1963 Fender double 8

Laurence Massicotte · Post by **Laurence Massicotte** » 15 Mar 2007 6:36 am

I just bought a 1963 Fender pedal steel with two 8 string necks and 8 pedals. Im new to the steel and am becoming an addicted collector. I have the 1st neck tuned to c6th GECAGECA and I dont have a clue as to what to set the pedal to. Are there any other 8 string Fender owners out there that have a pedal setup and tunings they could share with me?

Dennis Schell · Post by **Dennis Schell** » 15 Mar 2007 6:43 am

Looks to be in beautiful shape for 44 years young!

Dennis

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 15 Mar 2007 6:59 am

Fender Pedal Steel Forum

Laurence Massicotte · Post by **Laurence Massicotte** » 15 Mar 2007 7:02 am

Yes it is in mint condition. Im in my 1st year of obsession with the steel guitar. I really want to get a handle on these amazing instruments. I play dobro and a flat pick on my taylor and Takamine but have developed a passion to learn the pedal steel. I dont read music at all and have been playing by ear for 40 years. Started at 8 years old. I know my fret board on guitar pretty good but this alternate tuning is all new to me.

John Poston · Post by **John Poston** » 15 Mar 2007 7:38 am

I would set up 4 pedals for each neck.
On the C neck I would just put pedals 5-8 of the typical C6 setup. That should be plenty to keep you busy.
[tab]
P5 P6 P7 P8
G
E +F
C +D
A +B
G -F#
E -Eb
C +C#
A
[/tab]
You can also optionally lower the high G to F# on P5 and raise the high G to G# on P8.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 15 Mar 2007 7:47 am

Very nice! Whoever did the restoration and refinishing is to be commended.

Laurence Massicotte · Post by **Laurence Massicotte** » 15 Mar 2007 7:57 am

Thanks John, I will do that. Looks simple enough and it will give me an idea of what I can accomplish with chord changes
Cheers

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 15 Mar 2007 10:52 am

If you put an E9 tuning on the other neck, you might want to put an E9 pull on pedal 8, for the right foot because you have no knee levers. For example lower E to D#,

ebb · Post by **ebb** » 15 Mar 2007 5:24 pm

yes. non standard adjustable legs, finish and detail around the frame but quite clean and beautiful. i bet it sounds great

William Clark · Post by **William Clark** » 15 Mar 2007 9:42 pm

You should check out this forum. http://scaryoak.com/forum/index.php

You have to register. It is a forum dedicated to Fender PSG's. Your axe looks pretty cool!

Jerry H. Moore · Post by **Jerry H. Moore** » 16 Mar 2007 6:42 am

Hello Laurence, I play a Fender 1000 double 8 from about 1965 and I too am in the early stages of learning (figuring out)the pedal steel. The copedent is easy to change on these so you can try a good many changes before you find one you like. This may be good or bad because I'm constantly changing mine. I have my front neck tuned to E9 BDEF#G#BEG# big to little. P1 raises the Es to F - P2 Bs to C# - P3 G# TO A - P4 E-E flat. This is like having (on Nashville E9) LKL A B LKR for tab purposes. P2 is for minor,P2-P3 is IV ,P3 and P4 is V. P1 and P2 can be played together as well. P3 is the sus 4. This is the best one I've found for my honky tonk style. This has came about for a lot of help and advice from the Forum and Alex McCullough.
The C6 is still under construction. Right now its like this: FACEGACE big to little with some sort of Jimmy Day / Sneaky Pete tuning. The C6 is a whole other "monster" to me at this time. There is a lot of info here on the Forum about this type guitar and also there is a website of copedents on b0b's site http://b0b.com/tunings/index.html.
This may or may not help you but it's what I have found that works for me. I want to add a knee lever on mine because I got used to having it on the Carter Starter I had in the beginning. Keep me posted on what your tunings are, I may want to give them a try.
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RALPH MOONEY..........KING

Laurence Massicotte · Post by **Laurence Massicotte** » 16 Mar 2007 8:27 am

Thats wonderful Jerry, I appreciate the info. Im getting such positive responses from everyone, I shouldnt have much problems getting this together. I like your setup. I am out playing for the weekend and when I get back, I will be spending the week working on my toy and will let you know how I make out.
Cheers
Laurence

Bent Romnes · Post by **Bent Romnes** » 16 Mar 2007 11:13 am

Hi Laurence,
Wow! That's a beautifully restored machine you got there!
I am curious about those old Fenders as they are the very first pedal steels I encountered..this is back in 1968 or so. I never saw the underside of one and the cable arrangement must be worth serious study!

Elliott Lake, eh? My wife and I are going there in May to visit friends. I sure hope we could get together then.
If you would like, PM me with your phone # etc and I'll be in touch.
Bent

Jerry H. Moore · Post by **Jerry H. Moore** » 17 Mar 2007 11:52 am

Back to Sneaky Pete....OK Laurence, I set my 1000 back neck to Sneaky Pete's B6th copedent and used Pedals 1 2 3 4. I like it and I would suggest you try it for one of your attempts.

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SNEAKY PETE IS STILL AROUND....

The Steel Guitar Forum

1963 Fender double 8

1963 Fender double 8

Looks Like A Winner

fender double 8

Thanks Jerry