The Steel Guitar Forum

I’m the new owner of a ZB Custom Student model serial number 199S. I’m guessing this is is early 1970’s?

It has a RKL knee lever and looks like it had a RKR lever at one time and I’d like to add it back.

Looking for description or pictures of how to convert the pushing of the lever to the right to cause a changer pull to the left. I have a Cougar 8 string that has a reversing gear to accomplish this but I’m thinking the clever Zane Beck had a better way.

Hook it up under the cross shaft instead of on top.

Jett,

Here are a couple of photos of a ZB S-10 that I worked on last year for a customer in Idaho.





Wing nuts were typically used to attach the pull rods to. They would just saw off one of the wings and drill a hole in the other one.

Good luck in finding ZB parts, as they are very scarce!

What does that little print on the undercarriage side say? Something warranty something meat co.?

Pete McAvity wrote:What does that little print on the undercarriage side say? Something warranty something meat co.?

I believe the word is heat, not meat.

Thanks Jim and Lynn!

Simple and efficient. I didn’t think there would be room above the rod but those close-ups show exactly how to do it. Thanks for the wing nut tip!

Would love to find a matching ZB knee lever but maybe I’ll put two matching new ones on.

The warranty stamp says the Uvex finish is not covered if put in extreme heat. But meat makes it more interesting

I’ve been building and playing acoustic and electric guitars for 35 years and grew up in Arkansas, too bad I didn’t discover ZB back then!

Thanks, Lee. Zooming in helps.
Now what the hell is a Uvex finish?

I believe Uvex was the vacuum formed plastic covering the ZB student models came with.It saved time by not having to lacquer the body. My first steel (ZB student) recently showed up at a local music store and the blue plastic was cracked and peeling off, pretty ugly. And I used to think it was so cool looking!

Thanks to Billy Knowles who found me some ZB knee levers and assorted hardware and lots of useful posts on the forum, I was able to add an “F” lever to my ZB Custom Student S10.

A little welding shop around the corner put my F lever rods together. I drilled the two holes in the end plate.

Because the changer is so close to the RKR, I didn’t have room to attach the raise rods directly to the RKR lever rod. So I added a reversing pivot arm that sits on a block of aluminum. The pull rod equalizers that Billy sent were perfect.

RKL is E to Eb because moving to left on the fretboard lowers the pitch.
RKR is E to F because moving to the right on the fretboard raises the pitch.
I respect others who have different opinions!

Now I can add a diminished 7th chord to my limited bag of tricks.