Fender 800, 6 pedals, 10 strings, no knees... ideas?

Bob Russell · From: Virginia, USA

I have a Fender 800, unmodified, that I had set up for E9th. But now I have a BMI that's my dedicated E9th machine. I'm looking for something different to do with the Fender that doesn't involve modifying the guitar. I'm entertaining suggestions for alternate copedents. Something close to what Sneaky Pete did would be okay; also, something that would lend itself to jazz or rock playing would be interesting. But I have 10 strings and 6 pedals to play with. That's it. I welcome your thoughts/comments/suggestions. Let 'er rip!
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Lots of stringy things, many of them slidey.

Patrick Ickes · From: Upper Lake, CA USA

Bob,
Try to locate a copy of the original manual that came with the guitar. My Fender 400 book has many tunings and pedal combinations.
That guitar is a snap to change around, so have fun and let us know what you settle into.
Patrick

Bob Russell · From: Virginia, USA

I have a copy of the 800 manual. I forgot that there are suggested setups in there. Thanks for the reminder!
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Lots of stringy things, many of them slidey.

Richard Alderson · From: Illinois, USA

If you already have e9th why not go for c6th on the fender, do standard c6 10 string tuning D E C A G E C A F C and standard five pedals plus one more your choice, learn c6th. I don't think those old tunings have as much to offer as c6th. Unless you want to completely go another direction, blues, sacred steel or Susan Alcorn, c6th has the most instruction and theory to offer.
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Derby SD-10 5x6; GFI S-10 5x5; GFI S-10 5x5; Zum D-10 8x7; Zum D-10 9x9; Fender 400; Fender Rumble 200; Nashville 400; Telonics TCA-500.

Bob Russell · From: Virginia, USA

I play a lot of C6th on lap steel; that was something I had considered. I love C6 on lap steel. Since I've spent about 50 years on "underarm guitar", I also thought about B6 or A6, which would be essentially the same intervals transposed and maybe a bit easier to work with on the fly while improvising. It's the "standard five pedals" part that gives me pause - I don't see much standardization in the copedents I've examined. Some call for as many as four pulls on one pedal, which isn't possible on an 800 as far as I know. What would you consider the "standard five pedals"? The Fender is easy to change setups on and my knowledge of theory/harmony is good, so I'm not worried about making changes.
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Lots of stringy things, many of them slidey.

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

P4=4 and 8 to B, put on P1
P5 = (needs adjusting for the two-string limit), I'd lower 5 to F# and raise 10 to D (you could raise 9 to F#),P2
P6 = 2 to F, 6 to Eb,put on P3
P7 = 3 to B, 4 to B, put on P4
P8 = 9 to E, 10 to A (or lower 9 and raise 7) put on 5
The last pedal, lower 3 to B (or use P5 to lower 9 and 10, and raise 7 to C# and maybe 3 as well.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Richard Alderson · From: Illinois, USA

From a post by Ryan Barwin Nov 2 2009
Here's your basic C6th copedent:

- P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 RKL
D-------------------
E--------F-----------
C-----------D-----B-
A-B---------B--------
G---- F#--------------
E--------Eb----------
C------------- C#----
A-B------------------
F-----F#------E------
C-----D-------A-----

True, on the Fender you cannot get those low C changes, but everything else is there on the first 9 strings. Greg Cutshaw has further comments on the same post.
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Derby SD-10 5x6; GFI S-10 5x5; GFI S-10 5x5; Zum D-10 8x7; Zum D-10 9x9; Fender 400; Fender Rumble 200; Nashville 400; Telonics TCA-500.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

When I turned my attention to the rear neck of my D10, I tried C6 for a bit and then decided to tune it to B6. I'm glad I did because it makes swapping between the two much easier. You soon get used to adjusting instructional material by a fret.

Best of all, it means that if you find yourself behind a universal, you already know where all the notes are.
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Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

Bob Russell · From: Virginia, USA

Lots of useful information here - thanks, everyone! Ian, easier switching is why I was thinking of B6 as a possibility. It's easier for me to think a 4th down than to think a major 3rd down on the fly. And I have a feeling that there might be a universal in my future somewhere down the road; that approach just makes a lot of sense to me. But first, there's a lot of basic rookie steel guitar player stuff to take care of, and fighting separate battles on the BMI and the Fender seems reasonable for now.

Richard, that basic C6 setup is fairly easy to understand; tuned down a half-step and adjusted for the limitations of the Fender changer, that might do nicely.

Again, thanks to all who've contributed thus far. I tried to get something going on this topic over in the Fender Steel Forum, but things move slowly over there. Sad

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Lots of stringy things, many of them slidey.

Richard Alderson · From: Illinois, USA

To Donnie Hinson - Sorry for the confusion, I was writing quickly, you either have to give up the 9th string change or the 10th string change on pedal 5, would be more exact. If you hook up the 9th string change, which is what I assumed, you would no longer be able to do the tenth string change. But yes the low C could be hooked up. You are right of course, it can be done.
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Derby SD-10 5x6; GFI S-10 5x5; GFI S-10 5x5; Zum D-10 8x7; Zum D-10 9x9; Fender 400; Fender Rumble 200; Nashville 400; Telonics TCA-500.

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