The Steel Guitar Forum

Mike Headrick has quite a Zum; In the picture I think I can see a cluster of left knee levers that includes a vertical and then a second set of two additional left knee levers. So that would be five left levers. Also the right knee lever cluster looks like it has an additional vertical, so there appear to be eight knee levers in total here. But my question is about the additional pedal. He has a four pedals on the left side and then a fifth pedal on the right, quite separate from the other four. More than the knee levers, I am intrigued by the fifth pedal. I checked several photos to make sure I wasn't seeing double, and he has the same pedal set up on at least one other instrument he owns, not the Zum pictured here. Any comments on the fifth pedal and its location? Please don't tell me I need glasses. What does he use the fifth pedal for, and why is it located separate from the other four?

I searched and couldn't find a copedent anywhere for Mike. There is a contact email on his website, I suppose one could email him and ask to post his tuning. There is a good picture on his site as well that clearly shows the fifth pedal near the volume pedal.

I'm curious as well - hope we get to the bottom of this!

Russ Hicks used to have a pedal located at the other end of his JCH - it made sense because he could use it in conjunction with his left foot simply by taking his right foot off the volume-pedal.

I don't know what he had on it but it struck me as a good idea.

This is from 2005 but I think this might be what you guys are looking for

My Lord - What a set up; There's a lot more in those pedals than meets the eye. Sacrificing the ninth string D to get a tenth string G# is just the beginning !

I'll bet that Zum is a little "busy" under the hood with all that hardware! I'm a big fan of Mike's playing.

You're right, Jeff - look at the changer-end! Highly populated, isn't it?

Thank you to Jeff for the Copedant. Trying to understand the use of the fifth pedal here in the 10th position; I can see the first pedal is a Franklin pedal, lowering the 5th and 6th strings in the zero position; then A-B-C pedals, more or less normal Emmons, except for the split changes involving the low G#. So for the 5th pedal in the 10th pedal position, it looks like one of the uses would be simultaneously with A + B engaged to get a 7th chord, and the pedal needs to be separate in that case taking the place of a knee lever change; What else is going on here?

If I remember right Mike told me he had a combo of 14 pedals and levers. Hes a great Steel Player as well a hot Tele Player. He's a great studio musician.

Mike does have a lot of pedals and he can really play too. Mike has produced excellent tabs and the best tracks out there. In my opinion, Mike is a Hall of Fame player. Plus, he is great guy.

i agree,
mikes stuff is excellent!

Here is the Title cut from my up coming CD Called (Love is Not Always a rose) written by my friend Ruthie Steele. This song was produced by Mike and recorded in his Studio. He is playing Steel on this song along with Guitar. www.soundcloud.com/dobkins/love

Richard, please check your Forum PMs Thanks, steve t

Mike is a very very accomplished E9th player!! I have all of Mike's material and I cannot get enough. He is prolific in producing albums. I have always known this pedal as the Ralph Mooney pedal. Hans De Jong has it also and I know he is a Ralph Mooney fan. Never really delved too deeply into it.
This is one of the finest instrumental steel guitar albums out there IMO.
Mike might like to chime in here.

That guitar is for sale in Steel Guitars for sale section here on the forum.

I see the 5th pedal is removed now.

That Zum is a wonderful guitar! "Smoooth as buttah". The 5th pedal lowered the 7th string a half step and raised the first a half step. I have pretty much the same setup on my Mullen G2, which I love dearly.

I appreciate the remarks by Bill and others.

Jeff, thank you for the very kind words and your on-going support. I hope to see you in Dallas next year.

Current owner of this exceptional Zumsteel SD10 4+8. It still has the cross rod and crank for that 5th pedal, just not the pedal and rod.

I'm reluctantly contemplating putting it up for sale in the near future. If anyone is interested, I can provide more info.

Here's a jawdropping gut shot.

I am a big fan of Mike's playing, recording, and his rhythm tracks!
I listened to his playing on his Steel Wheels and Heart Of The Night CD's just yesterday on a road trip. He plays many styles on various instruments over the course of those CD's. Really inspiring to hear for a Country Rock fan like myself.
I am a fan of his Copedant, too! I think this is the first time I've seen it. Similar to a 10 string Uni in many ways.

Concerning the OP's question about the 5th pedal, I could be wrong but, here's a couple observations... on a Universal tuning, you typically don't have a D-string on string-9 (strings 9 and 10 are the same as Mikes), and when you lower your E's to Eb, you are in the B6th tuning. Mikes P5 is the same as P5 on a Universal or C6th tuning. So when playing in 6th mode, two frets back from your open 6th chord, with P5 added, is a 7th chord. It also makes a great diminished chord when combined with Mikes RKL2 (like P5+P6 on Uni or C6th).
That high F# to G also has some Mooney and Buddy Cage applications in E9th mode, and being over by the volume pedal allows for easy usage in combination with AB or BC pedal combos.
Great ideas.

Now posted for sale on forum.