Need some background on Sierra PSG

Ray Anderson · Post by **Ray Anderson** » 13 Nov 2011 5:51 am

Hello Forumites, I,m looking at a S-10 Sierra 3x3 and was needing some background info on these. Who makes them And are they top of the line guitars? What's the setup (i.e.) are they all pull, psh pull or pull release? Are parts available? and last of all the "tone" is it to the treble sound or the bass sound. Any help wuld be appreciated and welcomed.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 13 Nov 2011 6:16 am

Mechanically among the very best and most advanced. Most I've heard are very bright, but their owners like it that way

Ross Shafer · Post by **Ross Shafer** » 13 Nov 2011 7:40 am

Sierra's were built by Sierra...founded by Chuck Wright in 1960. Most of Sierra's production happened when the shop was in Portland, Or. Sierra is not producing Pedal Steels right now, but still produces its Lap Steel model.

Parts availability depends on which model you're talking about. Jim Palenscar at Steel Guitars of North County is your best bet for parts: http://www.steelguitars.me/

Sierra's website is here: http://www.sierrasteels.com

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 13 Nov 2011 7:52 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hnHHt-poC8

here's one

admin · Post by **b0b** » 13 Nov 2011 9:14 am

Most Sierra guitars have the modular pickup design. You can hot swap the pickup to suit your taste in tone. When I was performing with one, I sometimes had 4 pickups on deck, switching them between songs to get the tone I wanted. It takes about 5 seconds to change the pickup.

The mechanical aspects of Sierra guitars are superb.

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 13 Nov 2011 9:46 am

Chuck Wright's part in the history of pedal steel is immense. Historically he is so important, and is up there with Paul Bigsby, Shot Jackson and Buddy Emmons.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 13 Nov 2011 11:09 am

Most Sierra guitars have the modular pickup design.

The only thing I liked about the Sierra guitars. I wish every builder would have adopted this approach, not only for switching for different songs, but being able to try out different pickups without have to remove strings and rewire the pickups.

I've never heard a Sierra yet that I really liked the tone, except maybe Pete Finney's. But a top notch guitar mechanically.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 13 Nov 2011 1:44 pm

The new MSA's also have a modular pickup system, and unfortunately it is not compatible with Sierra's. This the one thing about the guitar I would change.

I agree with Richard. This feature should be integrated into every steel guitar. Only now that there are 2 different systems, manufactureres have to decide which one to use.

I only use one pickup; a Tone Aligner. I have one in both my guitars. I settled on it after trying out several others. As Richard says, one of the advantages of a modular pickup system is that you can try out and compare different pickups, without taking the strings off. I found that to be very helpful in deciding which one to use.

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 14 Nov 2011 9:32 am

What model Sierra are you looking at?
Got a pic?

That Jay Leach vid sounds pretty much like what a modern Sierra generally sounds like to me.
You can go either way from there with regard to making it a bit brighter or darker to taste.

If it is a Sierra Artist model, I don't recall if that model had Modular Pickups.

But yeah... it is a wonder that the 6-string guitar industry hasn't gone to modular pickups.
Every guitar player would buy a dozen pickups.
I know at one time I had 13 pickups for my Sierra.
That was some fun times!
I'm down to 4 or 5 now.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 14 Nov 2011 9:48 am

If builders all got together and asked what feature would I most like to see on a guitar, it would have to be the modular pickups, well, outside of mental telepathy actuated pedals and levers.

Lynn Stafford · Post by **Lynn Stafford** » 14 Nov 2011 10:04 am

Richard Sinkler wrote:
Most Sierra guitars have the modular pickup design.
The only thing I liked about the Sierra guitars. I wish every builder would have adopted this approach, not only for switching for different songs, but being able to try out different pickups without have to remove strings and rewire the pickups.

I've never heard a Sierra yet that I really liked the tone, except maybe Pete Finney's. But a top notch guitar mechanically.

I agree about the ability to change pickups on the fly. I too wish more builders would incorporate that into their designs.

I just finished revising the set-up on an '84 Sierra U-12 8x6 for a local Oregon customer. Sierras are really built to last and pretty straightforward to work on. I must say that I usually don't care for their tone very much and the way the knee levers can pivot toward you while you are playing. While working on this one, I came up with a way to prevent that. I made some small aluminum angle clips to wrap around the back side of the the knee lever clevisis to prevent the handles from pivoting backwards. Worked like a charm!

