differences in emmons guitars?

Chris Erbacher · Post by **Chris Erbacher** » 8 Jan 2004 2:48 am

i'm wondering what the differences are in different year emmons guitars. it may not be something that you can put into exct words, but maybe you can. i'm wondering if there are certain year guitars that are better and more desirable than others and why. pickups? changer design? historical significance? does an emmons from the late sixties have a different sound than one from the seventies? i am only interested in the push pull design here, and aware that emmons makes an all pull guitar. is it all opinion? or are there certain things that across the board, guys will tell you to avoid this or that, or definetely look for "x" because all the guitars with "x" are better for a certain reason. this may be a huge can of worms, but if you don't know an answer to an honest question, you ask, right? sort of like, i think it is common knowledge in the pedal steel community that it is generally a good idea to pass up the opportunity to buy a sho bud maverick (my apologies to anyone who owns one and is happy with it, but when i was first looking around, this was one of the guitars i was told by everyone to avoid). are there any "lemon" models or years? is there a site to go to that can date a guitar by the serial number? from everything i have read and seen, the emmons push pull is probably the most esteemed guitar from a tone standpoint, and somewhat divided in opinion in the setup and maintenance arena. the feeling i get is that certain people are wizards when i comes to working on these guitars. okay, i think that gets my idea out there and i hope i was clear enough in my explanation. i guess to sum it all up, if i were looking for an emmons, which year, pickup, neck, changer, and endplate would be the best overall decision to make. i know already that the best color to have is black

thanks in advance to all who offer their help here.

George Kimery · Post by **George Kimery** » 8 Jan 2004 4:37 am

Chris:

You might want to do a search under my name or under "Do all PP's have "that" sound?" It was a similar thread I started about a year ago and there were 4 pages of responses!

Chris Erbacher · Post by **Chris Erbacher** » 8 Jan 2004 6:52 pm

thanks, i just checked out the post and it was most informative and i remember reading it when it was going strong. so i guess it is a personal thing, but Mr. Seymour can make all of them sound as good as they can. i guess there are no bad push pulls, only ones that need a good setup, and the wrap around design is the most desirable for the overall best tonal characteristics, along with the right hand of course. does anyone know of a list of serial numbers that can date a guitar or specifics about the guitar as it came from production? i guess there is no substitute for playing the guitar in person, and if you like it, then that is good enough. any additional help is still greatly appreciated. thanks

Tom Wicks · Post by **Tom Wicks** » 9 Jan 2004 12:17 am

My new 400 Williams D-10 has a E-9btone to die for but th C-6 was to sharp for my taste so I got Jerry Wallace to do his magic and now I can die for both, I do believe that to much credit goes to the guitar and not enugh
to the pickup and amps, I play both Williams
and an Emmons Tom

John Lacey · Post by **John Lacey** » 9 Jan 2004 5:24 am

The skinny I got from Jay Dee Maness was to look for a '68-'69 Emmons which is the cut-tail design. I didn't ask him why it was the best years, but eventually copped a '69 myself. They are lovely guitars but you sure have to want one to have it as your only guitar, otherwise you might not appreciate it. Check the Carter site for PP ser. #'s.

Bill Terry · Post by **Bill Terry** » 9 Jan 2004 7:48 am

I think the ones with decals sound better.

Ray Jenkins · Post by **Ray Jenkins** » 9 Jan 2004 8:32 am

<SMALL>I think the ones with decals sound better.</SMALL>

Me too Bill and the more worn the decal the better the tone (sound)

Ray

------------------
Steeling is still legal in Arizona