FAQs

Even with the content already on this website, the following questions seem to keep getting asked.

Can I buy one?
We are currently in the Beta Prototyping phase. There is no product to buy yet.
As for learning when that might be, you can sign up here for the occasional update email. And you can always come back to this website for more information.

How much will the OnePSG cost? Of course, it’ll be much less expensive than a traditional PSG because there’s less machining, right?
As of this writing, the ultimate price of any future product is unknown for a number of reasons. There has been an enormous effort in electronics design, software development, not to mention wood and metal design and building.
Some folks think that without the effort and cost of machining the traditional mechanisms, the OnePSG should certainly be less expensive.
However, If you know a bit about complex analog and digital audio related printed circuit board design and assembly, design of, and programming, for embedded systems, you'll know that these costs easily more than make up for not requiring the complex machining of a traditional PSG.
That’s just the development. There will also be costs for software maintenance efforts and more.
By the way, so far, it’s not like there’s money coming in ;)
In any case, we’ll know more about all this after the Beta Prototype is built and tested.
Look over the table of costs on this page: Embedded Systems Pricing

One Forum poster wrote: “I would like to see this technology used to make a student model guitar that is in the $500-$750 dollar range. ... I doubt these are the ambitions of the builders however.”
”The builders” would love to afford that ambition. That of course presumes that it were even possible in this particular universe.

How does this thing work? What is this … “digital pedal steel”? Does it use MIDI? Is it some kind of synthesizer?
There is no MIDI here, not for sound production, not for control.
Sounds are not synthetically generated.
The sounds come directly from the same kind of metal strings and magnetic pickups any traditional pedal steel guitar uses.
The strings’ analog signals are temporarily converted to digital signals (what your computer, CD player, audio interface, etc. use). The signals are converted back to analog before they reach your amp’s speaker and your ear.

Is this a revolution?
Yes. No. See the page Revolution.

What about latency?
The Proof of Concept instrument, with its rat’s nest of cables, earlier slow microprocessor, audio interface, laptop computer, etc. (see photo here and check the blog entry: First Meeting) had some small latency to be sure. Even so, everyone became comfortable within just a few seconds of playing.
As for the Alpha Prototype, only one player out of the eight A-list players who tested it even mentioned the latency; short enough to ignore. This, on the very first prototype for this project. As of 2024, the Beta is under development.

The pitches coming from the amp are not the same as the actual strings’ acoustic sound. Isn’t that distracting?
Watch the intro video and/or the video of Buck Reid playing the Alpha Prototype. The acoustic sound of the strings is inaudible. Only the amp’s output can be heard.
So, just as for 6-string guitars that can digitally change tuning, to hear what the OnePSG outputs, you’ll need to either plug into an amp or use headphones. With even a small amount of amplification, you won’t be notice the strings acoustically. And of course on stage, you’ll have enough trouble hearing yourself over the guitarist anyway. ;)
The tradeoff? A super lightweight pedal steel with as many instantly changeable and editable tunings as you can imagine; up or down capoing; tuning adjustments; per string volume, EQ, and distortion; zero string fatigue; in tune splits; pickup envelope adjustments; ….

Why are there tuning keys? Is tuning even necessary?
Taking the second question first …
There are a few reasons why the OnePSG needs to have its strings tuned like any electric stringed instrument.
First, the OnePSG uses standard metal strings and magnetic pickups for a true pedal steel sound, and so the strings do have to be tuned to some reasonable pitch or other so that the pickups can do their job.
Second, like any traditional PSG, the physical open strings’ notes are the starting points for pitch-shifting. It’s just that in the OnePSG, the pitch-shifting is done by means of digital signal processing. A picked string’s note is shifted up or down based two things: 1) the pitch of the open string of the copedent currently “in play” and 2) the interval some pedal/lever might add, taking into account that the pedal/lever might only be at some percentage of its full travel at any instant.
So … we want those starting pitches to be right.
As for tuning keys, a regular tuning key head was built into the Alpha Prototype. For the Beta, we’re going with a keyless tuner/nut to experiment and to reduce the weight of the guitar.

How did you determine the pitches (and therefore gauges) of the strings?
Taking the string notes of an E9 and of a C6, we shot the difference so that the pitch shift interval of any one string wouldn’t have to be terribly large either up or down. Then of course we chose gauges based on the “averaged” string pitches.
A deviation from that plan was that since pitch detection takes longer for lower frequencies, and wanting to keep latency to a minimum, the lowest string, for example, is not necessarily a note exactly halfway between the low B on an E9 copedent and the low C on a C6.
Note: check out the blog post about Copedents. for a related question.

Why isn’t the display a separate unit?
It most certainly could be. And it would be nice for the form factor in that only a single-wide body could be used (even less endplate and wood weight!). However, …

• Though the idea of a smart phone or tablet screen might have its allure, consider having one’s pedal steel guitar at the mercy of OS updates. No thank you.