I've had the pleasure of seeing and hearing my friend, Pete Burak tearing it up on his Sierra. Let me tell you, he can really play...and his tone is great! Might be the best tone from a Sierra I've ever heard!

Jim Eaton · Post by **Jim Eaton** » 14 Nov 2011 1:22 pm

Don Christensen made all the parts for Sierra guitars using GibbsCAM machining software, which is the product that is sold by my "day job".
We had Sierra as our featured customer in our booth at a WesTec machine industry trade show @ the Los Angeles Convention Center a few years ago. Don sent us a D-10 that we displayed all set up, but upside down in the case so the undercarrage was displayed and I was playing the Session S-12 E9/B6 guitar that I owned at that time. Lot's of folks came up and knew right away that it was a steel guitar and several even requested some instrumental tunes that only a real steel fan would have known!!!
JE:-)>

Mike Pace · Post by **Mike Pace** » 14 Nov 2011 5:33 pm

If it's a 3x3, then it's most likely a Sierra Artist model. I owned a 3x4 Artist several years ago. These pale in comparison to their Session, Crown and Olympic models, BUT, if you invest in some different bellcranks (the Artist's cranks have fixed positions on the cross-shafts), then the Artist becomes every bit as versatile and adjustable as a full-out "pro" guitar, albeit that's a subjective term.

Dale Lee · Post by **Dale Lee** » 14 Nov 2011 6:08 pm

Mike Pace,

Could you expand a little on your post?

if you invest in some different bellcranks (the Artist's cranks have fixed positions on the cross-shafts), then the Artist becomes every bit as versatile and adjustable as a full-out "pro" guitar

What different bellcranks are you referring to? And what are the benefits of using them?

I have a Sierra Artist 3x2, and would like to learn more about this potential upgrade.

Tony Glassman · Post by **Tony Glassman** » 14 Nov 2011 6:28 pm

Mike Pace wrote:If it's a 3x3, then it's most likely a Sierra Artist model. I owned a 3x4 Artist several years ago. These pale in comparison to their Session, Crown and Olympic models, BUT, if you invest in some different bellcranks (the Artist's cranks have fixed positions on the cross-shafts), then the Artist becomes every bit as versatile and adjustable as a full-out "pro" guitar, albeit that's a subjective term.

When Harley James and I worked for Sierra in the late 70's, we introduced a model called the "Timberwolf".

The guitar was essentially their pro S-10 3+3, with polished, (rather than anodized) aluminum, and no mica color options (rosewood only). We sold a lot of those guitars.

John Russell · Post by **John Russell** » 14 Nov 2011 6:56 pm

I bought Ross Shafer's Olympic SD-12 back in July and it's been a great guitar. I'm pleased with the sound--I prefer the humbucker pickup but they're both excellent. There are some issues I discovered about this guitar that I had to fix. The reverse knee levers weren't as smooth and positive as I was used to. I found a builder in Salado, TX named Jim Flynn who built a reverse lever for the E lowers. It works great (see pictures). The factory knee levers swing perpendicular to the guitar, not parallel as most knee levers do. Also they swing both directions--into and away from the guitar. I found this annoying but there's a fix I came up with. Another drawback on my guitar is the double raise and lower changers. Almost all new guitars have triple-raise. I raise my #4 string (E) with two levers and one pedal. I devised a workaround for this that works--you do need to tune one change underneath the guitar, not at the end plate. My #4 E to F raise is on a linkage that rides on the E to F# lever cross axle.

Conclusion: these are well-built and great sounding pedal steels. The design is very innovative and they make other brands look crude as their engineering is so meticulous. They need a few "adjustments" but to me, it's worth the effort. Lastly, they are heavy, my SD-12 weighs about 14 lbs. more than my Zum SD-12 with the same setup--5 knees and 6 pedals. I've played two gigs with this guitar and listeners remarked on the great tone. --JR

The underside before the knee lever modifications.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 14 Nov 2011 11:09 pm

Ken Byng wrote:Chuck Wright's part in the history of pedal steel is immense. Historically he is so important, and is up there with Paul Bigsby, Shot Jackson and Buddy Emmons.

I agree, verbatim.

