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Topic: My Pedal Guitar Experiment - Zane King |
Zane King
From:
Nashville, TN
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Posted 13 Apr 2011 6:59 am |
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Recently, my Dad and I have been working on a prototype (very much an initial experiment) pedal guitar. As you will see in the photos attached we have taken an inexpensive standard electric guitar and placed pedals and knee levers. Right now, I have an experimental tuning on it which is centered around a standard E tuning. I have 4 pedals and 3 knee levers on it right now. Already we are planning on the next prototype and it will address the bridge mechanism. It will be important long term to be able to adjust the height of the strings. I'm also fairly set on the idea that it ultimate needs to be 8 strings. This mostly due to combining a guitar tuning with some standard steel guitar tuning concepts.
I will at some point (after some practice) have a You Tube demonstration of me playing it. So far, I can tell you it very much sounds like an electric guitar. Yet, with the pedals it easily as a pedal steel effect. Bottom line is it is a load of fun!
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Zane King
Email: zaneking@me.com |
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Doug Earnest
From:
Branson, MO USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2011 1:40 pm
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Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just put a fretted fretboard on a pedal steel? Gene Fields has one.
I'm not trying to be a wise guy at all, I just don't understand what is trying to be accomplished. |
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Zane King
From:
Nashville, TN
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Posted 13 Apr 2011 1:46 pm
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Doug,
I've done that many times. I even had Gene do one for me about 25 years ago. It's complicated to explain without audio demos but the short of it is that those with just a fretboard under a steel never sound like a guitar. It's similar yes, but it just not the same. This one here does seem to accomplish what I am looking for. Of course, I'm just doing this for fun. Yet, I don't think these things would ever be for steel guitar players. Thus, if I make it where it might appeal to a standard guitar player then I could see some of those folks gravitating to such an instrument. That all said, it is more an enhancement for electric guitars than it is a steel. However, I do think steel guitar builders would be the best for assembling such an instrument. Either way, it's fun to play around with and later I'm going to have some You Tubes of it that will demonstrate what it can do.
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Zane King
Email: zaneking@me.com |
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Ron Davis
From:
Lake Arrowhead, California... We're a mile high. ;)
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Doug Earnest
From:
Branson, MO USA
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Posted 14 Apr 2011 3:52 am
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Well that makes sense then Zane, it's the sound you are after. I see that you couldn't get that in a fretted pedal steel configuration. What great fun!
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Doug Earnest
Manufacturer of Stage One & Encore pedal steel guitars
http://www.stageonesteelguitars.com
"Teach Your Children Well" |
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Mickey Adams
From:
Bandera Texas
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Posted 14 Apr 2011 5:08 am
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I seem to recall seeing Phil Baugh playing a Peavey T-60 which had a ShoBud pedal rack on the floor attached to the bridge 30 years ago...Wouldn't this idea be more effective in gaining steel guitar sounds without having to relearn to play the regular guitar from a vertical position...aka: Healey, or "Thumbs" style???
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 14 Apr 2011 5:20 am
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| Mickey - I believe that unit was built by MSA. |
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Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 14 Apr 2011 10:28 am
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Zane,Is your dad a musician?
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Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952. |
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Zane King
From:
Nashville, TN
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Posted 14 Apr 2011 4:31 pm
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Mickey, here is a link of what I think you are talking about on the Phil Baugh. I actually had the chance to see him play this one time way back when. Very cool stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX6J0mgX4bc
Stu - yes my dad plays steel guitar very well.
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Zane King
Email: zaneking@me.com |
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Alan Harrison
From:
Murfreesboro Tennessee, USA
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Posted 17 Apr 2011 5:06 pm Pedal Guitar
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I was fortunite to get to see Phil play either the guitar in the vidio or one like it about 1978-1982 at the Monday Night Jam at Jeffran College. It seems like Mr. Buddy Emmons was also on stage with him...Some fantastic musical talent....
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Mullen (Black) Pre G-2 9x7, B.L. 705 PUP's, Evans SE 200 Telonics NEO 15-4, BJS Bar, Peterson Strobo Flip, Steelers Choice Seat, Folgers Coffee and Hilton Pedals.
"I Steel Without Remorse" |
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David Wright
From:
Pilot Point ,Tx USA.
