The Steel Guitar Forum

Could anyone explain how you adjust the amount of pedal travel on a Lagrande 111.
There seems to be way too much on the A,B &C pedals.
So much in fact that its impossible to press pedal B without engauging pedal A a little.

I've lenghtened the pedal rods but that doesn't help much.I can't see any adjustment underneath.
The pedals for the C6 neck seems fine.

There are 3 things involved here:

1. Pedal travel

2. Pedal height

3. Soft to Firm feel when engaging a given pedal. In this case the rule, "the softer the feel, the longer the travel", and vice versa applies here.

Taking one at a time:

1. Pedal travel is determined by the adjustment of the return screw located on the pedal crank located on the crossrod. This screw should be adjusted counterclockwise just a tad MORE (and NO more) than is required to execute the longest pull on a given crossrod.

2. Pedal height is how far from the floor a pedal is, in the non engaged state. The adjustment for this is at the Pedal rod threaded end.

NOTE: Item one affects item 2. Item 2 does not affect item 1. So consider this when you are analyzing your problem.

3. The firmness or softness of a given pedal is determined by two factors:

A. The number of pulls on a given pedal

B. The holes in the bellcranks and changer fingers that given rods are located in.

Note: item B CAN affect pedal travel. So again consider this when studying; trying to determine what is wrong, or what is desired.

I would advise against changing the pull rod hole connections, unless you know precisely what you are after and how to do it.

May Jesus lead you in the right direction always,

carl

John:
You might also check the amount of slack you have before the nylon tuning nut engages the finger.Sometimes there is way too much slack in the pedal system.I have about 3/32nd of travel in the nut until it engages.Also using the pedal rod adjustment you can either raise the B pedal or lower the A pedal.

Bud

Carl I think I'll have study the undercarraige a bit a see exactly whats going on.I won't try anything if I'm not too sure.
Willis I don't think any more adjustment in the pedal rods will solve the problem

John, the first thing I would try would be to move the pull rods one or two notches further from the body on the bell cranks (the little levers that rotate with the cross shafts and pull the rods that go to the changer). That will have the biggest effect on shortening pedal travel, but will make the action stiffer.

Also, make sure all the pulls on a pedal are engaging at about the same time, in other words that there is not a lot more slack at the nylon tuners at the end plate for one pull rod compared to others on the same pedal. You can get them all to engage about the same time by choosing the appropriate notch in the bell crank for each pull. Notches further from the body pull further, and small guage strings need to pull further. The first few wound strings also need to pull further, because their cores are small guage.

Adjusting the pedal rod lengths does two things. It adjusts the pedal height at rest, and also where the pedal stops when it is depressed. Basically you want them to clear the floor, even if there is a thick carpet. And you want them to hit their bottom at approximately the same place, so that when you press two together they end together. But adjusting the pedal rods will have no effect on the actual distance of pedal travel.

The Carter web site has good information and diagrams on all this. <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by David Doggett on 04 October 2003 at 12:19 AM.]</p></FONT>