The Steel Guitar Forum

On my friends Dekley there are no grooves in the centers of the fingers to center the strings as they come across the neck. He can loosen a string, center it up and tighten it but after awhile it finds its way to its most "comfortable" position. This leads to uneven spacing of the strings. It is hard enough as it is! Are all PSGs like this? Asking for a friend?
Thanx for takin the time and keep on trukin.
J.D.

Hi Jerry,

Dekley fingers do not have grooves in them to align strings. PSG fingers usually don't. If a groove develops on the finger, the string sounds like a sitar.

The strings shift a little on my Dekley, but not that bad.......could his shifting string be wrong guage or too loose? Hope you guys find the cause.

.......Pat

Perhaps something is askew at the other end of the strings.

~Lee

Pat Chong wrote:Hi Jerry,

Dekley fingers do not have grooves in them to align strings. PSG fingers usually don't. If a groove develops on the finger, the string sounds like a sitar.

The strings shift a little on my Dekley, but not that bad.......could his shifting string be wrong guage or too loose? Hope you guys find the cause.

.......Pat

I am pretty sure everything is correct. I just put new strings on and sized them with a very good digital micrometer. I was a machinist for fifty years. It is probably just like yours. Me being basically a newbie, 58 year guitar player, I don't know that much about the PSG. The difference in spacing isn't bad but the instrument is difficult enough and if the spacing could be uniform I figured that would help. I am about at the point where I can consistently hit the strings I am aiming for.
Thank you for the answers, I will tell my friend.

Lee Baucum wrote:Perhaps something is askew at the other end of the strings.

~Lee

It could be the loose nut behind the wheel! Everything looks good up that end. I can see two strings distinctly off center on the fingers. I have loosened them, centered them up and retuned them, they eventually wind up wherever their soul feels best.

I have never seen or played a Dekley guitar.
But I have 2 GFIs I work on and play.

Both my GFI Ultras have Stainless steel fingers. The fingers are made of Stainless Steel, By the sintered metal process, Like Tungsten Carbide is made. The fingers are very hard.

There is no marks left on the fingers to show there have been strings on the guitars fingers.
GFI uses the V grove on the back of the finger to attach the ball end of the string.

What I have learned to keep the strings from moving, While bring them to tune. Line the strings up in the center of the finger. Move up the neck 6" or so, with your picks, lightly pick the strings till tuning note is reached. I use my thumb pick, And try to pick as straight up as I can with point of pick.

I found you have to be very careful till you get the strings near tuning tightness with metal finger picks. We put more side pressure on the strings than we realize.
Good Luck and Happy Steelin.

What Bobby says. They won't move once they're up to tension.

Jerry,

Having mentioned "wrong guage or too loose"...... brings up another possibility: (after what Ian and Bobby said), a heavier set of strings might help.....if you have not already tried........

I like using a heavy set, and when tuned, they mostly stay in place......Pat.

Normally, the strings should never move around on the finger once they're brought up to tension, and it goes without saying that you shouldn't picking hard until they're close to full tension. The only things that might make them move is something in the case (when the guitar is cased and moved around) or particularly hard picking, or "shoving" the lower strings with the heel of your picking hand. Of course, any movement of the strings away from their natural "home point" on the finger would throw off the tuning. Depending on the positioning of the ball end and the wrap, the strings may be a few thousandths of an inch "off center", but that should not be enough to be noticeable. And as long as they don't move again, there shouldn't be a problem.

Do you know what particular strings are giving him a problem?

Pat Chong wrote:Jerry,

Having mentioned "wrong guage or too loose"...... brings up another possibility: (after what Ian and Bobby said), a heavier set of strings might help.....if you have not already tried........

I like using a heavy set, and when tuned, they mostly stay in place......Pat.

Then with the heavier gauge strings it is too hard for me press them all the way down to the neck, I will need a heavier bar.
I'm a guitar player, only kidding.

Donny Hinson wrote:Normally, the strings should never move around on the finger once they're brought up to tension, and it goes without saying that you shouldn't picking hard until they're close to full tension. The only things that might make them move is something in the case (when the guitar is cased and moved around) or particularly hard picking, or "shoving" the lower strings with the heel of your picking hand. Of course, any movement of the strings away from their natural "home point" on the finger would throw off the tuning. Depending on the positioning of the ball end and the wrap, the strings may be a few thousandths of an inch "off center", but that should not be enough to be noticeable. And as long as they don't move again, there shouldn't be a problem.
Do you know what particular strings are giving him a problem?

I don't come here that often. I will have to take the recommendations offered and try them out. I have three strings noticeably off center at the moment. As a machinist of fifty years, by eye, I would say they are off .010 to .015 off center. Two strings being off in the opposite direction equates to up to a 32nd of an inch between them. As stated I don't know much about the PSG and will loosen these strings and use the information presented here and see if I can't get them closer. I used the thumb pick when tuning and I could very well have been picking too hard not knowing that might be an issue.

Thank you all for your input, I need all the help I can get.