The British Steelies Society

Hello, first forum post here. I've been trying to find out the answers to some questions I have about how a pedal steel guitar works. If there's anything you can refer me to for answers, or if you have the answers yourself, I'd love to hear from you:

Is it possible to change which strings the pedals and knee levers change, or is that fixed by the design of the guitar itself? For example, if the first pedal raises the pitch of the 5th and 10th strings, can that be changed to the 4th and 9th strings, etc.

If yes:

Is this change something that can be done without permanent modification to the instrument?

Is there a limit to how many strings one pedal can change? For example, would it be possible to set up the first pedal so that it raises the 2nd, 4th, and 8th strings.

Can a single string be changed by multiple pedals? For example, could you have one pedal that raises the 10th string by 1/2 step, and a second pedal that raises the 10th string by a whole step? And, is there a limit to the number of pedals that impact a string?

Yes
Yes
No
Yes

I would say….

Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.

Hi Nick - the absolute answer could depend on the guitar you're on about. Most modern-ish guitars will do everything you want to change. Older and simpler mechanisms can get increasingly difficult depending on how they work.
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