The Steel Guitar Forum

Howdy, so I'm a total newbie to pedal steel. In fact I just bought my first one (Fessenden w/ 3 pedals and 5 levers) yesterday.

Here's my question:
So the guy I bought it from, has his pedals set up different from the standard setup and I want to know how to fix it.

The A & C pedals are switched. So the A is raising the B & E notes and the C pedal is raising the B notes...

How do I fix this to get it back to standard?

Just so that you know---

--there are two 'standards' and they are equally valid. There is the Emmons (Buddy) setup and there is the Day (Jimmy). You are describing a Day setup. Much---really, a lot---has been written here on the subject. I can't add to it. But just so you understand that what you have is not wrong. It is a minority standard but it is 'regulation'.

Oh, thanks Jon, I had no idea.

So do you think I should just stick with the Day setup? All the tutorials I've been looking at, use the Emmons setup...

I'd leave it be, and just name them backwards: the A pedals pull the Bs, the C pedal pulls 4 and 5. You just have yours CBA, or ABC when looking from the other side.
Because nearly all Day setups have the E string levers in different places than the Emmons setups, I STRONGLY urge you to learn to play it as it sits. To quote from one big name player (I don't recall whether it was Lloyd or Jeff Newman) talking to one of his students, "if you spent as much time on the top as you do underneath it, you'd be a lot farther along."

I do believe that a lot of players play Emmons or Day simply because that's the way they received their first guitar.
It's close to being a 50/50 call as to whether to change it:

Change it: because a lot of instruction is geared toward Emmons setup.

Don't change it: because you have a good guitar that is ready to play right now.

Haha cool, thanks Lane. Yea it seems like more hassle than it's worth to set it to the Emmons setup.

David:

FWIW, I am a relatively new player (18 months). I bought a used Sho~Bud from a feller up the valley. Didn't know a thing about pedal steels. It is set up with the "Sho~Bud" setup (pretty close to the "Emmons" setup) and I just figured that was the way all guitars were made.

I've thought about, and asked people about, changing the setup. The most common answer I've received is "Learn what you have for at least 2 years". After that time, if you think you need something different, at least you know what is going on.

For a while I changed my LKR change to raise the F# strings all the way to G# (instead of G) and decided it was better to put them back the way they were.

I love the comment from Jeff Newman, and I know for a fact it applies to me: "If you spent more time on TOP of the guitar......your time would be better spent".


Enjoy the ride. Don't be afraid to experiment, but golly the basics are more important than anything.

Cheers,
Mike

I would highly recommend getting it set to the Emmons setup. Most material is written for that setup.

i wouldn't. leave it alone, learn a little as you go along. you can always change things around later.

Scott Duckworth wrote:I would highly recommend getting it set to the Emmons setup. Most material is written for that setup.

This is something I strongly disagree with. I have been playing Day style since almost the time I started 42 years ago. No one says you have to name the 1st pedal the "A"pedal. I had absolutely no problem with learning material with my pedals switched around. You should know the pedals by what they do, not some letter designation. If a player can't play Day style and learn from current instructional materials, he is probably going to have many problems and maybe not even continue. Let him learn on what he has.

Scott Duckworth wrote:I would highly recommend getting it set to the Emmons setup. Most material is written for that setup.

Scott, WHY do you suggest that? A pedal is still the A pedal whether it's 1, 2, or 3 (my A pedal is pedal 2). And the knee levers don't have a standardized designation. Doesn't matter where what pedals and knees are.
I'll stand by the guidance "If you spend more time playing ON it than playing WITH it, you'll get farther faster."
And a Fessy is unlikely to need much work.

David, Leave it alone for now. As you get to know how everything works, then you may want to change it.
I would contact a steel player in your area like Jody Cameron etc. or go to the Show in Dallas this month, Jerry Fessenden will be there. He's a great guy and will help you change it if you want. It would also give you the opportunity to play both set up's. Both Emmons and Day have their plus and minus side. It's just what you feel comfortable with. I would be happy to set it up for you but I live in Missouri.

I also play the Day set up and it is absolutely not an issue learning from material written for the Emmons set-up. In fact, steel guitar tab is not really written as Emmons or Day. The tab merely tells you which pedal or pedals to push. It does not tell you whether the A pedal is the first pedal from the left or the third.

Think it through and you will realize this is a total non-issue.

I totally amend the first of my two points above. I never gave any thought to changing from the Emmons setup I had on my first steel and I never gave any thought to the 'issues' involved in playing a Day setup. Now, giving it thought, I agree that there are none.

Michael Hummel wrote:David:

"If you spent more time on TOP of the guitar......your time would be better spent

Cheers,
Mike

Love that quote, one for me i think!!

Nobody has mentioned the main consideration: ergonomics.

We spend a lot of time holding down the B-pedal while rocking on and off of the A-pedal. That goes double for you, David, because you are in Texas.

It's easier for some to hold the ball of the foot down while lifting the left side (Emmons)-- while other find it easier to twist their ankle the other way and lift the ball (Day).

For starters, play what you have -- but be thinking whether it would be easier to twist your ankle the other direction on those A-pedal rocking moves. You might decide to switch it around in a month or two.

It's easy to change a Fessy from Day to Emmons and you can do it yourself with a little instruction from the good folks here. However, as already mentioned, if you swap pedal functionality you will probably also want to swap the E-lower lever so that it is on LKR and the E-raise so it's on LKL. So... the entire changeover to Emmons might involve swapping some levers too. Easy to do. Just hit us up here if you need help.

Im in College Station TX. If you'd like to rearrange it, Ill be happy to do it for you..