• How about a display that attaches to a leg with cables for power and communication back to the instrument’s electronics? Of course possible. For now, we would prefer not having a delicate item like that on stage ready to be bumped into by a rockin’ band member or careless stagehand. This is absolutely still on the table for later designs, but in the prototype stages, the touchscreen is on board.

• How about a display that connects via WiFi or Bluetooth (or pedal sensor output for that matter)? We don’t want the instrument to be at the mercy of a bad WiFi system or subject to random environmental interference.

• Everything on board, self-contained.

Upgrades?
Wait, since there is software in this contraption, what if there’s a bug, or what if you want to add some new feature?
There is a USB port that is planned to have three functions: 1) share copedents with anyone; 2) have multi-channel audio output (on channel per string) for your DAW or studio; and 3) allow for firmware upgrades. In the last case, if a bug is discovered or some new, cool feature is added to the OnePSG, a file can be sent to users/players to upgrade the system. Not unlike new firmware for your printer, or Roku box. But as discussed in the Display FAQ, it won’t be done via WiFi. A USB connection with your computer or a USB drive will do.

What about the life of this pedal steel guitar?
This from a post on the Forum: “Electronic components will never have the service life of mechanical devices. (Pedal steels made 70+ years ago still work fine today.) Glitches, programming bugs …”
All true. All known.
The OnePSG is an embedded system; that is, there are circuit boards with microcontrollers in the “product.” Your audio interface; your electronic keyboard; your guitar effects pedal; your company’s laser printer; your Roku box; your car with its touchscreen, tire air pressure notification, digital mileage readout, your microwave oven, etc.; they are all embedded systems.
Software can have bugs, just as pull rods can bind up on each other or a return spring can get out of whack. Things sometimes need fixing. (Also, embedded systems are usually built to allow firmware updates for new features and bug fixes. This capability is of course being built into the OnePSG.)
Just as a 10-, 15-, or even some 30-year-old PCs can boot up and run the software they have installed, and just as an old audio interface or electric keyboard or effects rack or old DVD player can still run, the microcontrollers and other components of a properly designed embedded system can and should perform for a good long while.
A OnePSG may not last 50 years, like a traditional pedal steel (that’s probably had some major work done on it along the way, after all) might, but it will last years.
What’s to gain from the tradeoff? See the FAQ above about sound coming from the physical strings.

If it ain’t broke …?
Why would you take the human element out of playing with all these electronics? Electronics are used in electric guitars and amplifiers and effects. Some might argue that these enhance the player’s expression.
As for the OnePSG, the electronics are used only to change the pitches of the strings, just as metal mechanical parts do in a traditional PSG. No one would argue that pedals, levers, rods, bellcranks, changes replace the human element of bar slanting. That’s a bit disingenuous, but you get the idea. Even on the OnePSG, the music is still being created by the player’s body and brain.
So, of course the pedal steel is not broke. It doesn’t need fixing. The OnePSG doesn’t fix anything. It simply removes some limitations and adds certain capabilities, without changing its essence.

This thing needs to be adopted by great players before it’s a thing.
A very reasonable point. When ready, the OnePSG will need to be accepted, adopted by top players. The Alpha Prototype page has a short video of Buck Reid (no introduction necessary) playing that first full prototype. Despite the fact that work continues on the instrument and the software, it's hard to argue with Buck's playing in that clip. Several other great players tested it out that same day. They, and others of their caliber, are interested in its progress. That right there, their interest and support have meant the most to me during this whole "journey".

And of course, the plan is for the Beta Prototype to get much deeper testing.

This question is from a Steel Guitar Forum post of 11/14/2023, about the lack of news of the OnePSG and its inventor for some time after the Introduction video appeared.:

• The OnePSG Prototype was showcased over two years ago... What happened? Or as another poster put it: “Is the guy even alive?”:

• As of May 2024, most reports have Alan as being alive. You may consider the fact that these words you’re reading right now were recently written by Alan himself proof of life.
  So the real issue is: why so much time between iterations of the design, between updates? Well, for some time early on, Alan had a day job (see the Onion article). Then he retired. Then, there was a global pandemic. Then, after the Alpha Prototype was shown, other aspects of life got in the way (no need for details). And so, work is now on the Beta Prototype (see the blog post: “It’s Getting Beta All The Time”).

Is the OnePSG similar to Jeff Snyder’s Electrosteel?
Both instruments are played with picks and a bar. Both instruments use DSP to pitch shift notes. In fact, the Jeff Snyder’s open source audio DSP C language library for embedded systems (LEAF) is used in the OnePSG software. However, the Electrosteel synthetically generates the sounds it outputs whereas the OnePSG uses strings and magnetic pickups just as a traditional PSG does. Each of these approaches has its plusses and minuses. They really are different instruments.
In essence, the Electrosteel is an electronic instrument with an interface that shares quite a bit with that of a pedal steel, while the OnePSG is a pedal steel with digital pitch shifting taking the place of pullrods, bellcranks, and changers.
Perhaps some time in the future we can post a comparison.

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