keyless guitar- any more ideas for lowering at this end?

[mac639]

Remember way back I posted pics on a lowering changer I'd thought up for a keyless guitar. I'm just getting started to build a keyless SD12 for myself. I had most of the parts made for that lowering function and it worked fine on my test bed. Looks kinda' dopey though, and seems to stick up too far. Just wondering if any of you folks had any better ideas and could post a diagram or a picture that might twig my old brain into doing it differently. Don't be shy, I like working
"outside the box" most of the time. Could either push to lower or pull, I don't care.
Thanks,
Mac

[richard37066]

Mac -

Unearthed your original post. I imagine that your concoction was nothing more than a "breadboard" or "proof of concept" effort. Given that, I can see where all you need do is to consolidate parts - bring everything closer together. In so doing, you will scrunch the dimensions considerably. Remember, the contact point of the string on the finger needs to move only a smidgen - a couple of millimeters at most. Your objection most likely stems from that monstrous adjusting screw sticking up into the atmosphere. If things are reduced in size and reconfigured slightly, that screw could be replaced with a set screw of minimal length - perhaps facing the head-end of the guitar - much like the nylon tuners at the raise changer. My suggestion is to not abandon the idea but only to refine it.

Richard

[Dave-M]

Mac:
How about making a shiny box to cover the unsightly stuff!

I like your idea, and am planning to build a double-ender pull-release too.
The right end will be raise and lower, with the second lower on the left end.

My tuning is straight G major ... 1,5,3,1,5,3,1,5 high to low.
I have a knee lever lowering the 3's to 2's.
I like the way the B-pedal (4's) over-rides the 2's without
letting go of the knee (2's) on the pull-release system.

I can get (5,2,7... V) and (5,4,7 ... V7) change at root with one extra pedal push.
(The 7 is on the other knee.)

[michaelm]

I think that Richard is on the right track. Cutting down and simplifing, you could wind up with something like this:

possible lower mods

double02.jpg (64.03 KiB) Viewed 1802 times

My apologies for mangling your original photo. HTH.

[richard37066]

Mac -

Michaelm is on the right track. To refine his idea further, you might rotate the "finger" around which the string is wrapped into a vertical position - almost 90 degrees clockwise. You could then drop the lowering lever down and scrunch it to the left with the top of it in a vertical position. Then the set screw would come in from the right in a horizontal position.

Another thought - replace the steel set screw with a nylon one - much like the adjusters on a typical guitar. Would reduce the scraping and scratching of the metal set screw.

Wish I had michaelm's computer expertise.

Now, where's that moose or mouse thingy.

Richard

[Dave-M]

I like Richard's idea about rotation. The finger could then be made from narrower bar stock with minimum waste. However, it would have to be tuned from the end instead of the top.

[Dave-M]

Another idea, probably no good, but you know how some electrical light switches have a hole where you just push in the wire and it grabs. To release the wire you poke something in another hole. That could be developed into a screwless string retainer.

[mac639]

Thanks so much folks..... I've been fiddlin' around with various ideas some today. I like the idea of tuning from the end anyway better. And by rotating the finger around some it compacts the whole thingee. Still have the "scraping" to deal with. I've never had much luck finding nylon screws (bolts). I'm thinking of some other "sliding" surfaces. Othewise I think it'll work OK. Rotten day outside....wet snow coming down all day, pretty ugly, and I'm trying to "escape" doing any more Christmas preparation for awhile!
Cheers,
Mac

[Bent]

Mac, you can get nylon screws, nuts, washers bushings etc etc at Spaenaur in Kitchener. Give them a call on the 800 no. and they'll send you their bigass catalog for free
http://www.spaenaur.com/

[Dave-M]

Mac:
You have 2 axels at the player's left. If you use those two-piece all-pull fingers that hinge in the middle, you save an axel. You're using two pieces of aluminum anyway.

Now you have tuning nuts instead of screws, and you can raise OR lower. If you put them at each end you never need a reverser for any knee or pedal.