The Steel Guitar Forum

Hello,

I have a Fessenden D-10 (Black of cause) and I have a small problem. It's a bit to high. I can't use any vertical levers since I can't push them high enough.

I don't get how to lower the guitar and still be able to fasten the "pedal rack".

Here are some picture of the legs and the "pedal rack".

Please advice how I should do to lower the guitar.







// Anders

Raise the seat?

Anders,
Have you tried adjusting the tilt of the vertical lever? That's the easiest solution if it works. There is a small setscrew that sets the angle of the tilt on each lever.

The alternate solution involves cutting both the front legs and pedal rods. Or have Jerry send you ones that are the proper length.

Hope this helps.

wear cowboy boots

Sorry but boots are not my thing

Raising the chair, hadn't thought about that! Unfortunately my chair is fixed, maybe I should buy a drum chair...

I also will look into changing the tilt of the lever.

Being a newbie I feel that the legs are a bit stupid made. If the thinner legs where longer and the thing you fasten them with higher up then it would be easy to change the height to a lower level. As it is it only possibly to change it to a higher level...

Well, maybe I will have to build my own Steel
NB! This is a joke since I can't hammer in a nail without getting the nail crooked...

Thanks for the help!

// Anders

Lower the Floor.

Just try to crow up.....
Ask Jerry Fessenden, he may have shorter Legs and pedalrods....

Dick Wood wrote:Lower the Floor.

Hmmm.. didn't think about that!
Wonder what the landlord will say...

// Anders

Andy Zahnd wrote:Just try to crow up.....

It seems like all my growing is in another direction these days

Andy Zahnd wrote:Ask Jerry Fessenden, he may have shorter Legs and pedalrods....

That's a good idea! I will mail Jerry and ask.

// Anders

Good suggestions here.

I'll just add that most seats designed for steel players are around 19 inches tall. If your seat is a lot lower than that, it might be hard to reach the vertical lever.

Also, I think most people have to lift their foot off the floor -- or at least lift their heel off the floor - to engage a vertical lever. That's normal.

I have my vertical lever adjusted so that it is about 1 inch above my leg when I'm not using it.

If you take the rubber tips off the front legs, you can probably lower it by 3/4".
You will probably have to screw the pedal rod connectors up a bit, if there's enough thread.

Send the legs and pedal-rods back to Jerry and get him to re-work then so they are the correct height for you. That way it'll be done right first time!

About a year ago I traded for a MSA s-10 classic,WAY to tall for me.Took it to a friends shop,cut about two and a half inches off the legs and rods,took about an hour, now it fits perfect. YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

Anders Eriksson wrote:...it would be easy to change the height to a lower level...

Anders,
It's not just the legs that need to be adjusted when raising or lowering a steel a significant amount (more than 1/2"). The rods also need to be lengthened or shortened, so it's not easy either way.

Besides the previous suggestions of lowering the lever by the set screw, and getting a higher seat, another option to try is lowering only the rear legs a little, so that the guitar tilts towards you. This will also lower the knee levers.

Clete

Anders Eriksson wrote:Hello,
I have a Fessenden D-10 (Black of cause) and I have a small problem. It's a bit to high.
// Anders

Tom Waits wrote a song "The Piano has been drinking" but I don`t believe there`s a song about a steel guitar that`s too high. Go for it Anders !

I bought 1" shorter legs, and rethreaded and cut the rods on my 2 Emmons,
and I can actually play them now. I just bought a new Ritteberry 2 weeks ago,
and WOW! (WHAT A BEAUTIFUL STEEL) and Gary exchanged the legs and rods
for 1" shorter ones, and now everything feels comfortable and works perfect.

Carl "Lucky" Kilmer

Friends,
Lets be sure we are attacking the problem.

1. Is it ONLY the vertical that can't be reached?
(silly to lower the guitar if everything else is fine)
How far is it from the top of your knees to the bottom of the back apron?

2. Have you tried the tilt adjustment? It can make a BIG difference.
As others have pointed out, you don't want your vertical so low that your knee hits it in normal playing conditions (with your foot flat on the floor). The vertical is actuated by pushing up on the ball of the foot, either with A and/or B pedals depressed or with the toe behind the pedals on the floor.

It is a BIG PAIN to lower a guitar. The front legs can be LENGTHENED with 'lift kits' to RAISE the guitar but to lower a guitar they and the pedal rods must be CUT and rethreaded.

Are you SURE that changing the tilt on the vertical lever won't solve your problem? How tall are you?

The playing height of your steel has a lot to do with your leg length...If you find your leg is stretched out to reach the first pedal,,then your seat is either too high,,your guitar is too high (or both) or your pedals are set too far to the left...If you have a 28" to 30" leg (inseam),, your guitar should be about 28"(floor to top of guitar body,less the neck) high, and your seat about 17" to 18" high..Your first pedal should be about 4 1/2" from the end of the guitar...These measurements could vary a little,,depending on the person,,the way they sit etc..Hope this helps........regards,,,Carson

If the problem is only with the vertical lever, here is how I solved it. I needed to lower my vertical lever 3/4" so I cut a piece of wood 3/4" x 3/4" x 5" long. I bought a $2 roll of black 2 sided velcro. I cut velcro strips and glued them onto the wooden block. Put block against lever...and using 4" long velcro strips, attach to lever and pull snug. I also used a strip on the end to prevent any sliding.
The entire unit slips on or off in less than 10 seconds. It stays firmly in place, works perfect, and does no damage to the steel.

Larry,
Thats more or less exactly what I did when I had an Emmons with a non-adjustable vertical.
Works great! Mine didn`t look as neat as yours....

Carson Leighton wrote:The playing height of your steel has a lot to do with your leg length...If you find your leg is stretched out to reach the first pedal,,then your seat is either too high,,your guitar is too high (or both) or your pedals are set too far to the left...If you have a 28" to 30" leg (inseam),, your guitar should be about 28"(floor to top of guitar body,less the neck) high, and your seat about 17" to 18" high..Your first pedal should be about 4 1/2" from the end of the guitar...These measurements could vary a little,,depending on the person,,the way they sit etc..Hope this helps........regards,,,Carson

Sure enough. My leg inseam is 30". My left knee did not reach both left knee levers. I had Jim P. lower all 4 legs and rods.

The top of my steel is now 28". My seat is 19" and I'm good.

It's a bit of work to lower, so if you can use some of the other suggestions to reach your vertical knee, by all means do that.

I just went and checked my seat height. It is about 18 1/2" when the cushion is compressed. My leg inseam is about 29"..I can reach everything pretty good...In my previous post,,I said the seat height should be between 17" and 18" but after checking my own seat,,I think it should be between 18" and 19". Your mileage may vary..
The seat height and the height of your steel is very important to your playing,,as far as I'm concerned..These dimensions are based on an inseam leg length of 28" to 30" only. I tried lowering the rear legs one time and it affected my right hand technique. If anything, I like the rear legs of my steel raisied just a tad....Regards,,,Carson