted with interest (but didn't act in time on my own behalf) a post by member Steven Schwartz a few years back who had a Hudson psg custom made with pedals on the right. Before I could order one for myself, Jimmie Hudson shut down his company. I haven't had an amputation as such (just a small piece of bone removed behind my left little toe). I've since had two ankle reconstructions as collateral damage from the earlier procedure and am now rockin' a big honkin' leg brace. I unloaded all my psgs, then found a GFI SD-10 here on the SGF. I had Jim Palenscar move the pedals from 1-2-3 to 6-7-8. (I've left the KLs where they are; I have enough on my plate translating left foot moves to my right foot and forget the volume pedal (although I will check out the Telonics hat recommendation.)

Good luck.

[Mark Perrodin]

thank you for the reply Ben,
i had to laugh thinking of Mr. Palenscar working on my fender 400.
it has 9 pedals all in a row and there would only be enough room
for the number one pedal to go down to the end of the row where the
number ten pedal would be on a double neck fender 1000. after that, no
more room for pedals. i think i might have to give up this guitar and find
myself a beater 400 and set it up with three floor pedals and two knees and set
up to the bottom eight of E9. lots of people have told me that that is a great
set up and in my current condition i think they’re right.

[Davie Holland]

I lost my right leg about two and a half years ago. I have been playing steel for around 35 years and thought my playing days were over, but thanks to my good friends Bob Adams and Willie Gamble, I am now back playing as good as ever, more determined even. I bought a Telonics Volume Pedal and Dave Beatty was kind enough to supply me with a hat sensor and re-program my pedal.
While waiting for my pedal to be sent back to me, Bob Adams (who is a very talented engineer) came up with a "return spring" mounted on the side of my volume pedal, but without disturbing the aesthetics or damaging the pedal in any way. I use my prosthetic heel to push the pedal down and dont have to worry about pivoting the pedal back as the spring does it for me.
Originally he made me a new limb with a universal ball joint attached to an old shoe, which was great and served its purpose to get me back playing. However I couldnt walk on it and had to change from my prosthetic on stage and back again when going to and from the steel .
I played the Irish Steel Guitar festival last year and I am returning again this year.
Here are a few links of me last year playing with my prosthetic leg and the adapted pedal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZxacSmWuIU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsLnFtnZIN0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DjrNANztT0

Dont give up as you can see, it wont hold you back one bit. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Davie

[Mark Perrodin]

Davie,
thank you for the reply. i am glad you’re back to playing and you are an inspiration to
me. you sound like you have your gear sorted out. i just want to be able to push down
pedals 5-9 when i get back up and running. i’ve had a bit of a setback with my
healing but i guess these things are to be expected after a major surgery. if i may
ask a question, how long did it take from your amputation until you were fitted with
a prosthetic? just curious as i have been told so many different things.
all the best,
mark

[Chance Wilson]

Thanks for your courage to persevere & good luck in your new adventure.

Gene's not around anymore but him and Mitsuo are well known for making custom steels for people with different biophysical set ups.
(GFI/Excel steels both still in business).

There's the Junior Wah now too, a Dunlop pedal by Junior Brown and Brian Keyhoe that isn't necessarily advertised as such but it's a volume pedal for your right elbow:

https://www.ocweekly.com/guit-steel-is- ... reamed-up/

If you can think of it and commission it, you can play it.

[Davie Holland]

Right now you should be getting physio, and they will have your leg in an inflatable sock within a metal frame. This is to get you used to purring weight on your leg. This will also determine whether you are suitable for a prosthesis.
I was about 3 months after surgery when I got mine and was in a wheelchair even after that as you need to get used to it.
I returned to work after six months.

[Mark Perrodin]

thank you Davie for the reply. i’m not at the stage yet i guess for the things you have described. hope to get there soon.

hey chance, how are you? we met in quartzite at the arizona border where i bought your wright custom. if you turn up a non-fender 8 string pedal steel let me know and we’ll meet in quartzite again. it was a pleasure to make you acquaintance and spend some time talking. thanks for the info.

mark