Steel Guitar Builder

What is the best material for transmitting vibrations from strings throughout the body of a steel guitar? Is it wood, metal or perhaps another material , does density come into play here ? some woods are more so than others and I believe metal is even more so , Would plastic or epoxy or even acrylic or polyester be considered a good material for building a pedal steel?
One example of synthetic material would be Rainsong guitars (carbon fiber ) they ring like a bell I hear . plastics come in different hardnesses , give me some of your thoughts on this if you will please. sometimes something new isn't always a bad thing is it? does density have anything to do with hardness of a material? Russ

Hello Russ,

There doesn't appear to be much input of late on the forum, perhaps interest has waned slightly, or everyone is busy. Anyhow here goes with my 'pennyworth', and speaking from an engineering point of view. Harder materials appear to enhance the resonance of the vibrations, the brass fingers I made have a different, sharper 'ring' compared to the aluminium ones Iv'e done. All my bodies have been wood so i couldn't comment with any certainty on the use of other materials and the resulting effects, however, harder denser materials tend to amplify vibrations compared to softer ones which would tend to absorb them.

Hopefully some others will add their views on this subject.

Best Regards Ron Mc

Thanks for the comment Ron,i was thinking of doing some experimenting with some different materials , if it works great and if not then I lll know , I don't mind going out of the box so to speak .

Hi Russ,

All good questions....however finding definitive answers for some of them will certainly be difficult if not impossible.

I can certainly answer a couple of your questions definitively though....

"sometimes something new isn't always a bad thing is it?"
something new can absolutely be a good thing....hell the wheel was new once right!

"does density have anything to do with hardness of a material?"
No, take lead for instance, very dense, very soft.

Have fun exploring and have a nice weekend,
Ross

Hi Russ,
to use your quote " I don't mind going out of the box so to speak", go for it mate, I believe the first one would have been built "thinking out of the box".
I keep making up changers and perhaps one day Ill stumble across a world winner, it's satisfying to me, building and experimenting with different configurations, (usually nothing that hasn't been thought of before) but it keeps me busy and out of trouble and I think that is the secret, enjoying doing it, you'll never likely to make your fortune building 'pedal steels' they are too labour intensive for the small builder but just enjoy the moment.

Best Regards Ron Mc

ps. Ross is right about 'density', if density was the secret, there is a few politicians you could make pedal steels out of.

HI RON
When I read your post hit home with me , I am always making changes to my steel.I took lessons from a steeler who had a Kline keyless steel .So the next thing i did was cut 6 inches off the end of my Shobud Mavrick.When I brought it home from my shop my wife asked me what I was doing with my guitar ,when I told her her reaction was (is that the guitar I bought for you) I had a lot of explaning to do. Since that time iv/e made it keyless and am presently working on the forth changer.a lot of forum members I read about would condem something like I do but in my defense it my steel and I love to experiment with it.
GARY

I would say that experimenting is very satisfying to me also , if it works great and if not great , I did try it , I will be doing some work with plastics and epoxys soon and ill post my results . you are right about enjoying the moment in everything you do . Tradition is ok but not the final word in my opinion , keyless guitars are cool I like the looks as well as the traditional look , Russ