Help needed with Fessy.
Moderator: Dave Mudgett
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Dave Seddon
- Posts: 704
- Joined: 23 Jan 2001 1:01 am
- Location: Leicester, England.
Help needed with Fessy.
I recently bought a D10 Fessenden and I'm a bit baffled when it comes to the pedals. It seems the pedal adjustment screws are in use when the pedals are not depressed. When the pedals are depressed the stop screw is a fixed Allen screw, so it seems to me that you would have to press the pedal and tune the string to the raised note ie, when A pedal is pressed tune the string to C# at the key head then release the pedal and tune to B with the adjustable pedal screw like you would a pull release. I don't understand why the adjustable screw is where it is. I would appreciate any help or advice, I am in the UK and don't know anyone over here with Fessy. Thank you. Dave.
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Dave Grafe
- Posts: 5264
- Joined: 29 Oct 2004 12:01 am
- Location: Hudson River Valley NY
Re: Help needed with Fessy.
Hard to tell from your description what your issue is.
There is a large hex head fixed pedal stop in the front apron that requires no adjustment. There is a smaller hex head screw in the pedal rod receiver that sets pedal location when released, the two combined set total pedal travel. Neither is used for tuning.
The tuning keys on the left end set the resting i.e. no pedals pitch. The raise and lower pitches are tuned with the nylon hex nuts at the changer end.
Review the sticky re: over- and under-tuning, there should be slack in all pullrods when no pedals or levers are activated. If all is as it should be you should first tune all strings at the keyhead, then the raises and lowers at the changer. NO TUNING SCREWS ARE LOCATED UNDER THE GUITAR.
There is a large hex head fixed pedal stop in the front apron that requires no adjustment. There is a smaller hex head screw in the pedal rod receiver that sets pedal location when released, the two combined set total pedal travel. Neither is used for tuning.
The tuning keys on the left end set the resting i.e. no pedals pitch. The raise and lower pitches are tuned with the nylon hex nuts at the changer end.
Review the sticky re: over- and under-tuning, there should be slack in all pullrods when no pedals or levers are activated. If all is as it should be you should first tune all strings at the keyhead, then the raises and lowers at the changer. NO TUNING SCREWS ARE LOCATED UNDER THE GUITAR.
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Jim Pitman
- Posts: 2044
- Joined: 29 Aug 1998 12:01 am
- Location: Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA
Re: Help needed with Fessy.
I owned a Fessey.
Sounds to me like your pedal travel is too short. There should always be some slack.
B to C# change- Slowly back off on the associated raise tuning nut at the changer end until it has no influence on the pitch of the string. Tune to B string pitch at the key head. Now press the pedal down.
Can you reach C# pitch?
From your description, my guess is you can't and you fall short because it is hitting the pedal stop prematurely.
Screw in the associated pedal stop in a full turn. Actuate the pedal again and see if you reach pitch. If you do (you may even go beyond pitch - sharp) that's good. If you still can't, continue to screw the pedal stop in until you can. I would keep the guitar right side up during this process, however awkward.
Retune the B sting at the kley head, retune the C# change at the tuner and test if you are tuning stable, pedal actuated and pedal not actuated.
Here's a test to see if you have enough slack. Guitar upside down, pedal not actuated, grab the axle it is mounted on and attempt to rotate it by hand. It should not be so tight that it is pulling its' raise scissor in the changer at all. You should be able to rock it a little before it engages the the raise scissor.
I've noticed with all all-pull mechanisms there is a trade off regarding pedal travel and slack. Too little and you can't tune to pitch, too much slack and the guitar gets noisy mechanically especially if you have springs that counter the weight of the pedal. (Fessy doesn't). Normally the weight of the pedal and it's rod will take the slack out when the guitar is right side up. By noisy I mean you will hear a click when actuating a pedal and the pullers engage the pull rods.- this is the down side of pedal counter weight springs. The positive is you will never experience tuning problems that go away when you turn the guitar over. (which I have had on occasion)
If you have raise helper springs, they may be too aggressive and not allow the raise finger to come back to its' stop at the changer which is another tuning problem. My Fessey had these. The intention being to make pedal actuation take less force. I would start out by not connecting these. Get the guitar tuning stable and then you can experiment with setting the raise helpers more or less aggressive.
Here's another couple variables - location of pull rod in the puller (closer or further away from the body) and location of same at the changer end, ie 1sr, 2nd, or 3rd raise hole. The chosen locations affect fast/short travel vs long/slow travel when you actuate a pedal. Longer travel will result in less pedal actuation pressure needed. I personally like long travel for the B to C# change so you can get the classic soulful slow 2 to three 3 change.
Feel free to call me if you like - Eight zero two, 825-2882. If you PM me your phone number, I'll be able to distinguish it from robo calls and actually answer my phone.
Sounds to me like your pedal travel is too short. There should always be some slack.
B to C# change- Slowly back off on the associated raise tuning nut at the changer end until it has no influence on the pitch of the string. Tune to B string pitch at the key head. Now press the pedal down.
Can you reach C# pitch?
From your description, my guess is you can't and you fall short because it is hitting the pedal stop prematurely.
Screw in the associated pedal stop in a full turn. Actuate the pedal again and see if you reach pitch. If you do (you may even go beyond pitch - sharp) that's good. If you still can't, continue to screw the pedal stop in until you can. I would keep the guitar right side up during this process, however awkward.
Retune the B sting at the kley head, retune the C# change at the tuner and test if you are tuning stable, pedal actuated and pedal not actuated.
Here's a test to see if you have enough slack. Guitar upside down, pedal not actuated, grab the axle it is mounted on and attempt to rotate it by hand. It should not be so tight that it is pulling its' raise scissor in the changer at all. You should be able to rock it a little before it engages the the raise scissor.
I've noticed with all all-pull mechanisms there is a trade off regarding pedal travel and slack. Too little and you can't tune to pitch, too much slack and the guitar gets noisy mechanically especially if you have springs that counter the weight of the pedal. (Fessy doesn't). Normally the weight of the pedal and it's rod will take the slack out when the guitar is right side up. By noisy I mean you will hear a click when actuating a pedal and the pullers engage the pull rods.- this is the down side of pedal counter weight springs. The positive is you will never experience tuning problems that go away when you turn the guitar over. (which I have had on occasion)
If you have raise helper springs, they may be too aggressive and not allow the raise finger to come back to its' stop at the changer which is another tuning problem. My Fessey had these. The intention being to make pedal actuation take less force. I would start out by not connecting these. Get the guitar tuning stable and then you can experiment with setting the raise helpers more or less aggressive.
Here's another couple variables - location of pull rod in the puller (closer or further away from the body) and location of same at the changer end, ie 1sr, 2nd, or 3rd raise hole. The chosen locations affect fast/short travel vs long/slow travel when you actuate a pedal. Longer travel will result in less pedal actuation pressure needed. I personally like long travel for the B to C# change so you can get the classic soulful slow 2 to three 3 change.
Feel free to call me if you like - Eight zero two, 825-2882. If you PM me your phone number, I'll be able to distinguish it from robo calls and actually answer my phone.