The British Steelies Society

Hi guys,

Sorry for posting like crazy, but I’m in a pickle lol!

5th string raise with A pedal... couple of problems:-

1. Can’t QUITE get it to pitch. Close but no cigar type of thing.
2. No slack in A pedal I.e. you could lay a finger on the pedal and it would start to raise the string.

I expect these issues are both connected I.e. the amount of tuning at the nylon nut required to get the pitch right (or not quite as the case may be) means there is no slack in the train.

I’ve increased the travel of the A pedal at it’s stop as much as possible but this hasn’t helped enough. Am I right in thinking the next thing would be to change bell crank hole? It’s in the second hole at the moment.

Questions are:-

1. By changing the fifth string raise crank hole, must I also change the 10th string raise hole to match? The 10th string raise works perfectly by the way.

2. How do I even change the hole lol?!

I’ve attached a picture (albeit of the crank that belongs to the 10th string, but they’re identical of course) if this helps.

Thanks guys,

Damsel in distress,

Brad

Hi Brad: changing the bell-crank hole was the first thing you should have tried. Attaching the rod to the third hole will provide more movement/distance at the changer and probably would have solved the problem with the same travel at the pedal. Try putting the pedal stop back to where it was and change the bell-crank hole to "3". The pedal pressure needed will increase a little but shouldn't be enough to really notice - knee levers transmit more "feel" to the player than pedals do.
The other thing to consider is which hole the rod goes through at the changer.
Here's the rule - further from the cross-rod at the bell-crank = more movement at the changer and a harder pedal push.
Further from the pivot at the changer = the less movement at the changer and a softer pedal push. It's a balance between the two.
Let's know how you get on?

Thanks so much for your help Tony. I’ll let you know how I get on for sure mate.

In terms of changing the bell crank hole, is it just a case of unscrewing that Allen key, and moving it down (with the rod obviously) down a hole, then tightening up again?

Tony, right on the money mate. Thank you!

Glad to help. I'm guessing you've done it now but the answer to the question "is it just a case of . . . . (etc)" is - yes.

Thanks again Tony!