U-12 pickup question

Dave Meis · Post by **Dave Meis** » 1 May 2020 1:18 pm

Seems a lot of people (myself included) use different pick ups on different necks. I'm curious about what folks are doing with their U-12's.
I know that it's hard to get you guys to have an opinion about pickups (and picks,and cords, and amplifiers), but IF YOU PLAY U-12, tell me what you think, and I'd REALLY be interested in what DIDN'T work out for you and why..
The perfect reply would be:
I love this one
I don't like this one
ðŸ˜ƒ
Thanks!

Edit to add:
Think of it as a 'desert island' question (assuming that the desert island had electricity, a honky tonk, and a recording studio)... which one would you want, and which one would you leave there, if any!
Thanks!

Ian Rae · Post by **Ian Rae** » 1 May 2020 3:37 pm

My first uni12 I built myself and I used a George Lewis EON which sounded fine.

When I ordered my Excel one option was the Alumitone which I was curious about so I went for that and it's really clear and transparent. So when I ordered my Williams I went for the same and it suits that rather different guitar equally well.

I should declare that I take a "hi-fi" approach (I like active pedals) and if you want a "classic" sound with a pot pedal and vintage amp, ignore the above

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 1 May 2020 3:43 pm

I have been a gigging S12U player since going to a Jeff Newman week-long class in July 1982, and mainly play with 4 or 5 piece bands that play Country, Country-Rock, and Western Swing, and sometimes I gig with Singer/Songwrites usually as a Duo or Trio. I do some solo Steel stuff too using the S12U's low end for Travis/Atkins style picking.
I basically dial in a tone I like, and let it rip.
If I need a little more bass or treble I play a little closer to the twelth fret or a little closer to the pickup. Sometimes I adjust the amp if needed, but not for just one song.
I would say all of the commercially available 12 string single coil and humbucker pickups I have tried in various Steels at Steel Shows and Steel Shops in recent years all sound good to me.
I have also tried alot of Double Necks and noticed there is not alot of difference in the tone of E9/C6 10 string pickups when I play the same lick in the same spot on both necks (you can try this yourself by going on/off the E9th A-pedal string-5 and then find the same note on the 6th neck and go on/off P7).
I have tried some older 70's Sierra pickups with 3 rows of poles that sounded too Bass-ee to me, so I personally don't use those, but I still see them around and the players make them sound good.
If you are trying out an S12U, you could try playing a twangy Buck Ownes song like Act Naturally, then a swingy Asleep at the Wheel song like Choo Choo Cha Boogie.

Ken Metcalf · Post by **Ken Metcalf** » 1 May 2020 4:13 pm

Prefer True Tone single coil.
2nd Humbucker XR-16.
Alumitone is next.
Telonics is least fav.

Dennis Detweiler · Post by **Dennis Detweiler** » 1 May 2020 5:37 pm

I've played through most brands of pickups. I settled on Telonics X-12 as my favorite. Second to that is the Telonics 409. They are humbuckers with adjustable poles for balancing string volume and tone. My favorite single coil was Truetone wound to 18000. The Telonics is dead quiet compared to single coil. Great for studio and has a single coil sound, but more balanced. Taking time to adjust the poles properly is key to getting the tone you prefer.

Markus Mayerhofer · Post by **Markus Mayerhofer** » 2 May 2020 4:41 am

Choosing and finding the right pickup is such a personal thing, and i do not intend to discredit any company or product, this is just my personal impression:
I have on both of my guitars (Sierra and GFI) George L's E-66.
I find them to be pretty hot with plenty of output, but i miss the higher frequencies badly. They have lots of mids and bass, i normally dial out with a equalizer.
I've got the impression that those mids and hotness will be slightly enhanced by any active volume-pedal, in my case a Hilton...
But they sound not too bad on higher volume settings, you choose when playing live onstage.
I learned to live with 'em over the years at least with the help of my Empress paraEQ, but i'm going to replace one of them with a custom wound PU now. The new one is a Humbucker with coil tap options for single coil / parallel coils / humbucker.
It's in production and i can't wait to get it...

John De Maille · Post by **John De Maille** » 2 May 2020 7:57 am

When I got my new ZumSteel, back in 2003, Bruce and I both decided on a BL 912 humbucker to put on my steel. I did a lot of recording then and he thought I might be happier not having to worry about inherent hum. However, I wasn't that happy with that choice. The bottom end was a little too muddy for me and the top end wasn't silky enough. So, I talked with Jerry Wallace and he suggested a TT wound to 19,500 ohms. What a difference that pickup made on my steel. No mud on the bottom and the highs go on forever. And, I have never had a hum problem with it! Also, the string separation is very good. It is now a permanent part of my steel.

