The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi Everyone,

I’m a very new member and this is my first post here. I’m really, really green at Steel Guitar, but have been playing 6-string guitar for decades. I’ve ordered a Zumsteel Encore, which I hope will be delivered in September. In the meanwhile, I’m learning on a Maverick.

So, as you all probably know, the Maverick is limited and is incapable of both raising and lowering a single string, thus, Pedal C is set up to raise string 4 to F#, but the knee lever fails to lower the string to Eb. This is driving me crazy, especially given that I want to use the knee lever far more often than I want to use Pedal C.

So, I figured out how to modify the guitar and I completely disabled Pedal C (which is bad, I know), but I fixed it so that the knee lever now drops strings 4 and 8 to Eb (where previously, it dropped 8 to Eb and 2 to D).

I’m not discounting the importance of Pedal C, but I decided to try this just as a temporary measure until the Encore arrives. It accomplished what I was looking for, but am I nuts for having done this? I’d welcome any thoughts.

Thanks very much in advance,

Marty

Marty,

Don't think your nuts and of course the Encore, great guitar by the way will give you've all of this. However, if I had to prioritize any of these changes I would want to be able to lower both E's as you have configured your Maverick. There are allot of ways to use that change.

BTW, I have an old Maverick as well so I can relate.

Good luck.

Thanks Jeff! I appreciate the feedback.

i agree. the e's are more important.
and when you get the encore, which is a good choice, you'll get the next most important change....the e's to f's. and you'll have the c pedal. you'll be flying high then!

The maverick is not incapable of both raising and lowering the same string, it just takes a little finagling, which may or may not be worth it to you. You would need to replace the springs on the lowered string with spring-stops to set a center detente for the finger in open position. The lower lever pushes against the spring stop, the raise pulls against the string tension. You can make one with a typical half-stop setup, or even rig one up with a just short length of rod, a spring and a some set collars. If you plan to play that thing a lot between now and September it might be a worthwhile project. And the E-F raise is much more important than the C pedal IMO but you can have both if you add a knee lever. Where are you in California?

Lloyd Green and Jimmy Day never dropped 4.
Ian is correct: there are a few ways to make a pull-release guitar raise and lower the same string, but I'd argue for spending more time on top of the guitar than under it.

Wow, Ian... I had no idea this was possible. For now, though, it's probably too much for me to undertake. I've got my hands full with the guitar as it is now. But thanks very much for the info.

And thanks Chris and Lane. I'm really digging playing and look forward to many, many years of getting better. Lloyd Green never dropped 4? Sheesh. Genius, that guy. i've been trying to learn Sweetheart of the Rodeo stuff. I'll have to approach it with that in mind.

Lloyd could probably do more with your guitar then I could do with my Zumsteel. Probably the most amazing pedal steel guitarist ever. Certainly one of them.

Winnie Winston's book,
http://www.amazon.com/Pedal-Steel-Guita ... 082560169X
is written for the standard Maverick 3 pedal 1 knee lever copedant, without the 4th string lower.

I suggest you return the guitar to its original setup, and get the book and work with it till (and even after) you get the Encore.

Many of us, including me, learned from that book. It is a treasure trove of valuable information. You'll learn many things that you might otherwise not learn by doing this.

Several players don't use the C pedal. For about four/five years, a long time ago, I didn't. Here's something I figured out to use in place of the C pedal and string groups 3,4 & 5 and 4,5 & 6. For 3,4 & 5, use strings 1,3 & 5 w/a & b pedals down. For 4,5 & 6 use 1,5 & 6 w/ AB down. This'll work until another guitar is available. Don't let 1, 3, 5 sustain w/o pedals AB & do the same with 1,5,6 w/AB down. Also, on strings 3,4 you can use the F KL'er which raises 4 to a F# note by moving up one fret. It's the same thing as using BC pedals and not moving up a fret. My thing has always been and still is, find at least two and possibly three ways to play everything. That way regardless what guitar you sit behind you'll have many more options in the bag, so to speak. All pull changer is the way to go also for eliminating tuning issues. Good luck and welcome to the unlimited world of pedal steel guitar !!

I think that you have done the right thing in eliminating the 'C' pedal 4th string raise in favour of lowering the 4th on the knee lever, however, there could be a slight downside:

If my memory is correct, the Maverick has only one knee lever, situated at Right Knee Right (RKR)

In my opinion, this isn't the best place to have a lever that lowers the 4th string (it's fine for the 2nd string though, indeed it's almost a standard), as most steels lower the 4th on Left Knee Right.

If you play the Maverick for any length of time, your brain will be wired up to lower the 4th string on RKR, and you will have to completely relearn when you get the Zum Encore.

You done good. Using the lowered Es is far more practical while you wait on your new guitar.
Don't worry about messing around with the Maverick, you won't decrease its value much because it's not worth much except to get your feet wet.
The Zum Encore will open worlds for you.
JB

Marty, I think Mike and Richard have a good argument in favor of restoring the Maverick to it's original setup. It's true that the E lower is going to be a useful change...perhaps more often used than your C pedal...but not in the RKR position. There's a LOT of muscle memory involved in playing pedal steel, and if you get used to get used to lowering your E's on RKR, you're going to have a lot of un-learning to do when you get a new steel.

