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Push-button "pedal" magnatone?
Posted: 16 Dec 2002 4:44 pm
by Gil Berry
You guys see that 6-string lap steel on ebay with a bunch of push-buttons on it? I assume it uses solenoids to pull strings. Never saw (or heard) of that b4....Interesting concept, but I bet a 1/2 pull is a bear......
Posted: 16 Dec 2002 8:36 pm
by Al Marcus
Hi Gil- I was at the NAMM show in Chicago in 1953. Getting stock to open my Music store.
They had a lot of instruments there and one of them was that Steel guitar with the pushbuttons. Magnatone.
I tried it out. You push a button and it changes the tuning. It took no effort. Every button gave you a different tuning. It was operated by Solenoids. A6-C#Minor-E7 was 3 ,I remembered.
It did the job , but when you pushed the button , it was a very loud noise.
So it wasn't usable to change during a song , you could do it, but it would be very noticeable. Not very practicable to me.
I already had my used Pre-War 6 pedal Gibson Electra-harp , which I bought in 1945.....al
<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Al Marcus on 16 December 2002 at 08:39 PM.]</p></FONT>