The Steel Guitar Forum

A few years into learning this thing and it’s always my foot that’s my weakness. Sometimes I’m plagued by not getting a pedal all the way down so after a while I’ll adjust it higher to see if that helps which it might temporarily. Other times it’s the opposite and I don’t completely clear the pedals when I want to be off them causing a sharp string so I might set them a bit lower. Or the relative position of A to B with being able to press one without affecting the other so I’ll tweak their heights. I keep hoping I’ll find the sweet spot where it clicks but I’m starting to think that doesn’t exist. I also suspect my ankle isn’t very flexible.

So to you experienced guys, does the adjustment (within reason) make that much difference? Or is the answer the same as how to get to Carnegie Hall?

Pedal height is super important to me and it is worth spending some time dialing it in.

I'm so particular about it... on one guitar, I could not get the A pedal to sit where I wanted it to. It was too tall, but then when I turned the connector just one turn it was too low. Either way was 'workable' and I went back and forth for over a decade.

Eventually, figured out I could swap and repurpose the C pedal's rod (and relabel it as "A" ) because the threads on it just happened to be cut a certain way so that the pedal height was a little different when the connector was aligned and hooked up. Problem solved.

Now THAT'S particular. I doubt any other player can top that for ridiculousness.

I have 60 years of Pedal Steel behind me.

What I've found, and there are posts on this subject with those that agree with me, that you want the A & B pedals to bottom out at the same time/level. Not so much the top positions. On many steels if you set them to bottom out at the same time the "resting" position of the pedals will be at different levels.

How you are sitting, and the height of the seat, at the guitar can affect pedaling. I had a Franklin steel (for 38 years) and sold it last year. I now have a GFI Ultra D-10 and I had to slightly change my position with the GFI to properly pedal the A & B pedals.

I get to the same outcome as Jack but using a different criteria.

My goal is to set the pedals so that there is equal 'clearance' -- air -- under the hovering edge of your foot when comparing the following two moves:

* Twist your ankle comfortably and step on the A pedal while hovering a little over B.

* Twist your ankle the other way and step on B while hovering over A.

I start by setting the B pedal as low as I reasonably can without hitting the floor, leaving a little extra clearance for high carpet or other surfaces you'll encounter at some point. Then adjust the A pedal up or down relative to the B to get that equal 'hovering clearance' when comfortably twisting your ankle each direction.

After making those height adjustments, you'll probably find that the A pedal is a bit higher than B. And you'll find that the pedals bottom out at about the same place, as Jack suggests.

Recently I raised the back legs to get more room above my knees -- then about a month later, my right ankle was killing me and I wasn't playing well -- I forgot to lower the pedals which had risen due to the leg change!