The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi,hopefully I can get some pointers on this; On my GFI ultra i'd like to try a wound .022 in place of the plain .020- I had good luck on my Fesse,the problem being the split with the B pedal; The fesse has split screws on the changer- pretty straight forward; I had a rod installed for the split on the GFI.. there's a compensator to the A pedal so all 3 raises are spoken for. Is there a sequence I need to go thru or ??
any help would be appreciated, thanks.

IF I am understanding the situation, consider the fact that you will have less need for a compensator on the 6th string once you put a wound string on there. So you could ditch that rod and use the hole for the extra raise rod from the lower lever.


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Jon-thanks for the reply- I didn't think of not needing the compensator; with the plain I was getting about a 15-20 cent drop with the A/F combination. so..since I already have the split rod, is it just a matter of getting more throw on the bellcrank and/or moving the lever stop with the wound string?

I'm a little confused but let me just address the things I am solid on.

You need more throw and/or leverage with the wound 6th string. On my Fessenden, the G#>F# lower lever requires a VERY long throw (as compared with a plain string). In fact, for this reason I have changed back to a plain 6th and then changed back again to the wound because of how much more stable it is re: cabinet drop.

And the B pedal may or may not need a leverage change---how the raise syncs with the 3rd string will be the biggest issue that might require changing the bellcrank hole/slot.

Jon-I reread my original post- I wasn't very clear about my question-sorry about that. When I got the guitar I had Billy Cooper add the split- the compensator came later. I did try a wound string at some point and got the full drop by moving the stop. the problem was I couldn't get the split to do what it needed to do- I'd set it and the open string would be sharp. I eventually bailed on it and put the plain string back on. I didn't want to start moving rods in the bell crank,I probably would have messed it up completely. Anyway, hope this is clearer, thanks

Part of my confusion is that I use the word compensator for a rod, for instance, from the A pedal to the 6th string, raising it slightly to compensate for cabinet drop. This is the rod that I was suggesting might no longer be necessary with the wound 6.

I really don't want to attempt to address the rest of your post here. Too much chance of getting way out of whack and giving bad info without having my hands on guitar.

Not a problem at all- I was doing a world class job of getting it out of whack WITH my hands on it! thanks again for your replies

I have heard they are easy to work on- I'm probably over cautious; I'll take notes and pics as I'm making changes- once I've done it the overall mechanics will probably make a lot more sense

Is your ultra keyless? I've heard you can drop notes with less adjustment than with a keyed headstock(which I have),or if it's not enough to matter

That shouldn't be a problem, I've got plenty of room on the stop screw; thanks a lot for your help

I have a similar question

I lower my 6th only a half tone (for the minor)

and I want to change it from a plain 20 to a wound 22

is it likely I will need to change the rodding on that bellcrank ?

Thanks (again) Georg. I raise and lower both my 3rd and 6th by a half tone each way.

What are the advantages of a wound .022 over plain .020?

Quentin Hickey wrote:What are the advantages of a wound .022 over plain .020?

It will also keep the tuning more stable, especially one with a bunch of cabinet drop.
Downside, It needs more travel (especially the lower)

Edit: (Georg, I just re read your post. Sorry to repeat.)

On my Ultra that 6th string one step drop is on rkl- it also raises string 1 one step and string 2 a half step; will backing off the nylon tuners be enough,or do you need to change it at the bellcrank?

It might be worth me mentioning, if only for information, how I did a simple modification to an all-pull steel many years ago, to get the changer to drop a wound 6th string a full tone.

The changer finger did not have enough travel to lower a full tone, but I realised that it had an abundance of travel in the raise direction, so I held the finger in a partially raised state by using a spring loaded device, and this was now the open note position.
Thus, I could still raise the note a half tone, and, by lowering the raise to its normal open position, and pulling the lower simultaneously, I could easily get a full tone lower.

Georg Sørtun wrote:

Quentin Hickey wrote:What are the advantages of a wound .022 over plain .020?

For me it is all about "tone", "tone" and "tone", but it doesn't hurt that a wound 6th string is less sensitive to bodydrop detuning than a plain one.

I remember reading once that the wound string sounds better on older guitars, and I can bear this out. I have an ancient pull-release D10 with single-coil pickups, and the wound 6th with the 6-8-10 grip gives a fine baritone growl. When I went to a 12-string universal I sought to replicate that but a plain string actually sounded better. Whether the difference is in the type of mechanism or the type of pickup (or both) I cannot say, but coincidentally on the B6 side of the tuning that string corresponds to the 4th (A) on the C6, and who would put a wound on there?

Georg Sørtun wrote:

Quentin Hickey wrote:What are the advantages of a wound .022 over plain .020?

For me it is all about "tone", "tone" and "tone", but it doesn't hurt that a wound 6th string is less sensitive to bodydrop detuning than a plain one.

I'm with you Georg I'm all about the tone. I am assuming it will warm up the tone a bit. I will try this on my gfi ultra.