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Topic: Fender 400 style PSG |
Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 10 Jan 2012 7:43 am |
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Just curious - is anyone out there building anything along the lines of the Fender 400 single neck, or is that just a thing of the past now?
I'm not in the market for one, but as a lap steel player, the simplicity of 8 strings and 4 pedals is attractive. Don't know if anyone else agrees or has taken on running with that design. |
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 10 Jan 2012 9:01 am
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oh, the silence is deafening. And telling.
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John Allison
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Posted 10 Jan 2012 9:07 am
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Chris, I've been working with Jim Flynn (Lone Star Steel Guitars) on a pedal version of my 8-stringers. Right now he's converting the middle neck of my triple neck and from there we'll see what it'll take to fit out a simple purpose-built S8 or D8.
The changer will be standard all-pull. I think he's using 3-raise/2-lower changer fingers, and it'll be possible to set up anything from an old school 2 pedal/1 lever to a full 3 pedal/4 lever E9 or an all-pedal C6 set up.
Jim already produces great 6- and 8-string PSG's, but I've been interested in a more old-style look and tone. I'm sure I'll be posting something when he gets the triple converted.
_________________
John Allison
Allison Stringed Instruments
Austin, Texas
www.allisonguitars.com |
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Tommy Minniear
From:
Logansport, Indiana
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Posted 10 Jan 2012 9:21 am
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| I believe Chuck Back, builder of the Desert Rose steel guitar, built an 8 string pedal steel for b0b in recent years. That could be a starting point in your research. |
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Ben Feher
From:
Austin TX
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Posted 10 Jan 2012 9:38 am
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As a proud new owner of a fender 400, there are some things about it I love it: 3/8 spacing 8 strings, thick block of wood, great body contact/solid stops from the changer (part of why many profess push pulls to have the best tone), super easy to change copedents. I'm in the process of putting together a sacred steel type tuning on mine right now, keeping it simple.
At the end of the day though, the changer mechanism is pretty limited. Single raise, single lower only. Funny timings if you mix raise/lower on the same pedal. Pedals can be a bit stiff or excessive travel depending on setup. But you can't exactly re-design that part of it and expect it to still be a "fender 400." That changer is part of the sound and the "mojo" and the cables are so user friendly.
Franky, if you want a fender 400... then buy a fender 400. I think its darn near impossile for a modern builder to put together anything remotely like what you can get for the price of a used 400.
I agree 8 string 4 pedal all pull modern changer pedal steel would be neat, but frankly the 3x4 10 string e9th is an absolutely incredible tuning. I've spent about 2 weeks trying to come up with a good 4 pedal 8 string tuning and frankly, the biggest thing I ended up doing is realizing how awesome the standard E9th really is. And its a lot more simple than you think, but its intimidating at first no doubt about that. |
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 10 Jan 2012 10:09 am
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| Have to admit the psg is intimidating to me. So is the price tag. And really, I see a palm-pedal'd lap steel as more my speed. But pedals under foot just seems less awkward than under palm. And truth be told, I love nonpedal. It's just once in awhile it would be great to have the mechanism to change notes within a chord. Hence my interest in a very stripped down psg. |
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Ian Sutton
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 10 Jan 2012 10:19 am
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| I think Bobbe Seymour mentioned something in his most recent newsletter about a builder toying with a new/production cable-pull guitar. |
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Ben Feher
From:
Austin TX
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Posted 10 Jan 2012 11:37 am
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| Chris Walke wrote: |
| Have to admit the psg is intimidating to me. So is the price tag. And really, I see a palm-pedal'd lap steel as more my speed. But pedals under foot just seems less awkward than under palm. And truth be told, I love nonpedal. It's just once in awhile it would be great to have the mechanism to change notes within a chord. Hence my interest in a very stripped down psg. |
Sounds like you would be perfect for a fender 400. Too bad I'm not selling mine...  |
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 10 Jan 2012 11:40 am
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See now, this is the idea. Not as much a pedal steel (tho' it is, obviously), but kinda like a lap steel with pedals to accentuate. And only 6 strings. Even a lap player like me can figure this one out! 
