Incorporating a Multi Kord Changer in a Telecaster
Posted: 26 Oct 2023 5:37 pm
Greetings everyone - first time poster. I will start out by saying, I do not play pedal steel guitar, nor do I play lap steel. I am a fingerstyle guitar player inspired by the styles of Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Tommy Emmanuel, etc. I also love building tube amplifiers - particularly a slightly modified version of the Standel 25L15. Two and a half years ago, I had an accident in my shop and lost half of my ring finger on my left hand (I am a right handed guitar player). I did everything I could to save the digit, but after it was reattached, it didn’t take. I was in the hospital for over a week doing leech therapy and I had a lot of time to think about the things that I would and wouldn’t be able to do on the guitar. Over the past few years, I have learned how to play chords differently, but there are still things I can not do. I have found many instances where I could use a string bent up one step - which would complete some chords, or free up a finger to play melodies. If you care to have a look - I made a video a week after my last surgery - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDmKVCRPnkU. Now that you have a context, let’s get to the problem.
Given my unique situation, I need a custom guitar that is capable of bending nearly all of the 6 strings of the guitar with foot pedals. For the past two years, I have been trying to design a system similar in concept to the MSA guitar attachment that Phil Baugh played in the late 70’s, early 80’s. It has been a slow process, because I have purchased a mini lathe and a mini mill and have been trying to learn the skills required for machining small parts, along with having a full time job and family. My designs and inspirations have changed several times over the past few years and I have now settled on wanting to take inspiration steel guitars and incorporate “long” levers. I love the idea of the MSA attachment being able to raise or lower the strings based on how they are loaded. After doing another internet search for inspiration, I ran across the Multi-Kord pedal steel guitar. The changer mechanism looks very interesting - because it might be able to be removed from the steel guitar and transplanted into a telecaster-type body. I have CNC equipment and I could design and manufacture a body that would have the proper cutout for the mechanism to mount into.
The way I see it - I have a few options for exploring if this is doable. I could buy a Multi-Kord pedal steel and harvest the changer mechanism and design a body around that. OR my real question is - do any of you have any changer mechanism parts/assemblies I could buy WITHOUT the pedal steel guitar part. I would feel guilty for cannibalizing a working pedal steel guitar for only the changer mechanism. The last option would be to try and machine all of the parts for the mechanism from scratch using the patent drawings and pictures. This option sounds intriguing, but long in duration. I have had this idea for several years - I am getting to the point where I want to relearn the guitar (again…) to incorporate this bender guitar into my playing. I could also machine a simpler system - not necessarily two fingers - but just one - for raising the pitch.
I am certainly open to other ideas - I know this concept of 6 string guitar bender with foot pedals has been done in the past. I will also add to the mix that I worked with Jimmie Hudson for a short period of time, but his health has declined and he has sold his business. He is a nice gentleman and I do not want to bother him with my projects when he has a lot of other things on his mind. In closing - I’d appreciate your input, ideas, opportunity to purchase parts, etc.
Given my unique situation, I need a custom guitar that is capable of bending nearly all of the 6 strings of the guitar with foot pedals. For the past two years, I have been trying to design a system similar in concept to the MSA guitar attachment that Phil Baugh played in the late 70’s, early 80’s. It has been a slow process, because I have purchased a mini lathe and a mini mill and have been trying to learn the skills required for machining small parts, along with having a full time job and family. My designs and inspirations have changed several times over the past few years and I have now settled on wanting to take inspiration steel guitars and incorporate “long” levers. I love the idea of the MSA attachment being able to raise or lower the strings based on how they are loaded. After doing another internet search for inspiration, I ran across the Multi-Kord pedal steel guitar. The changer mechanism looks very interesting - because it might be able to be removed from the steel guitar and transplanted into a telecaster-type body. I have CNC equipment and I could design and manufacture a body that would have the proper cutout for the mechanism to mount into.
The way I see it - I have a few options for exploring if this is doable. I could buy a Multi-Kord pedal steel and harvest the changer mechanism and design a body around that. OR my real question is - do any of you have any changer mechanism parts/assemblies I could buy WITHOUT the pedal steel guitar part. I would feel guilty for cannibalizing a working pedal steel guitar for only the changer mechanism. The last option would be to try and machine all of the parts for the mechanism from scratch using the patent drawings and pictures. This option sounds intriguing, but long in duration. I have had this idea for several years - I am getting to the point where I want to relearn the guitar (again…) to incorporate this bender guitar into my playing. I could also machine a simpler system - not necessarily two fingers - but just one - for raising the pitch.
I am certainly open to other ideas - I know this concept of 6 string guitar bender with foot pedals has been done in the past. I will also add to the mix that I worked with Jimmie Hudson for a short period of time, but his health has declined and he has sold his business. He is a nice gentleman and I do not want to bother him with my projects when he has a lot of other things on his mind. In closing - I’d appreciate your input, ideas, opportunity to purchase parts, etc.