The Steel Guitar Forum

Has anybody noticed a difference in bodydrop between the Day and the Emmons setup, or is there no difference at all. Just out of couriosity.

Sincerely
Philipp Friedrich
Trier/Germany

Yes, word on the street (OK, this Forum) is that the Day setup will reveal a guitar's inherent cabinet drop slightly more than will the Emmons setup.

This is because we spend so much time stepping on the AB pedals; the Day setup puts those pedals closer to the middle of the cabinet. The Emmons setup has the AB pedals closer to the corner of the cabinet, where there is more support from the front leg.

On most guitars, the difference would be so small that it should not be an issue. The decision as to whether to use the Day or Emmons setup is all about which way your ankle bends easiest, since we spend so much time stepping on B-pedal while going on and off of the A-pedal.

But you could easily check the difference on a given guitar, using the drop on the 4th string as the common denominator. Temporarily unscrew the nut on the 4th string raise on the C-pedal, turning it into a sort of fake A-pedal (fake, because it doesn't move 10th string). This allows you to compare the change on the 4th string when you step on pedals 1 and 2 (Emmons), and then 2 and 3 (Day). You can also do this to see which way your ankle likes to move, since you have two versions of the AB pedal combination to try out.

In my experience, Day setups, and "0" pedal guitars have increased cab drop.

All other things being equal, the PSGs with the least cab drop will be the D10 with no Zero pedal, and the worst cabinet drop will be an S10 with a Zero pedal. The Day setup will be similar for reasons mentioned in previous posts.

For some reason push pull guitars are relatively resistant to cabinet drop. Don’t know why but they are. And 12 strings are worse than 10 strings.

John

I think this whole "cabinet drop" issue is a vastly overblown debacle. Most of the time I've found other players having an issue with "drop", it's been caused more by too much pedal pressure being applied after the pedal hits the stop than it has by anything else. Cabinet drop may change how you have to play and tune, but I've never seen it make a guitar unplayable.

Donny Hinson wrote:I think this whole "cabinet drop" issue is a vastly overblown debacle. Most of the time I've found other players having an issue with "drop", it's been caused more by too much pedal pressure being applied after the pedal hits the stop than it has by anything else. Cabinet drop may change how you have to play and tune, but I've never seen it make a guitar unplayable.

+1 Donnie

Every guitar I have ever owned had some cabinet drop. The thing is, I can't remember a time when I was playing or doing sessions where I could detect it and hear even the slightest amount of de-tuning. Maybe I unconsciously adjust who know. My 2 Cents

What Mike Scaggs said!

Yep.

Mike Scaggs wrote:

Donny Hinson wrote:I think this whole "cabinet drop" issue is a vastly overblown debacle. Most of the time I've found other players having an issue with "drop", it's been caused more by too much pedal pressure being applied after the pedal hits the stop than it has by anything else. Cabinet drop may change how you have to play and tune, but I've never seen it make a guitar unplayable.

+1 Donnie

Every guitar I have ever owned had some cabinet drop. The thing is, I can't remember a time when I was playing or doing sessions where I could detect it and hear even the slightest amount of de-tuning. Maybe I unconsciously adjust who know. My 2 Cents

What Mike says for sure. Cabinet drop is the most over blown subject in the steel guitar world. Most never even knew what it was until electronic tuners came along. It's usually any where between 1 and 4 cents on a tuner. If you can hear that during normal playing and if your bar is 2 cents accurate at all times, you are either blessed or cursed with perfect pitch hearing. Take up a fretted instrument and quit gripping.

I noticed that the guys that say it's a non-issue have push pulls. I certainly hear it in my string 4 with my 1988 Emmons Legrand. Makes me want a push pull. Is it all about the cabinet? Could it also be the bridge shaft slightly bowing?