Strange lever question...

[country frank]

Good afternoon everyone and many thanks in advance for reading this.

I have just bought a Carter and am having a couple of lever issues.

Firstly the RKL to the right [thats the furthest lever on the right hand side of the instrument] drops the 2nd string from a D sharp to a D......looking at other info on this and it seems that shouldn't be the case [and i can't see why use that would be anyway].

Also there is no lever to drop the 9th string [9th does nothing], i 'read' that dropping the 9th was desirable for certain shapes....

Question is, are my levers set up all wrong [?]and if so where would i look to rectify this issue?

All the very best from London. Frank.

[Haddock]

Hi Frank
I’m assuming that your ‘RKL to the right’ is actually what we would normally call RKR (right knee right) which is indeed the rightmost lever. With the common Emmons setup, this would indeed drop 2, firstly by a half step till it reaches the same note as 9 and then both would continue lowering another half step if you push the lever further. The 2 drop is vital IMO as it gives you an important note in many situations, for instance a flat 7th for your open chord and the 4th note of the scale associated with the AB chord. Thing to do is have a look at the cross shaft that is worked by the lever and see how many pulls are set up. It may be that the nylon nuts have been slackened and the pedal travel reduced. Easy enough to tell you how to set it once you’ve checked. Also worth writing down what everything else does just to see what you’re dealing with.
Cheers
Calum

[Jim Pritchard]

Hi Frank,
It sounds as though you may have an early Carter, without the 'split tuning' on the 2nd string, and it can be important on some tunes.
The 2nd & 9th strings are usually linked on the same lever, check the cross shafts for roding to the 9th.

I'll add a couple of copendants to let you see the linkages positions for pedals & K.levers.
One is the 'Emmons' set up & the other 'Day' set up, but they can vary on knee lever positions.
If you can add a couple of photos of the end plate & underside, it would be of great help to resolve your issues, Jim

[country frank]

Callum, thank you so much, makes a lot of sense.

Okay the RKR lever is only connected [by 1 rod] to the 2nd string, no other rod from that RKR lever.

There is a position where a second lever could potentially go [nearest to the 9th] , but it looks like it would be fouled by the operating pivot [if that makes sense?].

Essentially should i have 2 rods coming off that RKR lever? one for the 2nd [long one] and one for the 9th [a short one]?

Sorry of the questions without pics, i'll try to work out how to upload a picture of the underside.

Really very much appreciated and many thanks.

[country frank]

Jim, it is an early one, [serial number 22004 indicates 2004?].

There is no rod to the 9th on any lever. Does this mean that this particular Carter simply doesn't have that provision?

In which case i'll stop worrying about it :0)

I'll try and get some pics up.

Really grateful to you guys.

[Danny Mitchell]

Hi gents,

If Frank's guitar is a Carter Starter, then it only drops string 2 a semitone/half step, unless some boffin, such as yourself Calum, or Bob has got a hold of it.

And, Frank, it is a useful change...chordally (Is that a word?) it gives you that high dom7th, and for scales I'll have to pass you over to Calum, roundly acknowledged 8th dan scalemaster of the parrish.

Oops, there's been a few answers put up whilst I've been typing....redundant post

[country frank]

Gents, i have photographed it but cannot yet upload/host pics afraid.

I have written down what knee lever does what though ; In stock E9 tuning we have;

LKL 4th and 8th strings raise from Es to Fs
LKR 4th and 8th strings drop Es to E flats
RKL 5th string only drops B to A
RKR 2nd string only drops from D sharp to D

Sound anything like a pedal steel to you guys?

Many thanks in advance and warmest from London.

[Jim Pritchard]

Hi Frank,
Just gone through my files on the Carter-Starter steels, and this is the standard copendant that is relevant to your steel. (circa 2004)
Hope it makes sense now, there is no connection to the 9th string, and it does not have the split tuning for the 2nd string

[country frank]

Jim, you total star!!

Thats exactly the same 'functionality' as mine so i guess its been fine all along [phew!], i am very much in debt to you for that piece of vital info. Especially as I'm new to the PSG and despite building many, many less complicated stringed instruments over the years this one really frightens the life out of me. Simply NOT knowing squat is the worry, [actually buggering it up and not knowing how to fix it is my biggest concern].

In this case it all looks A Okay!

Jim, beer on me, many thanks my friend.

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

Frank, If you wish to, bring it up here to St.Neots and I will help you get started on it.