The British Steelies Society

Hi there,

Not been on for a while since i got my Guitar.

I have a GFI SM10S Student model with 3 pedals and 2 knee levers, (LNL and LNR) I have only just really got to start to find my way around the steel as i have a hectic summer playing out , sadly not on steel.

I think I have run into the limitations of my current set up, and am asking for advice on what to do next. Should I expand my levers? Promanade music can supply additional lever sets for around £120 each , or should I upgrade to a more pro model?

the problem with upgrading is I would have to sell my current guitar and then save and wait for a good used guitar to come up, thus being without for some time.

If I were to add a lever, what one would be most usefull? and is it easy to install?

thanks in advance for the advice.

Darren.

Hi John,

Thanks for the offer,

When i say i have run into limitations i mean i have been using some beginner instructional videos that require right knee levers so im stumped when it comes to those parts as i dont yet know how to overcome the changes.

Im having alot of fun with my current set up and at this point far from going beyond its possiblities but was concerned that i may keep running into these problems as most videos ect seem to assume you have a full set of levers.

It's very useful to be able to lower the 2nd and 9th strings a full tone and a half tone respectively, and this is usually done on the RKR lever.

I think that your steel has a pull-release changer mechanism (but I could be wrong), so the 2nd and 9th fingers would need to be held in the raised position by springs.

Richard, I know it's a while since I had my Marlen, and I'd be the first to acknowledge your experience with those old pull-release changers, but I always thought the fingers were held in the raised (i.e. normal) position for 2 & 9 by string tension alone? I seem to remember the fingers are held against the abutments on the pullrod and then, when you operate the knee lever, you release that tension, so the note lowers. Or are we both saying the same thing?

For me, the next most useful change after E raise & E lower is 2nd string semitone lower.

A picture is worth a thousand words

An alternative

Hi Darren,

I had a red GFI student which sounds similar to yours, 3 pedals and 2 knee levers, if I remember correctly it was LKR E - Eb and RKR E - F. I had it for a few years and got to the same stage as you are probably at now.

Whether to add new knee levers or upgrade to a better instrument. I looked into the options for adding knee levers which is expensive if you are adding genuine GFI parts. I considered getting someone to build them for me or having a go at making them myself. In the end I decided it was either too much money or time for the improvement in the functionality of the guitar.

I had been toying with the idea of a Universal for a while but was concerned that it may be too big a step up from the GFI, on the other hand it would give me years of learning, so I was unlikely to get to the same stage as I did with the GFI.

In the end I bought a Carter U12 from John Roche on this forum and I have not regretted it. Putting aside all the additional options of the Universal, the difference in quality and ease of playing was worth it in itself. The GFI student is a good starter guitar, I enjoyed playing mine and got a good sound from it, but once you have played a professional model you understand why the GFI student is classed as a student guitar.

If you think about it, the GFI is probably worth £500 - 600 resale value, 2 knee levers @ £300 + fitting if you are not confident in doing this yourself. That's getting on for £1k. I bought the Universal for around £1200 and I'm sure there are quite a few quality guitars out there that you could pickup for around the same.

The question for me was - Am I really serious about playing this instrument? The answer was YES, so I made the commitment, it took a while to get the permission slip from my wife but I think I made the right decision.

Hope this helps