The Steel Guitar Forum

I wonder if anyone here has a keyless Excel guitar with the new (2014) changer and tuning mechanism? I just took delivery of a new one a couple of months ago and have some questions about changing strings and tuning. There is a string changing guide on their website, but there are a few things I’m wondering about:

- Do you wind the string a few turns around the post and then stretch them or do you keep the strings fully stretched while turning the tuning post? Do you wind clockwise or counter-clockwise? Is there a reason for one or the other?

- Is it normal even on a keyless design with locked strings that it takes a while for the strings to settle after tuning up? Mine goes out of tune quite easily and won’t settle until I’ve played for a while and tuned up a few times.

I haven’t found an adjustable pedal stop on this guitar. It doesn’t have a rock solid stop and the pedals are easily over-pressed and go a few cents sharp. Is there any way of adjusting this?

This is by far the lightest and easiest playing guitar I’ve ever owned and would be ok with compromising a bit of stability for lightness and portability since I got it mainly for rehearsals, fly dates and such but since it plays and sounds so great, it would be wonderful if these things could be fixed as well.

Thanks
Niklas

The pedal stops on my Excel are round metal items fixed to the front apron with allen screws. The screw is offset from the centre so loosen the allen screw, rotate the round stop to lengthen or shorten the travel and re-tighten the fixing screw.

I have a 2011 or so model, so I can't answer your individual questions, but one thing for me that really helped was to make a handle for pulling the string as tight as you can get it before locking it in.

Take a wooden dowel, 4 inches long. Drill a hole near the middle of the dowel. Attach the ball end of the string to the guitar, then pass the free end thru the hole in the dowel. Give it a wrap or two. Now, you've got a handle on the loose end of the string. Pull that sucker tight as you can (also make sure the linkage is pulled hard back), then clamp it down. On mine, I have to hold the finger back against the body with one hand, pull the string tight with the other, then tighten the lock screw with my third hand or my lips.

Then, after it's strung up, I'd give the strings a good upward tug inthe middle, to stretch them out. Proceed to tune up from there.

This gets rid of alot of the problems with string stretching, and bottoming out your tuners before coming to pitch.

Oh, and any time you wrap the string around a lock screw, wrap it clockwise, so it tightens the string as you tighten the screw.

About the pedal stops, my guitar has round pucks that are mounted on an off-center screw. You rotate this little puck (about 1/2" across) effectively moving where it stops because of the off-center screw.

Man, I talk alot about these guitars, trying to explain them to people, but they're so mechanically unique and awesome, that it's sometimes hard to convey what I'm thinking. I hope you get my jist.

Changing strings....pull the string around the post CLOCKWISE 3/4 around and pull up with a wooden dowell, tighten the screw..(reason:.the screw tightens clockwise...right hand thread)... You should have gotten the Excel 3-4 page instructional pamphlet with your guitar.. If you don't have one I will send you one...Larry [img]http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/us ... .jpg[/img]