PSG identification (update: it's a Springfield)

[Sam Inglis]

There's a pedal steel for sale in an auction here in the UK. It's a long way from me, and so far the auctioneers have shared one photo, which only shows the underneath of the instrument.



I've asked them for more pix, but had no reply so far. Is anyone able to ID it from this? The listing says that it came from The Springfield Guitar Co, Tennessee, but I think that is a shop rather than a maker.

[Michael Lee Allen]

Springfield was a small-output builder in Scotland. Another case of not knowing what you're selling so invent some "facts" to make it more attractive.
MLA

[Sam Inglis]

I had heard about The Scottish Springfield Guitar Co, but wasn't sure if this is one of theirs or not -- there are almost no good photos to compare. And there IS a Springfield Guitar Co in Tennessee, so it's also possible someone bought whatever this is there and imported it. Hmmm.

[Lee Baucum]

Here is an older discussion:

viewtopic.php?t=127896

[Donny Hinson]

I always bought for build quality, and what's there. It's a (pro style) wood-bodied S10, 3+4 all-pull, with adjustable legs and a flight case. Build quality seems to be good, and it appears to be in good shape. I'd put the value somewhere in the $2000-$2500 range, U.S..


Don't know what the PA speakeers are doing there, though?

[Bobby D. Jones]

When you only have 1 picture, It is hard to really put a value on the guitar.
The guitar has a lot of good points.
Looks to be factory made, Or made by an excellent craftsman.
Looks like a right hand, S10 on a wide body, No pad screws visible.
3 pedals 4 knee levers.
Square Cross shafts
Machined bell cranks.
Machined end plates,
No extra holes where things have been changed or moved.
Good looking pedal bar, With sliding leg bar attachments.
The guitar has 2 adjustable legs, Should be for back legs.
The 1 front leg seen in picture. Has a ring to act as an up stop for the pedal bar.
Has an excellent looking well fitted case.
Hope you can get a picture of the front apron and top of the guitar.
Without top and front pictures, Without apron and top pictures would be hard to price.
Good Luck in this project.

[Sam Inglis]

Thanks everyone. I have put in a cheeky bid. We'll see.

[Sam Inglis]

So, my cheeky bid was more successful than I'd expected, and I took delivery of the instrument today. It is indeed a Scottish-made Springfield and has probably never been nearer to Tennessee than Glasgow. I don't know where the auctioneers got that from. It has a three-up/one-down changer and machine heads that I've never seen before. I wonder if Springfield actually made those. However, I am not sure whether the undercarriage is original, as it looks nothing like the Springfield mechanisms I've seen photos of elsewhere.

Positives: it's all there and nothing seems obviously damaged. It's much, much lighter than my MSA Classic. The flightcase is excellent and has wheels. There's lots of potential for adjustment and I can set it up to suit my long legs. All the changes work and it returns to pitch OK.

Negatives: the top is not as good looking as the underneath! The wonky alignment of the rods and the return springs is not an optical illusion, though I don't know whether it matters. It definitely needs fettling: there is some friction between rods which causes unwanted sympathetic movement, though this seems more visible than audible, and the end stop for the RKR lever is misaligned. There seems a little more cabinet drop than on my MSA. I need to get it converted from Emmons to Day.

Most of the nylon hex nuts for tuning the changes seem to be completely jammed and won't turn. Does anyone have a good technique for freeing them? I'm reluctant to apply any more force for fear of damaging them.

[Per Berner]

The tuning machines are Kluson Wafflebacks.

[Brian Hollands]

I had a Derby once that had those aluminum sleeves behind the tuning nuts. One had pretty much welded itself to the changer finger. No matter how much I turned the nut it wouldn't change the pitch. I took the nut and sleeve off, cleaned the sleeve up with a file and reinstalled it. Worked fine after that.
Not sure if that's your problem but if it helps...
Good luck with it.

