Sacred Steel Copedent Set up help

[Matthew Tierney]

I'm interested in setting up a semi-sacred steel tuning/copedent similar to that shown in this old thread and posted by b0b. I'm wondering if anyone can provide a step by step for how to make that change to an emmons style set up with a Franklin 4th pedal. (B-A and G#-F#). How are the tuning rods altered? are different gauge strings needed?

I'm somewhat new to pedal steel but have been playing guitar, hammond organ, and keyboards for decades and I'd like to be able to get some of that comping/rhythm sacred steel and single string sounds on my guitar (2020 GSI Ultra). Basically I'd like to know how to do this in a way that's not going to cause too much trouble but I'm capable/willing to do some work on the rods and change strings as necessary. Hopefully someone can help a brother out : ) Thanks in advance for any help that you can throw out there!

https://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/006793.html

https://b0b.com/tunings/sacredsteel.html

[Paul Strojan]

You could get most of the setup by just tuning the D string down to B and the F# to E. That would not require any modification to the guitar.

[Matthew Tierney]

Thanks for the advice! I think a simple mod to test things out first will be good instead of changing the guitar. Just to be clear, lower the 2nd string from bottom (D) to (B) and both the (F#)'s to (E), correct? leave all levers pedals as is,

[David W.D. McCormick]

I just made this change according to an old Paul Franklin post re: sacred steel:

“If you are interested in raking all of the strings for rhythm purposes, on the E9th add a lever that lowers the 7th string F# to E and raises the 9th string D to E . This change would allow you to strum with or without pedals. I see no need to change tunings to play this style.

If I chose to add this change to my guitar I would add those two string changes to the lever that lowers the 2nd string a whole or half tone. I would not lose much if anything on the country side while gaining more rhythmic choices for rock or blues.”

So far so good on this change. Combined with using more single note runs and quick bar moves I’m making progress on sounding like sacred steel.

Using a Stephens bar also helps with that jittery vibrato style - I’ve been using a shubb no. 2.