http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/185U-571.htm
Last edited by Chris Walke on 10 Jan 2012 12:00 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 10 Jan 2012 11:41 am
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| Ben Feher wrote: |
| Sounds like you would be perfect for a fender 400. Too bad I'm not selling mine... |
ha!! |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 10 Jan 2012 2:27 pm
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| Quote: |
| I think Bobbe Seymour mentioned something in his most recent newsletter about a builder toying with a new/production cable-pull guitar. |
I believe he said Jackson was looking to build one. I can't see a new Jackson being in the price range Chris is talking about.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 55 years and still counting. |
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Russ Tkac
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Posted 11 Jan 2012 8:59 am Fender 400
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Bill Hatcher does quite a bit with six strings and though he has more pedals and levers he isn't using many of them in this clip. Kind of shows you what you can do with your hands and a lot of talent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKdeid_MBqo&list=HL1324080055&feature=mh_lolz
I have two Fender 400's and have nine pedals on both. The tuning is B6 and the pedals work some what like the AB E9 pedals as well as E and F levers and the others cover many C6 changes. Pretty cool all the way.
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 11 Jan 2012 9:05 am
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The Fender 400 and the Rickenbacker Console 780 were the inspirations for my Desert Rose S-8. I don't think Chuck has built any more of them, though. It was more expensive than an S-10, due to the custom parts that had to be made.
Here's a pic of the Rick:
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 11 Jan 2012 9:11 am
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| b0b wrote: |
Here's a pic of the Rick:
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Holy cow, that's gorgeous! |
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James Mayer
From:
back in Portland Oregon, USA (via Arkansas and London, UK)
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Posted 11 Jan 2012 9:15 am
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| Bob, that's probably the coolest looking pedal steel I've seen on this forum or anywhere else. Is it rare? |
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Fred Glave
From:
McHenry, Illinois, USA
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Posted 11 Jan 2012 10:56 am
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Chris, have you ever sat down to play a pedal steel? I you want you can come up and try my 1964-ish Fender 2000. It's basically the same mechanics as the 400, only its 10 strings(double neck).
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Zum Encore, Zum Stage One, Fender 2000, Harlan Bros., Multi-Kord, |
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Russ Tkac
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Posted 11 Jan 2012 12:59 pm
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b0b,
That Rick looks like a low-boy ... do you need shorty leg to play it? |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 11 Jan 2012 1:31 pm The Rickenbacker
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It's fairly rare, and very short. I can't fit my right leg on a volume pedal under it.
I've been toying with the idea of selling it, but not for cheap. Email me if interested. Here's the current copedent:
Tom Bradshaw did the restoration. Here's another pic:
Also, here's a pic of the Desert Rose:
And its copedent:
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 11 Jan 2012 1:49 pm
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| Fred Glave wrote: |
| Chris, have you ever sat down to play a pedal steel? I you want you can come up and try my 1964-ish Fender 2000. It's basically the same mechanics as the 400, only its 10 strings(double neck). |
That's very kind of you, Fred. Would be fun to sit down and experience this side of the steel guitar spectrum (obviously, the answer is no, I haven't played a psg). I may take you up on your offer - maybe we can work something out in the next couple weeks or so? I can send you a PM sometime and we can discuss details. |
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Dennis Olearchik
From:
Newtown, PA
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Posted 14 Jan 2012 10:42 am Bob's Desert Rose...
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| With all due respect, that pic doesn't do justice to b0b's Desert Rose. It's drop-dead gorgeous |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 14 Jan 2012 3:02 pm
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"That Rick looks like a low-boy ... do you need shorty leg to play it? "
Russ and b0b,
I had a chance, several years ago, to buy a dead mint double-neck of a similar model Ric. I walked into Height's Music, in the Cleveland area, and it was sitting there with the case open. It looked brand new! I WANTED it! Bad. So I set it up. Man! I couldn't even begin to get my legs under it! I thought, "This guitar has been cut down, or ordered this way for a kid!" As there was no way I could even try to play it, I didn't buy it. In order to try it, I had to sit so far back, that my hands couldn't reach the strings! Not made for guys who are over 6'2" tall! |
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Ross Shafer
From:
Petaluma, California
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Posted 14 Jan 2012 5:45 pm
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| under the skirt shots of that Ricky...Please b0b please!! Is it as beautiful underneath? I want to see what kind of changer that cutie has. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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