The Steel Guitar Forum

I play a vintage mid 70's single neck Emmons. This guitar was converted to an All-Pull supposedly by Paul Franklin SR. Now whether thats true or not I have no idea. But Im relatively new to the instrument so naturally I dont trust myself tinkering underneath of of it, so I really dont. After about a month or two within owning it, I have been having all kinds of problems with it. It goes out of tune very, very often. The rods on the B and C pedals have actually fallen out while I was playing. And no matter what I do I CANNOT get the BC pedals to the height I want. I had a few local steel players look at it, and no one seems to know what to do. Its beginning to become frustrating, because Im starting to play more gigs. I take very good care of it. Any ideas?

Corey

I think I would plan a trip to Billy Coopers, if you had local guys look at it and you still can't figure it out, plan a trip. Heck I would try to get a hold of emmons maybe you can solve it that way.

Corey, not that this is a help at all for your situation, but I saw your post and I just called Paul. He says he had nothing to do with the guitar. The only Emmons he ever did any conversion on was a '66 double neck for Buddy. So... I'm not sure what your fix would be, but it's not Paul's work.

Thanks Michael, Ive suspected that for a while but had no was of confirming it.

As I recall, a couple of decades (or more) ago Bobbe Seymour was offering to convert Emmons guitars from push/pull to all pull. You might check with him.

Corey,

You might also want to contact Tom Bradshaw, as I know he has done some Emmons conversions in the past. If he had anything to do with your guitar, I know he'd be more than happy to resolve any issues you might be having. He's a great guy to do business with...one of the best in the steel guitar industry!

I have all the parts to put it back to a push pull whether it is a SD10 or a S10. If you want to sell your problem, please email me a few pictures -- at least of the undersides and the keyheads and the changer endplates and a price. You might tempt me.

Chris

Wally's in Hanburg PA is not far from you. Tom Volmer is near Wally's; he knows Push Pulls. Both really know their way around an Emmons.

Gee, this guitar doesn't sound like it is a true PP anymore. Sounds like Corey needs an all pull mechanic. The problems he has described don't seem very difficult to remedy. A seasoned pro should be able to fix it up right quick.

Rods falling out? Too much slack, or maybe it needs some o-rings on the puller fingers (like on an MCI).

Tuning drifting excessively? Maybe it needs a good lube job, or a good cleaning and lube.

Doesn't someone live close by that could help Corey out? This sounds pretty simple. Remember it's not a PP anymore.