New '58 Fender Deluxe-8 and CD review in Guitar Player :-)
Moderator: Brad Bechtel
- Steinar Gregertsen
- Posts: 3234
- Joined: 18 Feb 2003 1:01 am
- Location: Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.
- Contact:
New '58 Fender Deluxe-8 and CD review in Guitar Player :-)
Yesterday I received the '58 Fender Deluxe-8 I bought from forum member Jan Jonsson in Sweden, and I'm in "Steel Guitar Heaven".
Not only is this steel a solid 9.5 cosmetically, I believe I counted something like ten very minor scratches and dings, but the sound.... oh boy.. it's smooth as velvet. Never had a steel that sounds as smooth as this before..
Here it is (haven't shot the "official portrait" yet because of bad weather) alongside the Fender Studio Deluxe I bought in early December:
And if floating around in Steel Guitar Heaven wasn't enough, I was made aware of this review in Guitar Player's "GP Editors Top Three" column today (it's in the February issue):
"Covering Hendrix tunes - let alone recording a whole album of them - is risky business. Yet in this case, the superb musicianship, sublime tones, and superlative arrangements justify the effort. Gregertsen's lap-steel and weissenborn playing are particularly majestic, effectively evoking Jimi's aestethic without becoming derivative."
Yeah, life's been worse....
Not only is this steel a solid 9.5 cosmetically, I believe I counted something like ten very minor scratches and dings, but the sound.... oh boy.. it's smooth as velvet. Never had a steel that sounds as smooth as this before..
Here it is (haven't shot the "official portrait" yet because of bad weather) alongside the Fender Studio Deluxe I bought in early December:
And if floating around in Steel Guitar Heaven wasn't enough, I was made aware of this review in Guitar Player's "GP Editors Top Three" column today (it's in the February issue):
"Covering Hendrix tunes - let alone recording a whole album of them - is risky business. Yet in this case, the superb musicianship, sublime tones, and superlative arrangements justify the effort. Gregertsen's lap-steel and weissenborn playing are particularly majestic, effectively evoking Jimi's aestethic without becoming derivative."
Yeah, life's been worse....
- Gary Stevenson
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- Doug Beaumier
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- Steinar Gregertsen
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- Location: Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.
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While there is a noticeable difference in the acoustic tone, especially the sustain is much better on the 8-string, it's very much about the pickup(s).Gary Stevenson wrote:Is it the pickups that make the 8 sound better than the 6-string?Have you posted sound clips yet?
The bridge pickup in the 8-string on its own isn't much to get excited about, but - as Doug suggests - the 'magic' happens when you start blending in the second pickup. Turn it about 30-50% and it's the sweetest tone, blend in too much and it gets too bassy for my taste.
The tone of the 6-string isn't bad at all, just different,- a rougher, more edgy tone with more bite. Probably ideal for rockabilly and similar stuff that requires a 'dirtier' tone, especially after I replaced the original pickup with the Vintage Vibe.
Soundclips will have to wait till I get used to the narrow string spacing, too many "oops!" moments now...
- Mitch Crane
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- Steinar Gregertsen
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- Location: Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.
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Since much of the point of getting an 8-string was to break up old habits before I get completely stuck with them, I decided to go with C6 because it's really "foreign" to me and feels like (almost) starting over again. Will use A and Bb on the eight string but the jury is still out regarding the first string,- adding a 5th on top feels very logical to me, adding the 9th adds some very cool harmonic options, while the 3rd feels the safest way to go - so I won't go there..Mitch Crane wrote:What tuning are you going to use on the Deluxe 8 ?
Last edited by Steinar Gregertsen on 21 Jan 2011 8:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Todd Clinesmith
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- Location: Lone Rock Free State Oregon
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Good idea Steinar. When I got into 6th tunings I chose a tuning that was different than anyting I had played before .... to keep my old habits,licks and comfort zones from creeping in. After about 3 months of frusrtation, alot of things clicked and I was a free man. I Look forward to hearing what you do with the 8 string
Todd
Todd