The Beta Prototype
As of August, 2024, work is well underway on the Beta Prototype.
Cabinet: For the Beta stage, two steels of different materials are very nearly finished. One is of course the classic figured Maple (how could we not?) The other is not made of Maple ;) and is veneered in Wenge. Read more about the rationale for two prototypes below.
Maple body.
Wenge veneered.
Electronics: The main circuit board handles all control and signal processing functions. It has been redesigned based on what we learned from the Alpha Prototype and is ready for manufacture.
Machined parts: Custom endplates are finished. Machined and 3D printed mechanical parts (not pictured) are being designed and produced.
Software: Control software (some of which is patented) has been enhanced with added functionality and new hardware control. The digital signal processing (DSP) software has been updated as well.
The rationale for two Betas: Firstly, it will be useful to have one instrument for continued testing while a second can make the rounds among several pedal steel players for real world testing and "user feedback."
Secondly, as mentioned above, the cabinets of the two instruments are built of different materials. One is curly maple to be somewhat traditional.
As for the second instrument? As described in other parts of this website, the pitches coming from the amp or headphones are not the same as the low volume sounds one might hear acoustically from the strings or body.
Even though at a very low amp output, the acoustic sounds are not heard, we want to lose as little of the physical strings' energy through the body as possible, since that is energy not going into the pickup. Therefore, we're using a different material on the second instrument in order to reduce that loss of the strings' vibrational energy into the body. The idea is to have as low an acoustic volume as possible. The whole exercise is a kind of A/B test of cabinet material.