The Steel Guitar Forum

O.k., it's been a long while since i've posted, partly because I nearly died. A little over four months ago i hit some gravel on my motorcycle, and flew off of an overpass. Luckily, I landed on my feet. Unfortunately i broke both legs and my skull in the fall. Fast forward to now, and I'm out of the wheel chair, off of the walker, and on a cane. I'm back to rehearsing and gigging and recording. The only thing that's a real drag is my volume pedal.

The reason why is that i had nerve damage in my right foot, so i have to wear this brace to fight what's called a foot drop. I can push my foot down from the ankle, but i can't lift it back up. It's healing though, but slowly.

I figure that i need a volume pedal that has a different fulcrum point, or maybe a lower profile, or maybe there's a way to adjust how sensitive the pot is... I don't know for sure though.

Any suggestions?

-Phil

I've got an old Boss volume pedal that looks like this.

Even though they're pricey, Telonics has come up w: a sensor that permits the use of a VP for disabled pickers
check it out here :
http://www.tpa-az.com/page8.htm
http://www.tpa-az.com/page17.htm

http://www.tpa-az.com/downloads/Telonics%20FP-100.pdf

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=187009





Kurt Kowalski:

That is amazing, I had no idea such a thing existed. I too have drop-foot although not as severe as yours Phil. Good luck on your search for the right pedal.

I use a Fender pedal. The fulcrum is in the exact center of the pedal, and it's a lot easier to use. Another bonus is that it also needs no springs or friction contraptions to hold it in place, and it will never go full-off or full on by itself.

Phil,
Lets say first of all I am glad you are getting better. I have been there and it is no fun at all. The good news is, it gets better.

I damaged my foot in a car wreck a few years ago. My problem is similar to yours. I could no longer use my volume pedal. I could could use the extreme "front" half, but could not move it over halfway back because my ankle is fused together. That caused me to have to turn my amp way down and a big time loss of sustain. It got to the point it was not even worth trying to play anymore.

Enter fine folks at Telonics. Dave Beaty found out about my foot problem and offered to try to build me a pedal I could use. I was really eager to play again, so I gave it a shot.
Dave spent hours with me over the phone and email having me measure how far my foot could move and in what direction, what caused pain, etc. Once we determined that he started work on a special build pedal for me.

He was able to start with a standard hight pedal (which is just as shot as a Goodrich "lowboy" pedal) and engineer it so it moved further forward (past the "flat" normally full open position), yet it did not have to move as far "back" to fully shut off.
It is painful for me to have any resistance in my pedal so with the included adjustments my pedal is all but frictionless. It is just barely tight enough to stay put if I lift my foot to use both feet on C-6 pedals.

It is hard to explain and I know Dave could do better, but in short the entire travel of the pedal has been moved forward. My pedal still goes from full on to full off. This makes the difference in my ability to use a volume pedal period.

Before I gave up, I would contact Mr. Beaty at Telonics and explain your situation and see if he had any ideas. If it can be done, they can do it. Even better, they really want to help.

If you have any questions about my pedal please let me know.

I wish you the best in your recovery and if you get to Austin, holler and you can try out my pedal. If you plan to attend St Louis, Phoenix, or Dallas steel shows, I will have the pedal with me.

Best,
Justin

Wow, what a wealth of information everyone. Justin, I live in Austin.

Last night at rehearsal i took my right shoe with the brace off... i was able to use the volume pedal somewhat, i had to reposition the pedal back...

I think if i can raise my back legs of my steel just a bit, i'll be in business. But i'm not strong enough to do that yet, so ill have to get a friend to do it.

Still, i'm pleased that i'm alive and still making music. Life is pretty great.

Phil,
I have a steel guitar/amp repair shop in Granger. If you want to bring your rig over, we can modify the rear legs, replace them or whatever you need.
It would cost you nothing unless we had to order some special parts.
You can also try my Telonics pedal as well to see if that would help.

Send me a Email if I can help. It would be my pleasure.

Best,
justin

Does anyone have an original Bigsby Pedal ffom the fourties ?

I am looking at one right now. It is one of the old volume/tone pedals. It belongs to a friend. I am pretty sure he would like to sell it.

Justin

Phil, would it help to put a piece of foam rubber in the front of the pedal to help it return to the off position just by relaxing the foot?
Jerry

Hi Phil,
The FP-100 pedals have several adjustments which should help your situation considerably. One in particular is the adjustable return tension control which can be set to raise the pedal's treadle with various degrees of force when your foot needs assistance. We can set the pedal return (UP) tension from a few ounces to several pounds.
If you will contact us at your convenience, we'll determine the range of motion your need and the foot position in which to position that range of motion.
We can then compress the tapers to fit that range.

In short, you don't have to try to adapt and fight the pedal, it will be made to fit the capabilities of your foot, and assist your foot where necessary.

If email is convenient, you can start with a short note to dave@telonics.com

All the very best!
Dave

as a 69 year old nubi,,,ifound this out the other day,,,things dont move like they used to..things like knees, ankles and bowels,,just saying. had to replace new string my sho-bud pedal,, i added compression spring to the inside of the pedal.. in order to keep the spring from boinging around by itself, i drilled and tapped a hole in the bottom piece and screwed a long 10-32 screw into the hole,,,now to get it right and in order to comtrol the boinging i left the screw stick out about a half inch or so from the bottom,,,,and tried it...and low and behold the thing worked great,,,and with screw extending from the center of the pedal i could rock thr pedal from the right to the left without loosing a full flat foot on the pedal ,,,who would have thought,,,,well,works for me,,,,just saying,,,,ken

I am sure someone could come up with a pedal that slides forward, and back. Then all you would need is a stop on the front, and back, so your shoe would be right in the middle, and adjustible for different size feet. This is not rocket science.

It seems that Dave has the perfect solution and is willing to help. I would go for it.
Jerry

Phil Ajjarapu wrote: i was able to use the volume pedal somewhat, i had to reposition the pedal back...

I agree, and I'd never mount my pedal on the pedal board. Like you, I also find the pedal is easier to operate and more comfortable when it's not way forwaed, and secured to the pedal board.