The Steel Guitar Forum

Nah, the mod was installed before I bought it. I just wanted to kid you a little. Seriously, though, this Carter is the best sounding of the ones I've had. I have had two others and also a Magnum. I'm still looking forward to getting the Rittenberry.

Chris, you are very eloquent in your praises of the GFI. However, as the theory goes, "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction". The same can be said about likes vs. dislikes. I have the highest respect for Gene Fields. His contribution to the music industry is unequaled. He has taken the steel guitar in a different direction. I suppose I'm a traditionalist, but my Ritt is all I can ask for in a guitar. I'm glad the GFI is the same for you.

Oh my word !

well said roger!

I can't believe this can is still being kicked down the road. I have played, analyzed & played again on both guitars. And they BOTH HAVE MERITS. I just prefer a more traditional cabinet style & am willing to carry 3 more pounds for it. (Heck - I've got 9 pedals & 9 levers!) The GFI is definitely light if that is your criteria. Tonewise I prefer the classic Emmons p/p sound I get from the Ritt - but tone is in the ear of the beholder. So now that it is all said & done - go buy an MSA and we can end this conflict.....

go buy an MSA and we can end this conflict.....

I sure would, if MSA would progress to a keyless version. I will not own a keyed guitar. Neither will I use a cellular bag phone!



Back on topic:
My vote is to buy a GFI, if a person values a guitar with new and innovative technology.

I think we all got the picture.... no need to further pontificate your opinion.

Jim informs:

I think we all got the picture.... no need to further pontificate your opinion.

Sorry. My bad. I thought this was a free country!

Silly me. What was I thinking?

Just my opinion. I looked at the Rit last spring at the Dallas show. I didn't get a chance to try it out but looking at the under carriage, I didn't like the way the bell cranks were fastened to the cross shafts. The end of a screw is forced against the cross shaft at an angle to keep the bell crank from moving.

Don Benoit....

That's all that's needed for the design and it's application...

I've been beating up this guitar for 2.5 years now and these bellcranks haven't budged, and they won't.

Murnel Babineaux

Steve Spitz wrote:QUICK:
Somebody call Ralph Mooney, Norm Hamlett, Ronnie Miley?(with Charlie Pride) and Mike Sigler, and let them know they chose the wrong Steel
guitar.

Ronnie Miller-great GFI player.

I tried 4 guitars in Dallas with a headphone amp and I thought that the Rains and the GFI had good response at the top frets. I'll have to try a Rit someday when I get a chance.

I don't think anyone has mentioned that, if you have the opportunity to play both, you may just find that one of them just feels better to you.... which may make the decision easier. You really can't go wrong with either guitar.

Mullen guitars also use a screw to lock the bellcrank to the hex cross shaft. Rittenberry has 2 screws on each bellcrank in contact with the hex shaft. I think it's the most secure method of any I've seen. Mechanically, the Rittenberry guitars are outstanding. They sound great too.

I just sold my 1990 Mullen and It did not have a bell crank screw end that butted against the crossshaft.

Bill can you post a picture of the way that both the Mullen and the Rittenberry bell cranks are fastened to the cross shafts?

Tone is in the ear of the beholder. While I'm a newer player, I chose GFI Ultra for several reasons- simple, great tone, stays in tune, outstanding service, excellent design (Gene Fields is truly a Genius!)and light weight. I have never felt that it is too light or flimsy or that it moves when use the knee levers. Gary also makes a great guitar. You probably can't go wrong either direction.

I guess I'm getting a little sleepy, the Rittenberry has a single screw holding the bellcrank. I was thinking of the screws that are used on the part the pedal rod connects to. See the picture.

It seems to me, the only Mullen I've seen close up had a similar bellcrank, sliding on to the hex shaped rod, with a screw to attach it, like the Rittenberry. Maybe I was wrong about that. But I stand by what I said earlier, there is nothing wrong with the system used on the Rittenberry, it's solid and secure.

Get the Ritt and then down the road if you need an inexpensive lightweight guitar for gigging and carrying around to rehearsals, get a Stage One.

That Rittenberry bell crank is similar to the Mullen's. Both have the single blade post, which makes it very easy to add many more pull rods with little fuss or problem with fit. Bell cranks with twin blades (old Zum, MSA, many others) get very difficult to work with, and you end up with pull rods that bend around bell cranks.

The Ritt bell crank is actually an improvement over Mullen with 9 holes where you can connect the pull rod. My pre-RP bell cranks have only 5 holes.

And the Mullen and Ritt hex-shaped cross shafts, in my experience, are much more secure than square ones. I bought a Carter and planned to re-rod it. On the very first try, just trying to hold a bell crank in place on its square cross shaft, while tightening the set screw, the bell crank always wiggled away from where I needed it to be. Gave up and took it to a technician (the talented Jim Palenscar) to do the job. With a hex cross shaft, once the screw touches metal, it cinches down without moving at all.

Steve English wrote:Of course there's those of us who sleep with both.....



















I love them all, and like I tell my wife....There's no two the same, not even on the same body

I love each of them as individuals, and also appreciate them all in a group

Hey steve, whats the difference in weight on these, they look great!

John,
The Rittenbery SD-10 is 59lbs in the case. The case weights 21lbs, so that means the guitar is 38lbs.

I can't remember the details on the GFI, but when I sold it, the shipping weight was 53lbs. I pack well, but I'm sure there wasn't more than 5lbs of cardboard and styrofoam board involved.

The GFI was a S-10, and the case was much smaller.

My Stage One case weights 10lbs, and the guitar is 20lb.

All this obsession about how bellcranks fit onto a cross-shaft is ridiculous.

First off we're not talking about things that spin at 10,000 rpm, or work against fantastic loads. These bellcranks need to be able to move through about 70 degrees of arc, 1000 or so times a night. They don't have to be rigorously designed to withstand forces needed to break the earth's gravitational pull.

Emmons cranks are held to a flattend-round x-shaft by a single 8-32 set screw, (my P/P has been stable for over 30 years). Mullen "bent-shafts, Sierra round shafts, multiple guitars using hex and square shafts, all work reasonably well if set up properly. With the correct geometry and minimal friction: Rains, Emmons, Mullen, GFI, Ritt, Franklin, Zum and the rest, ALL perform pretty darn well.
Sure, there are always trade-offs. For instance, it's easier to move cranks on a square rather than hex or round shaft. Conversely they wiggle a little more from side-to-side......Still, neither design fails to deliver the goods.

I never played a Ritt, but it looks to me as if Gary is trying to mate the stability of a hex shaft with the flexibility of a slip-off bellcrank. I presume the angle of the set screw was designed to make to make it more accessible for set-up and changes.

Nice design and workmanship in both the GFI and the Ritt.

Tony said it right - BOTH guitars are well designed and function quite well. As Jim Sliff aptly points out - the GFI was designed by Gene Fields & retains a definite Fenderish vibe. I appreciate the light weight of the guitar - if you are concerned about weight it is a good choice. I own a D-10 Ritt and can testify that it has the Emmons p/p tone to the inth degree. And the mechanics are equal to the best - MSA & Mullen included! So I guess it boils down to which tone do you want? Fenderish or Emmons-esque?

Jim

I would vote for a GFI.

I've Had Two Ritts And Two GFI's I Still Have A GFI. SONNY.