Explanation wanted for ancillary pedals in Universal 12 tuning.

[Jacob Hamann]

Hi,
I'm new to steel playing and (inadvertently) ended up buying a guitar set up for a Universal 12 tuning. The copedent is copied below I understand what the main pedals/levers are used for, i.e., A, B, C, and the E Raise and E Lower. But I haven't been able to find a good explanation for when one might use the other three pedals and two levers. For example, In what circumstances would you want to lower the sixth string to a G using Pedal 1 or lower the 7th string to an F? If someone could help out, I'd appreciate it.

Screenshot 2025-09-03 132245.png

[Bill McCloskey]

well for one: the G# is the 3rd of the E major chord. Lowering it gives you a parallel major and minor chord on the same strings and fret.

[Ian Rae]

That Pedal 1 is not a basic change - you can use it, ignore it or change it.
Pedal 5 is a basic B6 change. That F is strictly speaking an E#, and a full P5 should also raise 11 to E# and 12 to C#, giving C#9 at the nut (with the Es lowered, of couse).

[Nick Krol]

Pedal 1 drops the 3rd of your E major chord to make it an E minor. Use in combo with pedal A for an Em6 which is a good dominant chord.

Dropping the F# is similar to pedal 5 on a C6. When playing in “B6” on the universal you’re supposed to drop your Es and you have a B6 chord available. That pedal then drops the 5 a half tone. If you move back two frets and press that pedal, your B6 turns into a B9 chord

[Jacob Hamann]

Thanks all, very helpful. How about the B->C and G#->A# change for pedal 6?

[Bobby D. Jones]

With the copendent you are showing, When compared to Jeff Newman's Universal tuning. There is no 1 knee lever set up which Lowers string 2 D# to C#, 4th string E to D#, And 8th E to D#. Which when engaged and held, Gives you a B6th tuning. Which is the other part of the E9th/B6th Universal tuning.

From your post it looks to me like the guitar is set up (Extended E9th.) With some specialized personal pull included on pedals and knee levers. Like the 4 and 8 E to D# lowers on 2 knee levers instead of I. (That would allow some Lloyd Green licks. 8th lowered TO D# 4th open E.)

I would suggest you get the guitar set up to standard E9th, and add the 11th string G# to A. And 12th string E to F, For a simple Extended E9th tuning. Then as you learn and want some special changes, Start using some of the pedals and knee levers for your special tuning.

Good Luck in this project, Happy Steelin.

[Ian Rae]

Jacob, to answer your latest question, your P6 is also a basic B6 change, usually referred to as P7 regardless of position. It's also useful in E9 - it gives F#7 on string 7
I would lower both Es to D# on the same lever and keep the 8 lower to D separate

[Dennis Detweiler]

The copedent isn't a standard and full E9/B6 Universal. It leaves holes in the standard E9/B6 Universal chords. You need 7 floors and the knee 4th and 8th strings E to Eb to get you started. I found it more practical to tune the 2nd string to C# and raise it to D# with a knee, but that's just my logic and preference.

[Ian Rae]

I don't think there can ever be a standard uni setup, any more than a standard E9 or C6.
My own version uses Day pedals and two half-stops, which not everyone would be comfortable with.

[Dennis Detweiler]

I was calling standard in reference to the basic U-12 E9/B6. I have 6 knee levers, two of them I would call standard (Eb and F levers on strings 4 and
8 ). The other four knee levers are my own preference. Floor pedals A, B, C are what I would call standard. The configuration of the other 4 floor pedals are standard in respect to C6 or B6 copedents. Before Newman came along with the U-E9/B6 the few 12 string players were still experimenting with the U12 tunings. I was experimenting with a D9/D6 tuning that didn't quit cover the copedent of a 10 string C6 tuning. I was missing it's capabilities in comparison. Then came E9/B6 and it fell into place for duplicating what was being played on the recordings of the day on E9th and C6th. I was able to tackle Plus 9 and Night Life intro as a beginning challenge that came easier with the standard pedals and knees. Any tab was easily duplicated on the standard E9/B6 Universal copedent.

[Ian Rae]

I'm not wishing to take issue with Dennis, whose views are always worth noting.
I was trying to ask rhetorically whether Emmons or Day is 'standard', and whether it's standard to have P8 in 8th position or 4th?

[Dennis Detweiler]

Ian, I see where you're coming from. I prefer pedal 8 or, in U-12 my 7th, in the 4th floor pedal position. I think of pedals 4,5,6 and 7 as, maybe not standard, but essential for E9/B6. In reference to Jacob's current tuning to answer his question (pedals and knees) needs more pulls and a 7th floor pedal to complete the universal.

[Jerry Overstreet]

....and whether it's standard to have P8 in 8th position or 4th?

Long before I started playing my variation of Jeff's E9/B6 Uni 12s, back in the early 80s my first pro guitar was a p/p Emmons D10 which had the more common pedal 8th pedal at position 4 so that's where I've always had it regardless of config and it's quite common to have it there.

However, I'd guess that about 90% of D10 players particularly, have it at position 8. I would think that number would be considerably lower with Uni players, especially those that follow the Newman E9/B6 tuning.