The amount of pressure used and/or required to activate the pedalsĪll things being equal, detuning will decrease in each of the following 4 cases:.
EMMONS PEDAL STEEL GUITAR 10 STRING MANUAL ACTIVATOR
Construction and design of the pedal activator and stop mechanisms.Volume and type of wood or metal used in a cabinet.The amount of cabinet drop is basically a function of any one or a combination of these 4 things: Is this accurate? What causes cabinet drop, anyway?Īll pedal steel guitars have some cabinet drop (physical detuning). I heard recently that a manufacturer is claiming that lightweight steels have compromised cabinet design, leading to the "dreaded 'cabinet drop'" (detuning as the pedals are depressed). If the hum still does not go down to what you deem to be a reasonably acceptable level, you should contact your pedal steel guitar builder and see what kind of humbucking pickup they recommend.Also, try doing the tests mentioned (in #1 and #2) above after moving your steel and accessories away from various sources of light, such as fluorescent lighting, black lights, stage lights, and so on.
The purpose of this is to change the direction of the flux field from the power transformer(s) in the amp and/or rack so as to reduce 60-cycle hum from being induced into the coil of the pickup. Then, try moving and reorienting the amplifier head and/or effects rack, which you keep near the guitar (keyhead and/or pickup end). If your cords, volume pedal and effects are all fine, then reconnect all of them.
The main reason that you get less hum when both necks are "on" is that your impedance is reduced by half, thereby lowering the signal level being passed to your amplifier by your guitar and volume pedal. Why do I get less hum with both necks on? However, if I just increase the volume and low-end to compensate for the lost power and tone, I get the same sound as having only 1 neck switched on, but I get less hum. I have found that if I put my bank switch in the middle position (turning on both necks), I lose power and tone. I play a D-10 (with single-coil pickups).