The Steel Guitar Forum

If I tune the open E strings and then engage and release the pedals/levers, said strings drift and settle about 8 cents sharp
If I tune the rod for the lower "A" with the pedal engaged (string 6) the open G# drifts sharp as well.
the higher C# rod (string 5) will often go flat during tuning settling sometimes 10 cents flat.
sometimes I can get lucky and sort of "overshoot" to anticipate these problems but it's getting frustrating- I'm spending more time tuning than playing.
I'm new to pedal steel and ready to dig my heels in, (i.e. learn about the mechanics of the instrument and how to tinker with them) but I'm scared to mess with anything without some direction. I'm hoping I don't need to upgrade my instrument yet, I feel like I haven't earned it.

I think your gonna need a better guitar. Someone here may be able to advise you on how to make adjustments to get it closer to pitch but I must add that I had a Carter Starter for years - biggest tuning problem was E to Eb lever wouldn’t drop to pitch. The pedal action isn’t great either so I recently upgraded to a GFI Ultra. The pedal steel is challenging enough without the added frustration of an inferior instrument.

It's probably over-tuned, that's about the only thing that causes strings to drift up. Read the sticky on "Over-tuning" at the top of the page, and follow the instructions to retune.

Also, make sure that the strings aren't pulling at an angle between the nut and the tuning peg. Whenever you restring, wind the strings so that they're as straight as possible. (Strings pulling at an angle inhibit the nut rollers turning easily.)

Donny Hinson wrote:It's probably over-tuned, that's about the only thing that causes strings to drift up. Read the sticky on "Over-tuning" at the top of the page, and follow the instructions to retune.

Also, make sure that the strings aren't pulling at an angle between the nut and the tuning peg. Whenever you restring, wind the strings so that they're as straight as possible. (Strings pulling at an angle inhibit the nut rollers turning easily.)

As far as I can tell, it isn’t overtuned. The fingers all go back to where they’re supposed to be.

On a string that's lowered and comes back sharp (most noticeably one that is both raised and lowered), that is called "hysteresis" and happens to all guitars to varied amounts. The Franklin guitars (and some others) have tunable drop return compensators to tune out the string hysteresis.

Some of the other tuning problems can be affected by the nut rollers. They need to turn free. A drop of oil at the axle for each one will help.

Another problem with string tuning that varies can be the changer mechanism needs oiling so everything works freely. The pedals need to work free and also needs oiling. The cross rods need to be free too (and oiled).

Basically, go over the entire guitar and anything that moves, lubricate (but don't overdo it).

One caution on oiling, DO NOT use WD-40. Use a light weight oil, I've used 3N1 oil for years, many different oils mentioned in forum posts (and even auto motor oil has been used by some builders).

Make sure the springs are pulling the changer back to the full original/starting position.

I borrowed a Carter Starter that had a few years of sparse use and I initially had all kinds of tuning problems. I looked up how to tune the pedals and levers and which strings would be the “middle of the road” E9 set (D’Addario NYXL1138PS) and also lubed every place where there’s metal to metal contact. After doing all that it’s been rock solid tuning-wise. YMMV, but I’m not experienced with pedal steel maintenance and have only been playing for a year at this point. I can tell you that once I got the Carter Starter to behave and be stable I’ve been able to focus on learning and practicing instead of fighting the guitar.

Good luck.

The 6th string on a Carter Starter should be a .022 wound, not plain steel. A plain string might not tune up right.

Here's a link to the Carter Starter owner's manual: https://steelguitar.com/manuals/CSOWNERSMANUAL.pdf

One other thing, added to ALL OF the above . We can't LOOK at the changer and think its back to where it belongs.

Anytime a Pedal Steel is having PITCH issues when "returning", we first BACK OFF all pulls with regard to the string in question. Then ONE at a TIME , while TESTING, adjust the pulls. A very slight insignificant pull which can't be seen, can and will cause this issue. More often than not, when chasing a return issue on a specific string, another PULL is causing the issue, so we chase our tail.

Carter Starters are not known to be great guitars but returning PITCH issues are NOT one of the complaints. Whats occurring here in this discussion can possibly occur on a $10,000 Franklin!

Something is amiss.

RE: example Several months back on my Emmons Legrand II I was having 4th string issues, I backed off all pulls, then put them back, even changed the string. The issue was still there. It drove me nuts. BUT THEN - While investigating, (also called poking around) I happened to notice one of the 4th string Bell Cranks seemed "OFF" in alignment compared to the others. Turns out it was SLIGHTLY loose but tight enough to allow the pull, but not consistent, it was moving ever so slightly with each pull. An easy FIX, tightening the Bell Crank solved the issue.

An Easy Fix, sure, after I realized it had nothing to do with the string or changer adjustments !

I lubed everything that moved and fixed one changer that was not returning all the way. The carter starter is tuning up quite a bit better now. Thanks for the help!!!

Carter Starters don’t have rollers on the nut. Nut is slotted like a regular guitar

Carter Starters have rollers. They're very small and look like the metal ball-ends of guitar strings.