Need some background on Sierra PSG

[Dave Mudgett]

I assume the OP is talking about this guitar - http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=271640

This guitar is not an Artist, it is a fully professional E9 guitar that just happens to not have a RKR lever. I woulda' said Timberwolf, but I've never seen one in white. I have owned 2 Sierras of this same basic design. The first (in my avatar) was pretty much exactly like this but with a rosewood mica front and 3+4, and was my main guitar for the first several years playing pedal steel - it is (IMO) one of the best guitars to learn on - it's ultra-stable and I personally like the front-to-back adjustable levers. The second was a 14-string universal 8+5. These guitars play great, are pretty straightforward to work on, and with the right pickup, sound great to me. This guitar appears to have a Danny Shields pickup with 3 sets of pole pieces. Both of mine came with the same pickup setup, and had 3 different but usable tones. People sometimes have told me that Sierras sounded thin, probably misled by their eyes viewing the all-metal construction. My experience was totally the opposite - they had a rich, solid tone and rang nicely in the upper register also. I think the pickup had a lot to do with it, but the same can probably be said for any guitar. But my guitars never, ever sounded thin in any way.

At $1250, I think it's a bargain. People are always asking, "What, oh, what can I get in a solid professional pedal steel in the $1000-1400 range, poor, poor, pitiful me?" Here's one, these things are as solid as a rock - and if taken care of, will last a lifetime and then some. Make it 3+5, and there's enough music to last a lifetime. And plenty of music in 3+3 - I'd just set up the RKL for the (IMO indispensable) string 2/9 lowers.

A friend of mine is now learning on my old 10-string. The 14-string was real heavy, I ain't getting any younger, and I ultimately didn't need the top and bottom strings. And I have 2 Zums and a Franklin. But if I needed a solid steel at a rock-bottom price, I would buy this in a New York minute.

My take, naturally.

[Charles Tilley]

I just bought a very nice "factory clean" Sierra Session D10.
I am trying to get adjusted to it and it is coming along quickly. There are 2 guitars that I think are built like a masterpiece. One is the Sierra and the other is MSA. If you can't believe that, just turn one upside down beside another brand and you will see the quality immediately.
I am not a conisuer on steel guitar but I know what I see and what I hear. After all, that is the most important thing to all of us.

If you have never owned a Sierra, you are missing out.IMHO.

[Jack Hanson]

But yeah... it is a wonder that the 6-string guitar industry hasn't gone to modular pickups.

The solid acrylic Dan Armstrong guitars marketed by Ampeg had modular pickups that worked quite well. There was a well known rock guitarist who endorsed and played one:

They were well made, played nicely, and sounded great, but you dang near needed a crane to lift one up.

[Jan Viljoen]

Another Burak video on a Sierra.

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfrUZICq5sM

[steve takacs]

David, you said:
"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.."

Do you know in particular the basis for which they were threatening the lawsuit? Did they ever sue? I would not be surprised if those two guys were suing on the basis Chuck Wright's steels were electrified.

I love Howard R.'s comment:
"I guess Leo Fender was concerned that Chuck Wright would get some of the ideas that Leo Fender got from Paul Bigsby......"

[David Wright]

Steve,
Never was a suit...

[Jack Wilson]

I remember reading a Buddy Emmons statement on this forum that his Sierra C6th neck was the best sounding of all the guitars he had played. I don't own a Sierra anymore but the removable pickups was one of my complaints. I had a S-10 Session and sometimes while playing, if a finger hit the pickup, it would move just enough to disconnect and cut the guitar off. The other complaint was the keyless tuner. If the 3rd string wasn't pulled tight enough you would run out of travel to get it to pitch.

[Jan Viljoen]

Hi blokes,

I never have the problem with my pickups. I have a Danny Shields double original and a TT.
I need both hands to pull them out in 2 South African seconds.


They are just nice and tight and make good contact with the points.

On another Sierra thread I gave more detail on the pickups. They are just very good for country music and anything else between.
Rolls Royce par excellence!

I must confess however, I suffer from that awful GAS sickness. Do you know the signs? Is it contagious?

My face is getting green when I see the Infinity, Fulawka, Sheffield.

Any cures from the land of the free and the brave?

Let the games begin!

[scott murray]

an old thread I know, but someone mentioned the removable pickups sometimes being knocked loose while playing. I had this same problem the first night I took my Sierra out, but there are screws under the pickup that can be turned to control how tightly the pickups are held in place.

I find it humorous that so many complain about the tone of Sierras when Buddy Emmons called it his favorite C6 tone he ever had. I've gotten nothing but compliments about my tone, both from musicians and audiences. and when others sit in on my steel, I have to agree.

I'm so happy with my Session that I'm purchasing another one this week, virtually identical, so I can have one to keep at home and one to gig with. I thought my Sho-Bud would be my stay-at-home guitar, but sadly it has gotten very little attention since I bought the Sierra last year.

I admit to disliking the look of Sierras at first, both the cabinet and the square legs. those things don't bother me at all anymore, and I doubt that many would be able to tell the difference in tone between a Sierra and many other top-of-the-line steels in a blindfold test.

great to see the brand continuing on!