The Steel Guitar Forum

What are the little black and red buttons? Does one of them cut out the PU so it can act like a "Pop-Pop"? If yes, what does the other one do?

If no, what do they do?

carl

Hey Carl,

The red button is a volume cut-off. The black button is a tone cut-off. I'm not sure that the idea is behind the volume button, but the tone button can be used to create kind of a poor man's Speedy West bar slam. Mine is a '57. I love it. I play it through a narrow panel tweed Pro.

Mark.

Don't you know , the red button is a nuclear self-destruct in case a "Banjer" player gets too close !! Eddie "C" ( old non-pedal geezer )

Thank you very much Mark,

I thought that is what they were for, but I wanted to make sure.

I have a specific need for this on my new Excel PSG I have ordered.

I am going to take the innards out of a Goodrich "matchbox" and then incorporate it and these types of switches in the circuit.

I will also have a bypass switch, so the PU can go through the matchbox or go straight to the amp, on demand.

Check out the following picture. Note the tone and volume controls respectively left to right. I am going to put the black and red switches in between them. The Bypass switch will be located between the volume control and the tone "cutOUT" switch that is standard on this guitar.



The difference between the tone "cutout" and "cutoff" switches is; one is left on or off. The other is a momentary cut off switch. So in my playing I have need for both on demand.

This is going to be great. Yipee! And praise Jesus.

Thanks again,

c.

Mr Dixon!!! It is great to see ya back on the forum, dont know why you left but I am glad your back. I like all the info you put on the forum. Im glad you are getting a new Excel guitar. It seems they have really improved since I had mine which was a 89 or 90 Black D-10. I got visions of grandeur(sp) and went to a S-12 uni and even tho I loved the 12 string(and still own it) I have gone back to 10 string Desert Rose guitars. I really like them as well. Anyway Please keep giving your imput on this wonerful instrument. And, Yes, May God Bless You

Norm McDaniel
Waco Tx
2 Desert Rose and 1 Sierra uni and all Peavey amps and gear

I remember that some steelers call those "stutter" buttons.

Thank you Norm.

You are very kind.

Yes, Excel's have come far in their evolutionary development of PSG's. Mitsuo tackles a mechanical problem head on. And his solutions always blow my mind. They are always so simple and yet so clever.

Like he found a way to remove all the "reversing" mechanisms for "right" moving knee levers. The answer was always there. Just took someone like Mitsuo to figure it out, and implement it.

Also his nylon tuners solved another problem. And that is the tuning wrench goes "inside" the tuner on Excel's, instead of on the outside. This means the outside is perfectly round and smooth, instead of being hexagonal. This permits them to be right next to each other, resulting in more "raises" and "lowers" in the same amount of space.

The new Excels have a 6 "raise" and 6 "lower" changer. Unprecedented in PSG's!! Plus, the raise helper spring adjusters and the lower return spring adjusters are easily adjustable from the right end plate.

Also, the tuning wrench goes in further; meaning it will not fall out; as is common with standard tuning wrenches.

Another gem is the tone defeat switch is built right into the control. Saves a part and space! Plus the guitars now are gorgeous. Especially his colored fret boards with the addition of the little diamond shaped fret markers at the top of fret 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12, etc.

But one of the greatest things is: his new keyless tuners with those knurled knobs for fine tuning that have a hex hole in them, for course tuning! Wow!



AND the "anti cabinet drop" adjusters are through a slot at the left end plate. Again, PURE genius.




And on and on.

I have nothing but accolades for this genius. And such a gentleman. This is why I can't wait to receive my new one at the ISCG show this year. May Jesus richly bless him.

Don't forget his "Frying pan" Jerry Byrd lapsteels and his double neck Jerry Byrd console steels. Not only are they gorgeous, but their sound is to die for. Especially if you are a fan of "Hawaiian music".

May Jesus bring you and yours comfort and joy always dear friend,

carl

You're gonna love that steel. I have one just about exactly like it - same color and everything.
As far as stutter buttons,I have this mod on 2 steel guitars and it works great.Instead of having a seperate button,I replace the volume control pot with a switching pot like the kind guitar players use for coil tapping and humbucker splitting. Most guys use a push-pull switching pot but you can also get a push-push switching pot. On the first kind you have to grab it,pull it up and then push it back down.On a push-push,you push it down and it latches and stays down - then you push it again and it un-latches and springs up by itself. What I did is take out the latching pin so it won't stay down. Now you have a momentary on(or off)switch much like a doorbell button built into a volume pot.Then wire it so that when you hold it down it shorts out the guitar output and so by a short series of tapping motions with the heel of your picking hand on the volume knob you get the stutter effect. It could also be used to momentarily bypass the tone circuit for a pseudo wah-wah sound. Besides being much easier to hit than a small flush mounted button that you need to hit with a fingertip,I like this for something like a Stringmaster when you want the mod but don't want to start drilling holes and adding extra switches.

I can't wait Michael. Thanks for the tips

c.

Here's mine: U12 w/8+9 & a Wallace 17.5 TrueTone



Mine's a little earlier model(2003)without the finger tuners - which doesn't make a helluva lot of difference to me because it stays perfectly in tune for weeks at a time.The anti-detuning gadget is uncanny and it'll take some time to get used to being so in tune all over the neck.It won't sound right to you at first after playing other guitars without it all your life.I don't know if you got any half-stops on your guitar but Mitsuo's take on that gadget is also pure genius.There's 2 interlocking parts that pivot off each other on 2 set screws in a way whereas there's a real solid feeling halfway point but no spring like on other guitars - so the 2nd half is just as easy as the first half once you push thru the halfway point. Enjoy

Thanks for posting that Michael. I just thought of something. We may get in trouble putting pictures of PSG's in the "Steel without Pedals" section.

I apologize to the moderator of this section if that is out of order.

But the subject of this thread is still important to me, because I am going to install those "Pop Pop" buttons on my new EXcel Pedal Steel Guitar.

Michael I am going to be talking to you about your guitar via email. I am confused about what some of your knee levers are doing. And I am very interested.

It is late now, and I am very tired. I will email you tomorrow dear friend,

carl