The Steel Guitar Forum

First off, let me say that yes, I did do a search through the archives for a PSG maintenance checklist, but did not find anything that satisfied my curiosity around this. Or at least, not all in one place. So here's the thing:

Have been a PSG player for all of 14 months now, but aside from changing strings I have not carried out any routine maintenance on my GFI Ultra. I am not sure it requires all that much, but then again, I give my acoustic and electric guitars and other instruments an annual cleaning and check up, so why not my PSG? Aside from general cleaning and gently removing any dust/grime, what suggestions do folks have?

I play it practically every day, and it is covered with a dust cloth when not in use. Always set up and practically never in its case, I only occasionally take it somewhere, otherwise it stays in its spot in my music room.

This wickedly cold Canadian winter is the perfect time to stay indoors and putter on some guitar projects.

What sort of checklist would you more experienced players suggest?

http://steelguitar.com/# I like to refer players to this site. May not be anything specific concerning time intervals, but valuable info concerning the pedal steel.

I wrote a whole lot, but I really think GFIs need no lubrication.

They have Delrin, and no roller nut. The only place I can think of would be the changer. I oil my changers once a year, give or take. Very lightly.

I would offer the aircraft mechanic's maxim of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". My homemade guitar is four years old now. I changed the strings recently as some of them felt unresponsive, and last year I put a drop of oil in the changer around one string that wasn't returning (I knew the spring tension was correct).

Next time something goes wrong I'll mend it. I don't keep it covered up - I mean to but I forget.

I applaud the desire to keep an expensive investment in tip-top condition, but it's not a car. Or a horse.

Not sure about nut rollers on the GFI Keyless series? If your guitar is a GFI ULTRA key head guitar, It will have a set of nut roller. They may need attention. When I bought a used GFI ULTRA I had a problem with a zing off the nut roller on one string, It needed fixed. You cannot remove the shaft from the nut rollers without something extra. It will not clear the key head brackets. With the strings off the guitar. You have to go under the guitar and remove 2 screws under the nut roller bracket to take the bracket off. I found the roller slot on that string had a piece of powder coat in the slot catching the roller, would not roll. A little needle file work corrected it. May want to lube the brass bell crank connectors too. You may want to get 3 or 4 plastic tuner nuts so if tuner strips, To be safe. Good Luck and Happy Steelin.

Gene Fields gave me a fairly lengthy lecture in his GFI shop in Arlington. ca 1992. It was all about this subject. He was very adamant that GFI was made to play, not work on. I had created issues by lubricating and tweaking here and there. Gene cleaned everything up with compressed air and cloth. Readjusted etc. No more problem.

The take away for me. On GFI, less is more. Just keep it clean and good strings on it.

~Bill

I recommend you make sure all the screws that hold the guitar together are nice and snug. The same goes for the various braces and brackets located under the guitar. (Neck screws should be left alone.)

While you're at it, check all the screws on the case. On more than one occasion I have found loose screws on case hardware.

Lee, from South Texas

Good advice, all. Thanks very much for the response.

Yes, gentle blasts off compressed air and a clean microfiber cloth are often the best tools. And I hear you regarding "if it ain't broke". I certainly have no intention of messing with it without good reason.

Thanks also for the the links. Very helpful.

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The attached picture is the changer cross shaft from a 5 year old GFI Ultra. This guitar was never played every day. As you can see this changer has a great deal of wear and is not going to last forever at the rate its going.
You make your own decisions, as for me, I remove the cross shaft every year and apply a thin coat of grease. Once you have removed the strings, you can knock out the cross shaft with a brass or hardwood drift. Leave the drift in the changer to hold the fingers in place and reassembly will be much easier.
This same guitar also had considerable wear on the brass ferrules that slide into the bell cranks, especially the ones that operate the pedal pulls. It’s quite apparent that brass and stainless are not the most compatible friction materials to be rubbing together. I try to oil those ferrules twice a year.

Oil lightly once a year at Christmas on moving parts with Remington oil.

Jerry Overstreet wrote:http://steelguitar.com/# I like to refer players to this site. May not be anything specific concerning time intervals, but valuable info concerning the pedal steel.

THANKS JERRY!!!!

Dan Behringer wrote: The attached picture is the changer cross shaft from a 5 year old GFI Ultra. This guitar was never played every day....

Good photo. A pic says a thousand words. Clearly, modest lubrication is never a bad idea and a little maintenance goes a long way.

Thnx for everyone's input on this.