MILLER PEDAL STEEL

Bill Dobkins · From: Rolla Missouri, USA

I have a Miller S-10 3x3. I can't get use to the push pull system. I'm Thinking of selling it and buying a Nashville limited is this a good guitar or should I stay with the Miller. The miller is a nice Guitar and stays in tune good when I use my floors or lower my E's but when I use my F lever the strings don't drop all the way back to E they stay just a little sharp.
Thanks..

Gregg Thacker · From: Pasadena, Texas, USA

Bill...Man, you Need to get ahold of Bobby Bowman. If there is ANY thing that can done to a Push-Pull Guitar..He is the one! He can answer any question that you may have so that you can easily understand the Push-Pull System. I have a Push Pull Guitar that I bought from him. It works just fine. You can post a message to him here on the forum or you can write him E-mail at http://www.bobbybowman.com. Also Carter Steel Guitars has an excellant resourse area for both Push-Pull and All-Pull Guitars on their website (found in the Links area in the Steel Guitar manufacturer's area). I hope that this will help you in your endevors

Gregg
_________________
If it don't have a Steel, it ain't real!

Ron ! · Posted 4 Feb 2007 4:41 pm

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

There is nothing wrong with your guitar. It just has to be adjusted by a knowledgable Miller mechanic. I would but Bobby Bowman could do it. It would be a great playing guitar when you get it back.

Steve Waltz · From: USA

I have Miller S-10. There are some past threads with some negative opinions about Millers. I like the sound of mine so I play it. The tuners were Grover open gear type at 12 to 1 ratio. They were not so good. I just put a new set of Grover Sta-tite Grovers on it with 18 to 1 ratio. They are still open gear but work great. They were completely drop in. Stewart Mac at about $31 per 6 set.

I read that someone had noticed a problem related to there being only three screws on the keyhead. They added more and that helped stabilize that. I can't find out how they did it. I'm thinking of adding two from under the guitar through the body and into the keyhead material.

The same guy seemed to find a problem with the roller bridge near the tuners. He thought that part was moving. He was going to add material that would go back under the metal fret board in the same way as it currently goes forward towards the tuners. That sounds like a lot of work. I tend to think the issues is cabinet drop due to the wood. Mine in Mahogany and Walnut. There is a metal brace under the guitar but I think that wasn't enough. The key head separate from the aluminum neck is a good idea though.

I'm not sure of the age of your guitar. I'll assume it is similar to mine. Each pedal and knee have a strange spring mounted on the cross shaft. It has one 2" strong wire sticking out that hits the guitar underbody. The other part hits a bracket that causes the return. Use an allen wrench and move that bracket so that the tension increases. You might have to use something to bend the bracket as far as you can while you tighten down the allen screw. That will help the F to return. Ace hardware sells the screws. I had to replace a few because they stripped.

If that doesn't return your F, add a normal looking spring onto the finger itself and stretch that spring out and then screw it into the under body. I did that on my second string and it worked fine. These aren't collectors pieces so I think a screw hole or two is fine.

The F lever was hard for me. There has to be enough clearance in that lever to allow for the lower of the E. I couldn't get it to work right with the stock parts. I took off the part that pulls the rod. I used the John Coop two hole pullers and mounted them facing down as opposed the the stock parts which face up towards the guitar body. The two hole pullers are longer and greatly shorten knee travel. They are also easier to adjust since you have to tune your F under the guitar and you have to set both pulls to tune together. If that is to hard, put one of the sho bud brass barrels on one of the pulls and use it to tune one pull and use the knee stop to tune the other.

It's not a push pull. It's a pull release. Some push pull issues are there and some aren't.

It is fairly easy to move knees around on that guitar. The slots are all there. It took a long time for me to get it set up but it seems to be fine now. I refinsihed mine. They fade. Mine looked blond until I removed the endplates and found the original dark wood colors. I'm actually keeping my eyes open for a D-10 with some really fancy wood work. Russ sent me some old sales brochures that show some very cool woodwork.

I have a sho bud profesional that I like. But I have been taking the Miller out recently. It's clearer above the 12th fret and it just has an interesting sound. You are going to have to put up with some things to get that sound so if you don't like having that extra work then a modern guitar might be better.

The last few ebay sales for s-10's with 3 and 1 or 2 went from $400-$500ish. The last triple 10 went for $800 or $900, I think.

Sorry that was so long.

Steve

Harvey Richman · From: Georgia, USA

Bill, I had written this earlier but have been having trouble posting. I think Steve said it all, but as a Miller owner, these are my best guesses in order of probability. 1. They have return springs on each crossrod. If the tension is off on that F lever spring, it could be the problem (and that will change with string guage). 2. Make sure you have a little clearance on both the raise and lower (i.e., make sure the lever and pull rods have just a little free travel before they start pulling or releasing the changer fingers). 3. Make sure the F lever screw stop (return) is solid and not wobbling around as that is what holds the e string in the "neutral" or center position. 4. Could be a buildup of old grease in the changer or some other part of the mechanism making things stick. Also, unless your Miller is an odd one or has been modified (and that could be), that's actually a "pull-release" changer (each finger is just one solid piece of aluminum with holes (probably 3) for the pull rods). That's different from a push-pull. Hope that helps.

Harvey Richman · From: Georgia, USA

Success at last, my posting problem was AOL and not Windows. Forgot to mention, I added "helper springs" to the E9 neck of my Miller to help make the action easier (the C pedal required an awful lot of pressure). Got the idea from seeing it on a number of older guitars. It actually works pretty well and I think reduces stress on the mechanism overall.

Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

I cannot speak to your Miller, but....

I own a Nashville LTD and it has proven to be a very good, stable instrument. It was built by Mr. Rittenbury. I bought it against the advice of many here on the forum. It seems another gentleman had taken over the Nashville LTD name at some point and many did not approve of his business and/or technical skills. So it seems there may be a few altered Nashville LTD's out there with what some would deem questionable alterations or parts, that apparently dont measure up to the Rittenbury built guitars. Thats my understanding from reading past threads on this forum. Mr. Rittenbury is now making guitars again under his own name and the word is that they are excellent. Perhaps you could contact him with the serial number of the guitar in question to be sure and verify that he built it?

Bill Dobkins · From: Rolla Missouri, USA

Thanks you guys for you learned advice. The Miller I have is beautiful guitar but I just don't think it will ever be able to do what I want. So I think I'll sell it and get what I do want. I would like to buy the MSA that Bo Borland has, If he would ever get back with me but if he dosen't soon I think I'll go with the Nashville. How can I tell if its a Rittenberry made guitar ?
Thanks

Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

The gentlman I purchased my Nashville from told me he had contacted Mr. Rittenberry and had confirmed it via the serial number, which in my case is, I beleive, a four digit number stamped into the wood on the underside. Im not sure if there is another way to tell. Best of luck with whatever you get.

Bill Dobkins · From: Rolla Missouri, USA

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