Anyone ever remove pedals that they didn't need anymore?....

[Jerry Hayes]

Just wondering if anyone's ever pared back their steel and taken unwanted or unneeded changes off?

My S-12 BMI was originally manufactured with 7 FP and 6 KL. When I first got it I took off the RKL inside lever. About four years ago I sent it to the factory to have an 8th pedal added.

I've found that for the past few years I've been playing as much steel at gigs as I have lead guitar and even been doing some steel only gigs. In doing that I've noticed that some of the pedals I don't even use anymore. Some of them I could use, but I've found other ways to do the same thing.

All that said, last week I removed four of my floor pedals and now I'm down to 5 KL and 4 FP and I think I'll just leave it there.

The only remaining 6th type pedal is my P4 which raises the 5th and 6th strings a whole tone each. My pedals 2 and 3 are the "normal" A & B pedals. Pedal 1 is the "Brumley" pedal which raises the 7th string F# to G# and lowers the 12th string E to C#.

My steel in tuned to an extended E9th except that the 2nd and 9th strings are tuned to C#....I think it'll probably be this way for a long time......

Anyone else ever pared down their's or went from a double to a single neck or from a 12 string to a 10 string?.....JH in Va.

[John Drury]

Bobbes D-10 has only 7 pedals instead of 8. Not sure what they do.

[Barry Blackwood]

My D-10 has seven. I'm not sure what they do either ...

[Jerry Erickson]

I bought a D12 PP from John Macy that was 11 and 10. 11 knees and 10 floor pedals. It was eventually pared down to 7 knees and 9 floor pedals. Then I sold it to Jim Smith.

[Keith Murrow]

Jerry, I turned my D10 into an SD10. I had played D10 for a long time but decided to focus on E9 only. So, off came five pedals and a neck. I could have left some of them on for additional E9 changes but I really, really enjoy playing with 3 & 4. The longer I play, the more I find new ways to do more with less.

I took out the crossrods and everything for weight purposes. So now I have a few spare parts should something break down the road.

[Jay Jessup]

Yup, my S-12 Zum was built for me in early 82 with 7+7 with a B6'th universal approach. It has spent more time in the case than out over the years since my playing career ended but every once in a while I will get inspired and redo it with some new tuning that I want to try out. Just before Christmas I got a wild hair and changed it over to the Zane Beck E13 style tuning with 4+5 which I am having great fun confusing myself with at the moment!!

[Michael Johnstone]

Nope - I only add 'em. There was a couple times in the first few years that I would get a pedal or knee lever kit and add a change that seemed to be missing from the tuning and a couple years later I would find a much easier way to get the same thing that had always been there right under my nose. But in a case like that I wouldn't physically remove the hardware - I'd just find something new and interesting for that pedal or lever to do.

[Erv Niehaus]

Remove pedals?!
Shoot, Lloyd Greene removed the whole neck!!

[Bo Borland]

nope
I don't like steels that have been molested. If you have a D10 and want a SD10 trade it away.
just my opinion.

[Dave O'Brien]

My latest road axe is a Carter D-10 that came with the pedals all the way over to the left on the pedal rack. I thought that was a bit awkward so I removed the first pedal and combined the 3rd E9th pedal and the 4th C6th . It's now 7&5 - all I need.

[Roger Edgington]

So far I haven't had the desire to remove a pedal or knee lever, but I have changed them around a little. The eight pedals are fine. Give me more knee levers.

[Dave O'Brien]

Bar slants are cheaper than knee levers

[Glen Derksen]

I haven't been playing long enough to decide if I want to remove the C6 neck, but if I ever do, four or five pedals will come off. Why have extra weight when it's not needed?

[b0b]

I have removed pedals, yes. Knee levers, too. For me, 5+5 on a 12 string neck is the max.

[Gene Jones]

I have a couple that I don't regularly use, but I ain't gonna remove 'em because someday I may find that I need 'em for something.

[Jim Smith]

I bought a D12 PP from John Macy that was 11 and 10. 11 knees and 10 floor pedals. It was eventually pared down to 7 knees and 9 floor pedals. Then I sold it to Jim Smith.

I've got that Emmons back up to 9&9.

The Dekley I built for myself originally had 10&13. I removed the RKV as I found that it interfered with my volume pedal, so now it's "only" 10&12.

[Jerry Hayes]

I've just added one back. My pedal 8 that I had installed on my guitar was my "Mooney" pedal which I used with the right foot. All it did was raise string 4 to F#. I was playing with some guys last night and lo and behold one of 'em said "Let's do Wishful Thinking" and when I did my steel ride, right away I missed the "moon" pedal so it's back on now but I think that's as far as I'm going to take it. The guitar is now 5 and 5 and I'm thinking like b0b, that'll probably be the max from now on...

What's nice is that I've got space to put a small effects board on the floor now next to my pedal bar.........JH in Va.

[Herb Steiner]

Jim
How do you get by with only 12 knee levers?

[Bo Borland]

As aside from my previous comment regarding molested steels, I agree with Gene.
When I was riding and training horses everyday I always carried a whip and wore spurs, if I needed them they were there. I feel the same about my steel.

[Jim Smith]

Jim
How do you get by with only 12 knee levers?

Well, that's what bar slants are for!

[Keith Murrow]

I don't know that unscrewing or un-bolting a few parts is really "molesting" a steel. Most of the holes and openings are already there anyway. In that vein of logic ("leave it just like it came from the factory"), everybody who ADDS pedals and knee levers is molesting their guitar, too.

Regarding trading vs. altering a steel, for some people there are legitimate reasons to make significant post-factory changes to their current axe. For me, my steel is "the one", it fits me perfectly and has a feel and tone I do not want to part with, so modifying it to what I am comfortable playing was a no-brainer. Unless you see the C6 tuning nut opening in the endplate or closely inspect the underside, you'd never know it didn't come from the factory that way. And I don't care if people do see those things, because the instrument makes me happy as-is.

On top of that, this guitar was a surprise gift to me from my mother a number of years ago. Trade for an SD10? I don't think so. And that's just my opinion, of course!

[Doug Seymour]

I got a 1984 Zum in a trade with Bobbe back about 1988 or '89. It came with 8P & 7K.....I wasn't up to that & took off 3 pedals & 3 knees. The fact that the Zum had helper springs on the lowers allowed me to change 3 strings instead of the the two change maximum I had done with other steels. I set up my tunings so I changed 2 strings on one neck and only one on the opposite neck. RKR on E9 lowered 4 & 8 and lowered 3 (C) on the C6! LKL on E9 raised 4 & 8 and raised 4 (A)
on the C6. RKL raised 3 & 4 on C6 & lowered 2 on E9.
LKR raised 3 & 7 (Cs to C#s) on C6 & lowered 5 on E9.
Worked for me for 10 or 12 years! The pedals were std Emmons on E9 except that P3 also raised 6 (to F) on C6.
Pedals 4 & 5 were the usual C6 P5 & 6! I tried this set up on many new steel brands, but without success
and I always thought the helper springs were what made the difference? I had them set to the maximum & still allowed them to do their job. Too much & the strings wouldn't return properly!

[Mike Perlowin]

I once had the less than brilliant idea of adding an extra knee lever to raise the 4th string to F# (This was in addition to the C pedal.)

Like I said, the idea was less than brilliant. When I realized just how less than brilliant it was, I had the extra knee lever taken off.

[b0b]

I took off my C pedal instead.

[Doug Seymour]

once you master the move from A/B to B/C, I'm with Mike on this one! I'd rather have it on a pedal, I think and save the KL for some other move? The pedal is quicker, it seems to me.