The Steel Guitar Forum

I have a Fessy E9 SD10 3x5- can someone advise a newbie regarding the following Knee lever changes it has:
LKV -lowers 5&10 from B to A
RKL -raises 1 from F# to G, and raises 2 from D# to E
RKR - lowers 2 from D# to C#, and 9 from D# to D

The setup of the remaining pedals/levers appears to be fairly common:
LKL- raises 4&8 from E to F
LKR- lowers 4&8 from E to Eb
Pedal A - raises 5&10 from B to C#
Pedal B - raises 3&6 from G# to A
Pedal C- raises 4 from E to F#, and raises 5 from B to C#
Is this a common set up, esp. the LKV, RKL & RKR?
I'm completely new to all this so excuse my ignorance
Thanks in advance

Perfectly common. There are many variants and this falls comfortably within them.

I'm more used to LKV lowering B's to Bb.
Also on RKL string-1, F# to G# is more typical (ime, This lever brings strings 1 and 2 in unision with strings 3 and 4).
Also on RKR string 2 typically lowers D# to D (sometimes guys set it up to go to C# also, but most Instructional material is written for D# to D).
Also on RKR, String 9 should be tuned to a D note, then it is lowered to C# on RKR.

My apologies. Pre-coffee posting.....Pete is correct on every point.

What Pete said. Your string 2 lower is not unusual though. There is usually a feel stop, or a slight bump of resistance when the string is lowered from D# to D. This will now be in unison with string 9. Then, as the lever is lowered past the feel stop, both strings 2 and 9 lower from D to C# in unison. The ability to lower 2 to D and C# will enable you to follow instructional material for either pull.

Thanks guys - OK - What do I need to do to bring my guitar in line with your recommendations - As I'm a beginner, I have not done very much with the RK levers, so if I make a change, it should not affect anything at this point. I understand there is no set "Standard", but I'd like to be close to the "typical" set up while I'm learning, especially if it makes the learning curve a little easier.
Is this something I can attempt myself?
All your help & advice is appreciated.
Thank you.

Hi Keith,
I am not mechanically inclined so I would get in contact with Jerry Fessenden. Great Builder Player and Dude. http://fessendensteelguitars.com/contact.html

Jerry would give you shipping instructions to him to adjust your guitar if you are like me and there is no one in the area to do that.
If you are mechanically inclined he could probably talk you through the adjustments and get you the parts if you wanted to add the common G#-F# sixth string RKL pull.

Hi Keith. I apologize again for the very lazy Sunday morning sloppy reading of your post.

I play a Fessenden and I've done lots of work on it.
This is something you definitely can do yourself IF you feel that you are reasonably mechanically inclined. Some people are not and that's just what it is.

Tell me if you are game and I can give you LOTS of instructions, assistance, some steel guitar setup theory and some important warnings to steer you away from botching up the guitar.

I converted a Fessenden from an Emmons to Day setup, and they are very easy to work on.

Bent Romnes is in Ontario. Why not get ahold of him. You probably could avoid shipping your guitar. There's a post in this section by him about him finishing building a guitar. You can contact him from that post by using the email or PM buttons.

Not sure off hand where Al Briscoe is located, but there is another possibility. Also Wayne Link is in Canada.

I would trust any of these guys to do a great job.

Fessenden guitars are easy to adjust. One tip: always make sure that there is a little slack in each hex tuner. This is true for most any steel brand. If any of the changes below require tightening the hex all the way to the changer so there is no slack, tuning problems will arise. Let us know if it does, as you may need to move a rod to another position on the bell crank.

To change your LKV tuning, loosen the hex tuners on the endplate for strings 10 and 5. Hold the A and the vertical together and tune to Bb. This gives you a minor chord of the AB major.

To change the tuning on RKL, tighten the tuner for string 1 with the lever engaged till it is in unison with string 3.

To change RKR, make sure your 9th string is tuned to D not D#. With the RKR engaged fully, strings 2 and 9 should be tuned to C#.