I lean towards putting the Maverick back to it's original configuration and learning everything you can do with it...which is more than you might think. If you search the archives, you'll find there are some creative ways of adding levers to your Maverick. If you can figure a way to add that change to LKR, you'll be set for when your new guitar comes.

Totally appreciate the info! Yeah, I've been concerned that the lever will be in a different location when the Encore arrives. There will, undoubtedly, be a lot of unlearning and re-adjusting for the new guitar and lever config. I'll take a look and gauge the effort involved to move the pedal to the other knee on the Maverick.

But even if I leave it where it is, I think the muscle memory issue should be overcome with a few weeks of solid playing. I'm more concerned about just learning and ingraining the string intervals and how the pedals and levers affect those.

Thanks to you all for all the helpful input!

Lane Gray wrote:Lloyd Green and Jimmy Day never dropped 4.

I don't know for sure about Jimmy, but Lloyd most certainly did lower the E's in the early '60s. He said he did away with the change because it caused him tuning problems, and he found other ways to do without it.

I don't recall him dropping FOUR. He definitely dropped 8.

Marty,

September will be here before you know it. That Zum Encore will change your life.

Have you worked out with Doug how you want it set up? Regular 3×5 configuration is standard Emmons. You can opt for a 4th floor pedal. It is an excellent value, but leaves you with a decision to make it P0 or P4, as well as what you want it to do.

Good luck!

Dan

Dont short-change your Maverick. Whereas they are limited in what you can do with them, I played a jam with a man here in Mesa Az this past week who had already packed up his regular steel, so he brought his Maverick. Amazing tone he got from that steel...he sounded absolutely great playing it ! I wish I sounded half as good as he does ! So keep at it, its capable of a lot of good sound in the right hands ! Have fun !

Hey Dan, no... I have only had one conversation with Doug, so far (incredibly pleasant fellow, btw) But, you raise an interesting point. I had planned on just going with the standard 3+5 for that guitar, but a 4th pedal would probably be a good idea.

And, Larry, you're absolutely correct. I usually play at home at very low volume, but occasionally plug into a '60s blackface Bassman head through a 2x12 cabinet. Really nice tone with that guitar. And, yeah, for all its limitations, it's pretty cool to learn on.

My first steel was a Maverick, the one with the burl wrap covering. The pickup on that was a stock Sho-Bud 10K. sounded so BRITTLE AND TINNY. I had that guitar for about 3 months then I ordered a Pro III that took 6 months. Because, Sho -Bud was moving ops from Nashville to Dequeen Arkansas.. My teacher and mentor told that in 3 months I would want to move up.
He was right.
Tommy Shown
SMFTBL

The pickup that was in mine when I bought it would sound thin in some contexts but, with the right amp, was ok. I did replace it with a George L because the single coil hum and buzz was driving me crazy. The new pickup solved the noise problem and I really like the tone much better.

Hi Marty,
Welcome aboard. Wish there had been a forum when I began. Marty, listen to anything Buddy Charleton played behind Ernest Tubb. He created a zillion tons of pretty music and never raised his E strings. He's always worth the time it takes to listen. Just be careful. . . in my case, Charleton was addictive. Here he backs ET on "There She Goes", first with vocal, then with vocal removed.

Listen to the turn-around. It's outstanding, and he could have easily played it on a Maverick.

http://picosong.com/Ra8M


This should be titled: "How To Accompany A Vocalist 101"

I suppose Herby Wallace was righjt. . . I am stuck on The Troubadours"

Enjoy yourself Marty, good to see you here.
Craig

Thanks Craig!

That's a fantastic track... amazing steel (and everything else) playing.

Glad you liked it Marty.
Several months ago I edited quite a few Ernest Tubb tunes removing the vocal. I mixed them all with the vocal first, then the vocal removed for comparison. To my ears, it's almost like being a fly on the studio wall. I've often thought that Charleton sat up on the edge of the bed at night thinking. . . "now let's see. . . if I stick to 2 pedals and one knee lever. . . how can I baffle them tomorrow".
Never get tired of Buddy Charleton's music. Here are several of those tunes:

Oklahoma Hills: http://picosong.com/RNtK

San Antonio Rose: http://picosong.com/RNtd

Walking The Floor: http://picosong.com/RND5

Pass The Booze: http://picosong.com/RKqx

Be Better To your Baby: http://picosong.com/RtZa

There She Goes: http://picosong.com/Ra8M

I Almost Lost My Mind: http://picosong.com/Rahq

I’ll Have Another Cup of Coffee: http://picosong.com/q6QF

An Old Faded Photograph: http://picosong.com/qxND/

How Can I Be Sure: http://picosong.com/qxKy/


Enjoy. . .

Craig Baker 706-485-8792

cmbakerelectronics@gmail.com

C.M. Baker Electronics
P.O. Box 3965
Eatonton, GA 31024

Lloyd's slants always amaze me!