The Steel Guitar Forum

So I was cleaning up the 80's MSA Legend XL 12 I bought to learn on and I removed the roller nut to clean and lubricate it (gungy!). With my experience working on electric guitars I thought it would be an easy re-assemble with the depth of the grooves roughly matching the gauge of the strings. Uh, nope!

Problem is with the string gauges I used some strings sit too low under the bar and I don't get clean notes down low on the neck without putting on too much bar pressure.

Does anyone know the factory sequence of the gauged rollers? I figure if I go back to that I might be closer than I am now.

Appreciate the help!

I don't recall that MSA had any gauged rollers in that year- if you see some w deeper grooves they are usually put on the fatter strings.

The rollers are definitely gauged and I thought that it would be an easy job of just matching the roller gauges to the strings - thickest string deepest groove etc. but that didn’t work.
Thing is I didn’t check the string level before I took it apart so maybe it’s just that way, I dunno.

When I've looked at them, the order did not make a lot of sense to me, so there must be something more to it than "fat string - big groove, skinny strings - small groove." My Millie uses different metals for the wound an unwound strings, so that makes it a little easier. I'd suggest loosening the strings enough to be able remove the roller nut (maybe side a bar under the strings, like they suggest when changing pickups, then slide it up towards the nut. Then maybe swap then two at a time (highest for lowest, or whatever seems like it will get you closer), then re-tension strings just enough to straighten them, and put a straight edge on them, and do it again. It will take a bit, but you should end up pretty flat after a few swaps.

my 70's msa buzzes like a swarm of bumlbebees on the first fret of c6 neck so no gauged rollers there.

In general w gauged rollers on the E9th neck the slope is pretty uniform w the exception of string #'s 1 and 2 which is one reason to never cover more strings w your bar than you have to. With the C6th and universal tunings the big strings lift the bar up a bit so typically the 7th and 8th strings can buzz.

Jim Palenscar wrote: the E9th neck the slope is pretty uniform w the exception of string #'s 1 and 2

This is why deeper grooves help on stings 1 and 2, by putting more bar pressure on string 3 so it doesn't sound quite so thin.

I understand your problem.
Do you have a micrometer or dial caliper to do precise/exact measurement with?

If you do, Take a piece of paper and across the paper number 1 to 12. Loosen the strings and raise them off the rollers with like a piece of dowel rod. or plastic pipe, To allow you to remove the rollers.

Take the roller with the largest grove and measure across the roller and 12th string, Write the measurement (which should be a few thousands or fraction of a MM larger than the roller) below number 12 on the paper and place the roller with the number 12 on the paper. Work through measuring all the rollers and strings till you get the same measurement for all rollers with the string in place or a smooth taper from one roller to the next across the nut assembly from string 12 to 1. This should eliminate the problem.

The simplest way to keep the nut rollers in order when cleaning and lubing is take a used guitar string run, And slide the rollers on the string in order. Twist a knot in the string. When ready to install cut the knot off and install back in order on the nut roller.

Hope you understand this suggestion and get back to Happy Steelin.

Not sure if this applies to your Legend, mine was built in 2015/16, so maybe not the same but here is the info anyway. I did exactly the same thing as you when cleaning the rollers, I emailed Mitchell Smithy at MSA and this is what he sent me.





This is the chart we use. A is for aluminum for the plain strings, S is steel for the wound.

Aluminum is the lighter grey color.

The deepest grooves are on the outside strings. The measures are in thousands of inches, but it is easy to tell them apart with good glasses!

So,,is this saying that MSA uses aluminum for the rollers on the plain strings?

Sonny Jenkins wrote:So,,is this saying that MSA uses aluminum for the rollers on the plain strings?

Yes, 20-24 aluminum on the plain and stainless on wound. We did some experiments one day and discovered that this combination was the best sound.

Jim Palenscar on the forum may be able to help figure it out. He makes gauged rollers...

Hey everybody, thanks for all your suggestions and especially Bobby D Jones and Geoff Noble! I'll look at this all again when I get time to put the thing back up on the bench. Right now I'm having too much fun playing it and learning and don't want to break stride.