The Steel Guitar Forum

Hey SGF hive mind,

Long story/short, I wound up with a wicked '74 P/P in the last year. Love the guitar, but it's already starting to present some minor issues here and there. I understand with regular maintenance these things will last forever, so I want to try to get ahead of the 8 ball and learn a thing or two before a) my guitar falls into a state of disrepair, and b) there's no one around that knows how to work on the dang thing.

I'm wondering who out there in the steel guitar community is a P/P guru? Specifically, I'm wondering who might be open to teach an in-person crash course in P/P mechanics/trouble shooting/& maintenance?

I'm located in Canada but am willing to travel (pandemic permitting) to meet with someone.

One final thing is that I've barked up trees like this before, and while I know there are some real genius' out there, I'm hoping to work with someone who's easy to get along with. So please keep this in mind if you're making any recommendations.

All the best,

Ian

I recommend the Clem Schmitz dvd

Thanks - I should mention that I have Clem's book & DVD. Looking for in-person instruction if possible.

- Ian

Tommy Cass in Massachusetts
Lynn Stafford in Oregon

There are others but these two have earned my vote

The only guy I can think of in Canada that knew anything about push pulls has moved back to Michigan ( Wiz Feinberg) however in my recent talks with the new owners of the Emmons company, they plan to have trouble shooting videos to solve issues players may encounter. Their website is going to be very informative and innovative. It wouldn’t hurt to email them because perhaps they can talk or FaceTime/Skype you through your issues. Billy Knowles, Lynn Stafford , Tommy Cass, or Buck Reid are also options for this notion, best of luck.

Clem.

Hi Ian, John Lacey may be able to help you. If I remember, he wrote a book on setting up and adjusting push pulls. And, I believe he lives in Alberta?

Took me awhile to remember John Lacey's blue webpage, or the archive of it, minus a couple graphics:

https://web.archive.org/web/20130719225 ... guide.html

Gene Tani wrote:Took me awhile to remember John Lacey's blue webpage, or the archive of it, minus a couple graphics:...

It's here on the forum in the PP tuning sticky: https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtop ... 84#2823384

Dave Grafe wrote:Tommy Cass in Massachusetts
Lynn Stafford in Oregon

There are others but these two have earned my vote

I second that emotion. Lynn did the set up on my Promat D-10 over three years ago.
It is now a perfect steel in every way. Amazed to say that I have not needed to even tweek a thing since I got it back and it stays in tune perfectly.
Thank you Lynn (The Master Of PP Steels)

Mike Cass in Nashville, tho I don't know if he's working on them these days.

Billy Knowles (North Carolina), Craig Holden (Austin TX)

Coolest!

Also from Canada.

I am a month away from completely rejigging my P/P uni coped which I intend to do myself. I know it will be a gong show mostly because it looks like a P/P coped is built in layers with little tolerance for errors on slack etc. String pull timing using springs and thumbwheels adds to the complexity.

I would be very open to a group skype lesson.

Tom, did you get a hold of Lloyd Rotz? He’s a retired car mechanic (teacher) who worked on Tim Jefferies steel and I think he did a good job of it. He lives in Calgary.

John Lacey wrote:Tom, did you get a hold of Lloyd Rotz? He’s a retired car mechanic (teacher) who worked on Tim Jefferies steel and I think he did a good job of it. He lives in Calgary.

Thanks for the contact name. If I cannot find his ph #, will PM you to get more details.

Tom, I know he’s got some time on his hands and has approached me about buying a beater Emmons to work on, so he might be interested in dealing with your guitar.

East:Billy Knowles
West: Lynn Stafford