TrueTone Pickups

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 11 Jan 2003 6:53 pm

I sent Jerry Wallace a Mullen pickup that had an internal problem. Jerry took it apart, cleaned it up, rewound it to his TT-12 specs, worked a little secret magic on it, and sent it back to me.

I installed in on my Mullen U-12 today and I'm just blown away at the difference it made in my guitar. The stock Mullen pickup sounded great, but I'm at a loss for words to describe the difference Jerry's pickup has made in the sound of my guitar.

Great work Jerry and thanks for the quick turnaround.

If any of you guys need a new single-coil pickup or want to breath some life in an old single-coil, get in contact with Jerry.

Great work at a great price.

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Lee, from South Texas
Down On The Rio Grande

Tony Dingus · Post by **Tony Dingus** » 11 Jan 2003 9:20 pm

Lee, how quiet is it compared to other single coils? I used to have a Emmons single
coil in my JCH and it sound great but, I got tired of the hum and went with a humbucker.

richard burton · Post by **richard burton** » 12 Jan 2003 10:20 am

I put one in my Carter. It improved the tone 100%, but the downside is too much hum, certainly for recording purposes. For some reason, the hum on my truetone pickup was worse when the volume pedal was plugged in. I tried various volume pedals and leads, but it changed nothing. Plugging the steel directly into the amp, the hum was acceptable for live work, but I need my volume pedal!
Is there any way that I can shield the pickup to reduce the hum, as the steel tone is enhanced by the JW Truetone, and I am reluctant to go back to a humbucker.

richard burton · Post by **richard burton** » 12 Jan 2003 10:26 am

I forgot to add that I had the single coil wound to 16.5K instead of 17.5K, so it may be that is the reason for the hum, as everyone else on the forum who has a Truetone reports very little hum.

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 12 Jan 2003 10:58 am

Richard; have you tried the 10K active volume pedal by Goodrich and George L cables???....if not...those are my suggestions for the quietest sound.
Ricky

autry andress · Post by **autry andress** » 12 Jan 2003 11:38 am

Richard: I installed the true tone in my Derby. I finally fine tuned the height of the pick up & very little hum. This is the best sounding single coil I've heard. My Ohms
are 21000. Hilton Pedal, Session 500. This replaced a E-66. I can have this in Dallas for any one to take a test Drive in March,Steel Conv .just let me know.[This message was edited by autry andress on 12 January 2003 at 11:40 AM.][This message was edited by autry andress on 12 January 2003 at 12:25 PM.][This message was edited by autry andress on 12 January 2003 at 12:27 PM.]

Anders Brundell · Post by **Anders Brundell** » 12 Jan 2003 2:33 pm

Is True Tone a standard, a manufacturer´s brand or what?
I have a Sierra single 14 with a slide-on pickup that has a somewhat nasal sound. Since I know I like the Mullen sound - are there True Tone pickups available for Sierra 14 stringers? In that case - where could I buy one?
I play thru a Session 500.

Jeff Evans · Post by **Jeff Evans** » 12 Jan 2003 2:49 pm

They're built by Jerry Wallace. Look here for links to him: http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum3/HTML/015608.html

I like the tone, too, but I reluctantly went back to a humbucker for the silence. What I've begged Jerry for is a True Tone humbucker to capture the best of both worlds. How about it, Jer?

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 12 Jan 2003 4:31 pm

One thing I really like is the clear, bell-like tone, even in the lower registers. The strings on my U-12 are at least 6 months old and even the large, wound strings sound brand new.

Tony - The room where my guitar is set up has horrible 60-cycle hum. At one time I tried a Lawrence humbucker (600 series) and still had hum in that particular room! I'll have to move the guitar into another room in the house to see how quiet it is.

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Lee, from South Texas
Down On The Rio Grande

Anders Brundell · Post by **Anders Brundell** » 15 Jan 2003 11:21 am

Thanks, Jeff!
I´ve gotten in contact with Jerry and I´m inclined to order a pickup.