56 Stringmaster question

[Pete Martin]

Just got a D8 Stringmaster, 1956. My question is what is the little wheel mechanism down by where the ball ends of the string insert? What does it do?

This thing sound great even though I don't

[Tim Whitlock]

Congratulation! I have '56 SM as well. The wheel adjusts the balance between the two pickups. Fully counterclockwise (off), you get 100% of the bridge pickup, for a bright, twangy tone. As you rotate it clockwise, it blends in the neck pickup. Fully clockwise (full on) you have a 50/50 blend of both pickups, for a very full, fat tone. I usually set mine at about 25% above full off, to get a clear bright tone, with a bit of fullness.

[Pete Martin]

Thank you Tim!

[Cartwright Thompson]

I might add that the to pickups are wired “north to south” , so as you mix in the neck side pickup the two coils become humbucking

[Luke Juda]

What is the scale length for the Stringmaster? My Stage One pedal steel is 24.5 inches and my 6 string Certano lap steel is 24.5 inches. Looking for an 8 string Lap steel in 24.5 inches. Confused and undecided. Why is there a 22.5 inch for lap steels and a 24.5 inch for pedal steel? Would I know a difference with the shorter scale? Appreciate any comments.

[Jeff Elsloo]

Hi- stringmasters though the years could be had in 22.5, 24.5, and 26 i think, depending on year. Most lap steels pre war were 22.5 +/-. with not many 8's until closer to the war. Now a lot of laps are around 25. So it's really all over the place. My theory is it's gravitated to longer because longer scale=tighter strings=more volume, brilliance, and sustain. There are a few companies making 8's these days- check Reverb or Google.
Pedals are usually around 25. And yes there is some difference in the way they feel and sustain. Hope I've helped a bit.

[Steven Wilson]

On my '56 D8, the wheel on the front neck does not make a hard stop in either direction. Instead, it builds up enough friction, so it becomes noticeably more difficult to turn. I've been adjusting in between the friction points. Anybody know if this is repairable? Broken? The back neck works normally.....

[Pete Martin]

My D8 is 24 1/2". Like this better than my EH125 22 1/2" length. Sound and playability are easier to me.

[Michael Kiese]

My D8 is 24 1/2". Like this better than my EH125 22 1/2" length. Sound and playability are easier to me.

Aloha Pete,

Nice!!! Looks like you decided to get the long scale. Congrats!

I love Fenders. My stringmaster is a Q8. I wouldn't ever take it on a gig cause it's too heavy, but it sure is handy as a practice module at home for multiple tunings.

What tunings did you settle on? C6 and A6? Lots of coverage for Western Swing on a D8 with those 2 tunings.

Oh! One cool thing that Lindy Fralin showed me was to put a metal base plate on the bottom of single coil pickups. It focuses the magnetic field towards the strings. It makes the pickups more efficient. It makes a slightly different sound that I prefer. All I did was put a steel plate underneath the pickups. Lindy gave me a bunch of discarded ones that were going to be thrown out.

here's a video of him explaining it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6drfLxjRmHI

He uses wax to prevent vibrations. I didn't go that far, I just slapped them on and the magnetism keeps them attached.

The cool thing about having your Double Neck is that you can put base plates on the pickups of one neck, and leave the other neck stock. Then you can play test them back and forth. I did that with my Q8, and then decided I liked the baseplate sound better. I ended up putting base plates on all 8 pickups on my Q8 Stringmaster.

Both were sounds were good (stock vs base plate)! I just preferred the sound of the base plate attached. To me the tone sounded just a tad stronger and more focused that without the baseplate. Just another cool, easy, and cheap way to improve and modify your tone!

Enjoy!

[Pete Martin]

Mike, I’m using A6 and Leon’s E13. I have always loved Boot Heel Drag so I transcribed Buddy’s version, my all time fav. It is too complicated for me to play other that micro slow, but is sounds so cool even tho I don’t

I am learning stuff on the A6 neck first, simple tunes like Bubbles in my Beer and adding more things as I get comfortable playing the simpler stuff. It is quite humbling to be at the beginning stage of an instrument as the last time I did this was well over 50 years ago, but it is big time FUN!

I still haven’t settled into a comfortable right hand position, but am making strides. I spend about 2 hours daily on just right hand exercises. I am doing Joe Wrights right hand stuff and adding a number of other things. Today I may have found a hand position that lets me palm block much easier with less motion, so I’ll give it a try for a few days.

Pete

[Stephen Cowell]

What is the scale length for the Stringmaster? My Stage One pedal steel is 24.5 inches and my 6 string Certano lap steel is 24.5 inches. Looking for an 8 string Lap steel in 24.5 inches. Confused and undecided. Why is there a 22.5 inch for lap steels and a 24.5 inch for pedal steel? Would I know a difference with the shorter scale? Appreciate any comments.

Luke, you can always tell the scale length of a Fender guitar by counting the dots after the 24th fret... 22.5" is two, 24" is three, and 26" is four. All older non-Stringmasters were short scale... Fender went nuts the first year of the Stringmaster with 26" guitars only, chrome pickups, 1953-4 IIRC... then they went to 22.5" and 24" with the black pickups.