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Posted 18 Apr 2011 3:04 am
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| The very first was built by MSA for Phil in the early 70's, he was living here in Dallas, |
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Rich Peterson
From:
Moorhead, MN
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Posted 18 Apr 2011 6:46 am
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Regarding the question of putting a fretted fingerboard under the strings of a regular PSG:
PSGs are constructed to stay as stable as possible under changing string tension. They are much more rigid than a fretted instrument. The comparatively flimsy neck of a Stratocaster resonates quite freely; people focus too much on the body wood effect on tone, ignoring the contribution of the neck and fingerboard. I have a surprisingly good sounding Strat copy with a composite (sawdust and glue) body but a good quality neck.
Zane, it isn't clear whether the neck is just resting on the base at the headstock end, or secured. How much "cabinet drop" do you get? |
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Rich Peterson
From:
Moorhead, MN
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Posted 18 Apr 2011 6:55 am
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I was quite intrigued by the Phil Baugh/MSA pedal guitar concept back when it appeared. It must have been a heavy intrument, adding the changer to a T-60. Those were backbreaker guitars, I think the body was oak?
It was too pricey back then. Would technological advances make it more accessable now? I'm thinking of a guitarist playing slide but able to step on a pedal or two; more visual interest than a steeler hunched over his instrument. |
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Peter Harris
From:
South Australia, Australia
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Posted 19 Apr 2011 6:04 am
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"I'm thinking of a guitarist playing slide but able to step on a pedal or two; more visual interest than a steeler hunched over his instrument."
...kinda what has been urging me on with what I'm doing to an (otherwise perfectly good!) Telecaster...
...except I'm using Palm Pedal, not foot pedals...  |
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James Maxwell
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 19 Apr 2011 6:51 am
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| Very cool Tele Peter! Does anyone know where to get palm pedals? It doesn't seem like anyone makes them except duesenberg and those cost a pretty penny. |
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Rich Peterson
From:
Moorhead, MN
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Posted 19 Apr 2011 11:47 am
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| The HipShot bender system can incorporate palm pedals. |
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Peter Harris
From:
South Australia, Australia
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Posted 21 Apr 2011 6:02 am
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Hi James,
Thanks for the compliment!
To my knowledge, the only outlet for (new) Bigsby Palm Pedals is via Dan Balde, member here (as "db") and owner of the BPP website...he has been difficult to contact in recent times, though..
BPPs still come up on eBay on a fairly regular basis (both NOS and used) and usually get a fairly high price for what you get.
i got mine second-hand from a friend-of-a-friend here in Oz, and then totally re-engineered it to get what I wanted out of it...I eventually gave up trying to get the bits I wanted from Dan after a couple of years of emails and manufactured my own parts...I guess I'm lucky to have had the resources and background to do that - it's not an exercise that I would willingly wish on someone else.
My example was already converted to a 4-lever unit when I got it..I altered it to also have pitch raise-and-lower on the 1st and 6th strings as well as raise on the middle four. I manufactured a new stainless steel pedal shaft and bushed every moving part (including the 6 new steel rollers on the pressure bar) with sintered bronze bushes, then fitted a Wilkinson roller bridge, Fender LSR nut, roller string trees and Grover locking mini tuners.
The whole unit sits on a custom mounting plate (somewhat resembling the baseplate of a Hipshot Bender, that includes a wrap-around section mating up with the strap button...that enabled me to mount it right on the 'edge' of the guitar body to get maximun spacing away from the bridge (Dan Balde said that it was not practical to mount it on a Telecaster because of the lack of room...I took that on as a challenge)..!
Bridge pickup was replaced with a S-D Jerry Donahue, and a Roland synth pickup was grafted in between that and the roller bridge.
The palm pedal levers were altered for angle and length, and fitted with contoured 'pads' made out of old ebony piano keys....
Concentric pots were installed to make room for the additional controls and electronics for the synth pickup, and a custom mounting plate was made for the bottom edge of the body to hold both the normal guitar jack and also the Roland 13-pin socket for the synth connection.
The picture shows the guitar still with it's 'temporary' clear plexiglass pickguard while I still stuff about with the internals and wiring...I want to finish some aspects of that before I leap into hacking up my expensive piece of pickguard plastic that I got sent over from the States...
I'm still not sure whether I should be either proud or sad that about the only things left of my original 72 Custom RI are the (much-modified) body, neck, and neck pickup..... 
...for my next project, I'm thinking about just maybe making a cup of tea..
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