Primer for beginners on PSG terms

[Tim Wells]

My first time posting so bear with me. Looking through here on the various sections of the forum, I have searched for a thread that explains the parts and different features the variations have in the changer for example. Terms are tossed around freely that those in the know understand. What I'm talking about are things like "fat back", "bolt on", Franklin pedal", "split tuner" etc...

Some parts are fixed in some guitars and can't be changed as you learn and want different raises and lowers on a given pedal. I'll eventually sort out which guitars are which in that regard. I'm on the cusp of buying my first and only guitar and want to make the right choice for my needs. Understanding the basics, like how a push/pull guitar works as opposed to an all pull and other common differences in one thread would be mighty helpful. Case in point. The only thing I've found when people discuss push/pull is that the learning curve is steeper. I've never read why, what brands have push/pull only mechanisms and the like.

When I first started looking into the subject, I'd read countless folks talk about Emmons and their great tone. Then in the same breath mention they were push/pull. Being completely ignorant on the subject, I dismissed that brand altogether because I assumed that if I pushed a pedal and at the same time pushed the wrong other pedal or knee lever, I'd get my eye poked out by the string I just busted by doing so. I hated that because I'm a tone freak and I like keeping my eyeballs in tact, so I wrote Emmons off to be played only by pros.

If someone knows of a link that'd be great. My eyeballs are bloodshot from staring at this screen searching threads and videos on the tube looking for answers. Thanks.

[Bill McCloskey]

Wow, nice can of worms you opened. You'll get a ton of good advice, no doubt. I'll start it off simple: you don't need to know the terms you listed, at least not now, but the short answer is: the franklin is a pedal lowers the 5,6th and 10th string to get a change that Paul Franklin invented, or at least is named for him. You don't need a Franklin pedal at your stage. You don't need to worry about splits, which are ways of tuning the guitar so that you can tune a note "in between" two pedal combinations. Simply put, if you have a change that goes from E-F# on one pedal and a change that goes from E to Eb on another, you could tune and get the F when you press both changes if you had splits. I wouldn't worry about splits.

I'd get a simple 3x4 or 3x5 Emmons setup, with the E's lowered and raised on the left knee. At the moment, the Show Pro Early Bird has that configuration, doesn't have a long wait time, is relatively inexpensive, and if you decide to upgrade, you can probably get what you paid for it back.

[Tim Wells]

Thanks for kicking things off. The reason I mentioned all this is that in looking at guitars all over the place, I find these terms in their respective descriptions. The more I know about them and what these terms refer to, the better decision I'll make in my purchase. It won't be any kind of starter guitar. A double 10 with good tone is the first requirement. It will be in a room for the rest of my life, never outside, so if it's as heavy as my Hardinge lathe, so be it cause I ain't packing it anywhere.

If it has an extra pedal assigned to that Franklin mod, then so be it. Another thing it has to have is the ability to change pedal function if I want to add something past the usual Emmons setup. I wen't to the sho-pro site to look at the one you suggested and it was a waste of time, looks like something cobbled together with 3 guitars for sale, and none of them an early bird. A lot of makers are out of business again which seems to run in cycles since I first started getting interested about 15 years ago. That to me is a little concerning but only to a point as I can make just about any part on the guitar if need be. I've got a lathe and a mill and ain't scared to use em'.

I collect photos of each brands undercarriage to see how they're made and some are more well thought out than others I've noticed and they all have come a long way in that regard, CNC making things a lot easier. I'm just trying to educate myself. I'm retired and don't have the income or time to buy more than one, or the wrong one. It's a one shot deal. There are a couple in the classifieds that seem to be what I'm after but I'll wait and see. I'll know a lot more tomorrow via a phone call to one of our members that'll give me a crash course on some of this confusion. Thank you again.

[Tevis Maloney]

viewtopic.php?t=410386
Thread on Show Pro Early Bird

https://justicesteelguitars.com
Probably the most reasonably priced steel that I've found. Lot's of options.

I started in January of this year. I didn't know sh#* about PSG. I met Ron from Justice at the SWSGA show here in Mesa.
Super nice guy and very helpful. Bought an S10 and I'm having a blast learning to play.

This is a great place to learn about it. Lot's of helpful people on this forum.
Best of luck on your search Tim.

Tevis

[Fred Treece]

This is a pretty good technical resource
https://www.steelguitar.com/#panel-3
Also, have a look at the Builders’ Corner section of the Forum.

[Tim Wells]

I stumbled on that page about 4 this morning and learned most of what I was looking for. Especially in the builders section. What a great forum! Thanks.