Yeah, you're right about the weight. That thing was a ball-buster to haul around. On that Japanese tour I checked it as baggage for the flights over and back. As we traveled around Japan it went in the equipment truck with all the sound gear and our other instruments, so I didn't have to deal with getting it on a plane. The crew would unload it and leave it in it's case on stage for me to set up. Then after the concert I'd break it down, pack it back in the case and leave it for the crew to load up. The hassle of setting it up and tuning it (which usually included adjusting the pedals and knee levers so they pulled the strings to the correct pitch) was extremely time consuming at each venue. That tour pretty much cured me of my desire to learn pedal steel.
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