steel tones...

Russell Fincher · Post by **Russell Fincher** » 7 May 2002 4:13 pm

I’m fairly new to the pedal steel, and before a start to spend some serious cash on my next guitar I’m curious about the different sounds of different steels, not tunings but tones. I know most people prefer certain brands or pickups. Is it possible for someone to break down a few general ‘sounds’ of steels and give examples of what musicians I could listen to to help me understand this?

Post by **Joey Ace** » 7 May 2002 4:25 pm

My goodness, Russ! This is an excellent question and has the potential to bring the Best (or worst) of this forum.

Listen to the audio samples at Ricky and Rebel's site http://users.interlinks.net/rebel/steel/steel.html and see what you like.

Listen to anything by Alan Jackson to hear the commercial Nashville Sound, by Paul Franklin.corrected per below post, opps.

Listen to the Desert Rose Band to hear West Coast Sound via JD Maness, or Ralph Mooney with Buck or Waylon to hear early West Coast Style.

Listen to John Hughey with Vince Gill to hear great (I can't thing of another description) tone.

That's just a start. I'll be checking back to see what others advise.

The CD "Northern Steel" has tracks with different brands of Steel identified, MCI, Emmons, Carter, Franklin, Fender, ...

Some discussion of it at http://steelguitarforum.com/Archives/Archive-000003/HTML/20011227-1-007514.html

Here we go... [This message was edited by Joey Ace on 07 May 2002 at 05:30 PM.][This message was edited by Joey Ace on 08 May 2002 at 06:10 AM.]

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 7 May 2002 4:34 pm

Joey, <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Listen to anything by Alan Jackson to hear the commercial Nashville Sound, by Paul Jackson.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>is Paul Jackson Alans' brother?

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 7 May 2002 5:16 pm

Russell,

Good question. But I am not sure I know how to answer it!

It is true that each brand of guitar tends to have its own sound. BUT sooo much can alter "that" sound.

Many have said, "It's all in the hands". And this has merit. Most can tell it is John Hughey no matter what brand of steel he is playing. Same goes for Buddy Emmons, Tom Brumley, etc.

But to be more specific, certain steels tend to be brighter than others. Good example is the MSA versus the Emmons. The MSA generally speaking has a mellow sound. The Emmons a bright sound. Sho-Buds are unigue and difficult to discribe. And so goes all the others.

The best way and the only way I would ever suggest is, to go to one of the larger conventions where YOU can sit down at many different steels and hear their differences and pick the one YOU like.

While sound is extremely important, it is NOT the only thing that is important. How a particular guitar feels to YOU is MOST important IMHO. Service from a given manufacturer can be worth its weight in Gold.

God bless you in your quest,

carl

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 7 May 2002 6:27 pm

Carl is right, Russel. Most of it is in the player's hands. A good portion is in the amp, too. A small portion is in the guitar itself, and an even smaller portion is in the pickups. It is my considered opinion that a slight change in the midrange control on any good amp will give you far more tonal variation than any pickup change you might make. If you don't believe me, go to the Carter site, and listen for yourself.

But, there are undoubtedly several thousand steelers who will argue the point.

(Here they come now!)

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 7 May 2002 11:12 pm

Right in the metroplex area you have some of the greatest steel players that ever lived playing gigs every night. Go out, hit the clubs and start bugging steel players ! In general steel players are happy to talk shop. Go listen to Gary Carpenter, Jr Knight, Reece Anderson or any number of amazing players out your way.

This computer stuff leaves quite a bit to be desired when it comes to usefull information about how something sounds.

Bob

Russell Fincher · Post by **Russell Fincher** » 8 May 2002 9:19 am

Thanks everyone for your great responses. That 'Rebel, Ricky, and Jeff's' page is an amazing resource, and has already helped me narrow down the sound I'm after. And to realize that much of that can be done at the amp (and of course in the fingers!) gives me alot of control now. I appreciate all your help and the general positivity of this forum.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 9 May 2002 7:42 am

The amount of tone that is in the amp should not be underestimated. I was playing for a family gathering in Pennsylvania last week, using an old Sho-Bud Maverick fitted with a Bill Lawrence pickup. Initially, I plugged it into a very nice compact bass amp. It didn't matter how much I twisted the knobs, though. I couldn't get a good steel tone out of it.

Finally, I asked my brother-in-law if we could haul his Mesa/Boogie to the event. He agreed that while it was a hassle, it would probably be an improvement. The difference was dramatic! It only took ten seconds to dial in an "acceptable" tone. The clarity, frequency response and presence of a great amp was all I needed to get a wonderful tone.

Yeah, a lot of it is in the hands, but the wrong amp can make anyone sound mediocre.

------------------
<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic) Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6)

Russell Fincher · Post by **Russell Fincher** » 9 May 2002 9:23 am

Right now I'm using my old guitar amp, a Fender Twin (not the Twin Reverb). Does anyone use this for a steel amp?

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 9 May 2002 1:37 pm

I highly recommend the Nortern Steel album. Each brand of guitar is listed per track and there are many brands represented. Its a good representation of manufacturer's guitar tones. Tremendous playing by many different steel players also.[This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 09 May 2002 at 02:38 PM.]