Fred Glave · Post by **Fred Glave** » 15 Nov 2011 9:55 am

I owned a Sierra Crown U12 for a few years. It was a very mechanically sound guitar. Build well and played smoothly. I only had 3 issues with it. 1. It was very heavy. 2. Universal tuning was not my cup of tea. 3. The tone was not what I liked. I tried several different pickups, but couldn't get the sound I wanted. Some people say that the tone is very bright, but for me it was a little muddy. I couldn't figure it out. I tried different amps, and had the guitar checked out too. Oh well. By the way bandmembers, and others thought the guitar sounded fine, it was just me. Oh well.

John Russell · Post by **John Russell** » 15 Nov 2011 12:01 pm

I guess it's why you can buy acoustic guitars made with rosewood, maple, mahogany, etc. I find the tone of this guitar very pleasing. My "main" guitar is a Zumsteel, also an outstanding sound, but different. Maybe my ears aren't so fine tuned as other's. I find the ergonomics, or feel of an instrument more critical than it's voice--within reason. All the better brands sound good--in the right hands.

Kurt Schrotenboer · Post by **Kurt Schrotenboer** » 22 Dec 2012 9:49 am

I agree the pickup can have much to do with the tone ...on any psg. Just like a Les Paul 6 string electric, using that neck position pickup has more tone so will a psg the more the pickup is positioned away from the bridge.

Second, it's where you pick the strings. Move your hand position away from the bridge for more tone

Third, your amplifier ...a 15" speaker will have more tone than a 10" or 12". I know people like the Peavey Vegas types and they are good but that aluminium dome does poke at the 2k hz. A well tuned speaker cabinet is the best in all cases.

Additionally yes a dual coil pickup will have more tone and usually no hum ...an amp with a variable frequency mid range control can make a big difference ...last thing is IMO a "good" compressor/expander/limiter will enhance the sustain.

Brett Day · Post by **Brett Day** » 22 Dec 2012 10:12 am

I rented a Sierra Artist pedal steel in 1999 a few months before I started playin'-I didn't have a steel bar at the time, so I just kinda played around with the picks and pedals. In the late 80s, "Cowboy" Eddie Long played a Sierra with Hank Williams Jr, and it was on one live performance of "Born To Boogie" that Hank decided to play steel a little bit, so while Eddie watched, Hank played a little bit of "Steel Guitar Rag" on the Sierra. Eddie's Sierra had his name on it under the logo

Brett

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 23 Dec 2012 6:47 pm

Mike Perlowin wrote:The new MSA's also have a modular pickup system, and unfortunately it is not compatible with Sierra's. This the one thing about the guitar I would change.

The MSA design has a pickup dovetailed on the bottom. However, IMHO the dovetail is too shallow, which can make the pickup somewhat cumbersome to install.

I also agree on Chuck's importance in the world of pedal steel, but certainly not because of the Sierra, whose design excentricities left many players turned off.

David Wright · Post by **David Wright** » 24 Dec 2012 6:36 am

Sierra was a guitar you either loved the looks or didn't..I always like it, it was different, and you never wondered what kind of guitar it was...MSA came to me when they were doing the new MSA and asked me if I thought Dad would mind if they used his idea about the pickups, I talked to him about it, he said OK...he had no "rights" on it, and was a great idea.. He was always trying to come up with new ideas for the guitar..he spent a BIG part of his life building & designing steel guitars..as far as tone, it sounded as good as the player behind it !!! .. best sounding guitar I ever had and played was a Black&Gold Sierra, I did my 2 CD's with it, ... I truly hope Sierra keeps in the Steel world, if you think about it , they are the oldest steel building company left..My dad was threatened to be sued both by Leo Fender & Paul Bigsby back in the early years, he took from there ideas and try to improve on them..he even went to Fenders factory , and when they found out who he was , was asked to leave

...Steel espionage at it's best.!! .. I like to see discussions about him and his guitars...

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 24 Dec 2012 9:48 pm

I guess Leo Fender was concerned that Chuck Wright would get some of the ideas that Leo Fender got from Paul Bigsby......

Sounds like a who's who of who's suing who.......

Jan Viljoen · Post by **Jan Viljoen** » 15 Sep 2014 11:01 pm

Thanks Blokes and to Lynn Stafford.

Here is Pete Burak on his blue Sierra and the next vid may not be him, but the close up is of his Sierra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF6t6nWiRII

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQN9YWGQ-io

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