There is a myriad of things that make up our beloved instrument. Some of these things are purely esthetical. Some are functional as well as being esthetical. Others are functional only. And some things are crucial to the performance (good or bad) of a pedal steel guitar.

I know of nothing that is more important than the stops. These rank IMO, among THE most crucial when it comes to building a PSG that falls into the top of the line of quality amongst builders.

For it is the stops that determine the pulled note. And this is paramount to playing music. Since very few players are capable of hitting that precise point in a stopless pull, stops serve to achieve this; and if they are rock solid, the guitar can be a pleasure to play (all else being the same); rather than a dread if the stops are not rock solid.

The best stop I know of is the method used on the Emmons P/P. Because it is at the changer end; it comes the closest to being the ultimate in stops IMO.

Unfortunately most guitars made today do not have this advantage since the stops on all-pulls is almost always at the crossrod crank. Or in the case of knee levers it is very near the pivot point of whatever supports the knee lever.

However, respecting all-pulls I believe there is NO greater method than what is used on the Emmons' LeGrande with respect to the pedal stops. In a word it is rock solid. It is a 3/8", 1" wide solid steel bar that runs almost the length of the guitar. As solid as any method I know of on a PSG. It would take a mighty big force to budge this kind of stop.

Some knee lever stops leave a lot to be desired as I investigate how they are done on various guitars. One prime example is the stop on RKL (unless they have changed it recently) on an Emmons' all-pull. This stop is NOT positive. And it should be. There is NO excuse that this knee lever sould be as spongy as it is.

I said all the above, to tell you that if you are a prospective buyer of a PSG, please explore this aspect and make it an intregal part of your decision to purchase a given guitar over another one.

Because again, there is nothing more crucial IMO than rock solid stops on a pedal steel guitar.

Good luck to all prospective buyers and may Jesus lead you to the one that will bring you the most joy,

This problem is on an all-pull, but has nothing to do with that aspect, and could just as well be on a poorly designed push/pull (if there were such a thing). It has to do with the way the pull rod fits with the bell crank. The pull rod has a short side-ways L turn at the bell crank end. This fits in a slot on the bell crank so that the bell crank can pull the rod. When the bell crank is perpindicular it all looks like it would work well. The bell crank moves, the slot pulls on the L turn.

But the crank doesn't move horizontally, it rotates. You would think that would be okay, because the rod is round and the slot is rounded. But as the crank takes on vertical motion it begins to push down on the L turn rather than straight back. This causes the pull rod to twist toward the end of the pull and sort of wedge in the slot. This causes all the pedals and knees to have a tough unsmooth feel right before the stop. If you dont mash really hard right at the end, it wont get to the stop. Not good.