The British Steelies Society

This is my chair at it's highest and I'm still struggling.
I'm in Ireland so I don't know anyone local who can shorten the legs and pedal rods, I'm not sure if I trust myself to do it either!

Matt, have you tried wearing some higher shoes? (some with a bit of a heel, or a thicker sole etc.). I have the opposite problem to you, but I managed to fix it somewhat by wearing low shoes when I play.

If You contact Ted Nesbitt at Rainbow Music He will know where You can have the legs and pedal rods shortened.

Your seat is too high,Your thighs should be just about parallel with the floor.I think the regular height for a seat is 21 inches,this of course may vary if You are very short.
Good luck and let us know how You get on.
Although I have never heard it done You may be able to have extensions made to clip on to the knee levers.

Hey Zumbilly,
I actually bought the steel from Ted, I know 5'7 isn't tall but I never thought it would be short enough to need modifying things

I wonder if the guitar had been built or modified to suit a tall player ? what is the measurement from the floor to the underside of the end plate, on both My guitars it is 26 inches.I am five foot eight in My hard skin.

I'm 5' 6" on a good day, and I have my pedal bar touching the floor.
I take the rubber feet off the front legs, and adjust the inner part of the legs so that they stick out only as far as the width of the pedal bar.
There is a bit of faffing about with the pedal rod adjusters to get the pedals as close to the floor as possible (when pressed), but then I'm good to go

It's nice to know I'm not the only one with issues!

I measured the guitar at just a smidge over 26" so it's just me having short lower legs

It's not uncommon. My old Fender/ShoBud is 1in undersize and a perfect fit for me. All my other guitars over the years have been "factory standard" height; the KL ends dig in and the strings are a bit high to play comfortably. The first problem is easy, a few inches of rubber tubing over the ends of the KLs, then a cushion on my box-seat (an adjustable keyboard bench works too).
I never altered the guitars in case I wanted to sell them on, but almost all gigging was on the Fender anyway.
I started playing at 5'7" but due to three disc operations, arthritis and age I'm now 5'4" - and mostly on lap-steel!
PS - are you left-handed or is the photo reversed?