[Bill Ford]

(Most of the nylon hex nuts for tuning the changes seem to be completely jammed and won't turn. Does anyone have a good technique for freeing them? I'm reluctant to apply any more force for fear of damaging them.)

A pair of vicegrips clamped on the pullrod close to the changer should be able to turn nylon without damaging the rod, if that doesn"t work, detune the string and push in on the nylon to unhook rod from pull. Should be able to get pullrod out to work on it. I would get small washers to put between nylon and spacers.....Hobby shop for small washers.

BF

[Bobby D. Jones]

With the L shaped bend on the bell crank end of the pull rod, Allows no adjustment at Bell Crank end.
Remove the nylon tuners 1 at a time and check depth of hole in tuner nut. If the rod is reaching and bottoming out in tuning nut, Longer sleeves or washers between the tuning nut and the changer pull bar would be the easy fix.

Another easy fix would be. If you had proper size tap drill bit for hole in nylon tuner, And way to hold nylon nut well centered in a small lathe or drill press vice, Deepening the hole 3/8" (10mm) would be another cure for problem.

Good Luck in getting the tuners to tune proper. Happy Steelin with your new baby.

[Sam Inglis]

I've had a fun evening trying to set this up. Some of the nylon tuners were so stuck that I had to heat them up in order to make them turn, but I got them all off in the end, and managed to swap it over to the Day copedent.

But...

I initially thought I'd have no problem playing this guitar as the fixed legs are the same length as the ones on my MSA, which is I think one inch over standard height. However, the sockets that hold the legs are set at a much greater angle on this guitar. Even with the adjustable legs at their shortest setting, I measure 22 inches between the front and back feet on either side. On my MSA it's 17 inches, and that is a D10. So although the legs are long, the guitar is not high enough off the ground for me to play. I am not sure what to do about that. It's already less stable than the MSA because it's so much lighter, and lengthening the legs would make that worse.



MSA on left, Springfield on right.

[Bobby D. Jones]

If you have trouble with a tight tuning nut. To help loosen the nylon nut. Grip the pull rod, With a set of Vice-Grips close to the changer, With a piece of leather to pad and protect the rod. Takes the torque twist out of the length of the pull rod.

I also went from MSA S10 Classic to a GFI Ultra, About 20 lb. lighter guitar, It was a learning experience.
The one thing I learned setting up the GFI, Make sure the rubber feet are soft and grippy. If you move the linkage, To make the knee levers travel farther to reach tune note, Takes less pressure on KL, Guitar will be more stable.

Welcome to the other side, I play Day setup too.
Good Luck getting the guitar set up, Happy Steelin.

[Sam Inglis]

I have been playing this guitar quite a bit, although the low height currently means I can't use a volume pedal with it. There are lots of things I like about it but it does have a real problem with cabinet drop. Engaging any of the pedals causes nearly all of the other strings to drop in pitch measurably, though it's worst with the third pedal and the sixth string. It's bad enough that some common grips just can't be played in tune.

Is there anything that can be done about this? There don't seem to be any loose bolts or screws, and the changer is securely attached. The body of the guitar is made of half-inch wood planks, with no metal reinforcement anywhere that I can see. I don't know what the wood is, it might even be ply. It's pretty lightweight -- I can easily lift the guitar with one hand.

[Paul Strojan]

My first thought would be to add some bracing to the guitar but that would probably be clunky. What I would try would be to pretension the guitar such that all the slop is taken out before the pedals are depressed. You should be able to do that non destructively by tying the front legs together with a piece of cable and a turnbuckle.

[Colin Boutilier]

My first thought would be to add some bracing to the guitar but that would probably be clunky. What I would try would be to pretension the guitar such that all the slop is taken out before the pedals are depressed. You should be able to do that non destructively by tying the front legs together with a piece of cable and a turnbuckle.

I'd be inclined to try a temporary cross brace, and see if its apron flex like some of the old Emmons. Cut a chunk of lumber to fit between the aprons and clamp it in place for a test run.