FAQs

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

When 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 so much less machining, right?
As of this writing, the ultimate price of any future product is unknown for a number of reasons.
Some folks think that without the effort and cost of machining the traditional mechanisms, the OnePSG should certainly be less expensive.
However, the effort in electronics design, software development, not to mention wood and metal design and building has been enormous.
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.
And of course, it’s not like there’s money coming in right now ;)
In any case, we’ll know more about all this after the Beta Prototype is built and tested.
Click this link: Embedded Systems Pricing and look at the table of costs.

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. However, that 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 (as they are when you use a computer, CD player, audio interface, etc. use). The signals are converted back to analog before they come out the 1/4” guitar jack.

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

What about latency?
The Proof of Concept instrument, with its rat’s nest of cables, 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 effectively 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 notice the strings acoustically. And of course on stage, you’ll have enough trouble hearing yourself over the guitarist anyway. ;)
The tradeoff for not being able to play acoustically? 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. Therefore, the strings do have to be tuned to some specific 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, based on its incremental 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 experimenting with a keyless tuner/nut which will also 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 we chose gauges based on those “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 close to 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 lots of people just assume that it would be smart to use a smart phone or tablet or the user interface, neither maker nor player would want their pedal steel guitar to be at the mercy of OS updates.

• How about a display that attaches to a leg with cables for power and communication back to the instrument’s electronics? Of course possible but for now we prefer not having a delicate item like that on stage protruding from the steel, ready to be bumped 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.

• Everything on board, self-contained.
  Unaffected by outside software, OSs, hardware, WiFi, Bluetooth, ….

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?
The USB port is planned to have three functions: 1) share copedents with anyone; 2) have multi-channel audio output (one channel per string) for your DAW or studio; and 3) allow for firmware updates.
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.

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 known issues.
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 microwave oven; your car with its touchscreen, tire air pressure notification, digital mileage readout, 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. See the FAQ about upgrades.
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.
The tradeoff for an embedded system PSG? See the FAQ above.

If it ain’t broke …? Why use electronics to take the human element out of playing a PSG?
Electronics are used in electric guitars, amplifiers, effects, volume pedals, keyboards. No PSG player complains about those.
The electronics in the OnePSG 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, changers replace the “human element” of bar slanting. Yes, that last sentence was 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 ain’t broke. And it don’t need fixin’. The OnePSG doesn’t fix anything. It simply removes limitations and adds 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 asked about the inventor: “Is the guy even alive?”:

• As of January 2025, most reports do in fact have Alan as being alive. The writing of these FAQs can be considered 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.

By the way, sign up for email updates here: Sign Up