John Sluszny · Post by **John Sluszny** » 2 May 2020 8:23 am

Lawrence XR-16

Ian Rae · Post by **Ian Rae** » 2 May 2020 8:29 am

The pickup on a guitar is closely analogous with the mouthpiece on a wind instrument. There are no inherently bad ones. A "good" one helps you to get "your" sound and the best is the one that requires the least effort to achieve it.

Without going into the whole "sound is in the hands" thing, we all have enough processing power to bend the output of any pickup, but the result will be cleaner if it comes naturally.

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 2 May 2020 8:39 am

I would not want to wind up on a desert island gig with a pickup that is too Bass-ee.

Dave, What is your underlying concern about pickup brand/model???

If you ever visit Portland Oregon you are welcome to try out the S12U's I have here.
Forum member John McClung has some 12 string Ext E9th Steels with 12-string pickups in Olympia, also.
If you're getting an MSA S12U I would ask Forum member Dick Wood what he uses. His MSA S12U sounds great to me.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 2 May 2020 8:50 am

And just to show you that two people can have two totally different experiences with the same exact pickup on the same brand of pedal steel, I tried a few pickups on my 2001 ZumSteel U12 and found that, all things considered, I prefer the Lawrence 912. It came with a TrueTone wound to 17,500, and I also tried a Lawrence 712 and a George L's 12-1.

I thought they all sounded good, but the 912 was it for me. The TrueTone does sound great, and I refuse to get rid of it - it is a somewhat different sound. But in addition to the smooth but (to my ears) emphatically not muddy sound of the 912, I really need a humbucker in a guitar or two if I want to record from home at all - the electromagnetic interference at my house is horrible. We had some work done a while back and I think I need to go ferret out a grounding issue.

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 2 May 2020 8:57 am

Here's a Zum S12U with Lawence Humbucker (I don't remember what model, maybe someone will recognize it?):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aXcKe6Cz_k

I've kinda gone full circle on the pickup thing. I've had a Sierra with interchangeable pickups since 1998 and have tried a ton of them.
My most used pickup for gigging in recent years is a 12-string Wallace True-Tone 17.5.

Dave Meis · Post by **Dave Meis** » 2 May 2020 9:56 am

Thanks guys! I came into an older Williams lacquer guitar that I'm finally getting around to, and it has a single coil in it that doesn't really fit.. if I'm going to use it, I'll have to take it out and remove some of the lower flange so I can lower the pickup . It also came with an Alumitone, so realizing I'll have to remove it no matter what, I figured I'd see what others were doing. Then I got to thinking about the '2 pickups on 2 necks' thing, which got me wondering .. I know there's a lot of good pickups being made, but I can't afford all of them and figured I'd come closer to eliminating some by asking those that have been doing this for a while. I had Jerry wind TTs for all my guitars, but that's not an option anymore ðŸ˜¢. I've been really happy with BL 705s in my Mullen and Sho-Buds, but wasn't sure of the different requirements that might present on Universal...maybe I think too much!ðŸ˜„
I really appreciate the responses, and thanks for the invite, Pete..I do get down that way once in a while! ðŸ˜ƒ

rick andrews · Post by **rick andrews** » 5 May 2020 7:05 pm

I play a U12 Mullen G2. Their stock single coil pickups are really good. I tried a Telonics X12 and really like it too. To my ear either of these are a great choice.

Ian Rae · Post by **Ian Rae** » 6 May 2020 1:46 am

I don't play D10 any more, but to me having two different pickups makes perfect sense.

There is supposed to be a contrast between the two necks, and pickup choice can surely enhance that.

Austin Tripp · Post by **Austin Tripp** » 7 May 2020 6:00 pm

I've played a uni 12 for 5 years now and I'll never go back to a D10. My favorite pickups in a 12 are Lawrence 712 and XR-16. I have 2 Mullen G2s and the one I leave on the semi has the XR-16. To me, that pickup is brighter live and cuts through the sound system a little better. But in the studio, I prefer the 712 which is what I have in my home G2. Seems like its more mid rangy and works better in a studio situation. I don't like single coil pickups in a 12 string. I found myself trying to adjust my amp more often than I should to accommodate the low strings (I use a .70 on my 12) and the high strings together. My next in line favorite would be a Lawrence 912. I used one of them in a BMI I had a few years ago and it matched with that guitar very well. With us uni players, its like we have to pack 2 pickups into 1. A pickup that will work well with the low wound strings and also work well with the high strings. I've settled with the XR16 and 712 until I find something else I really like!

Jim Pitman · Post by **Jim Pitman** » 10 May 2020 4:41 pm

Tonealigner.

Chris Reesor · Post by **Chris Reesor** » 10 May 2020 8:30 pm

I'm a satisfied Tonealigner user too. The time spent on adjusting the polepieces to balance out string volume and get a little more brightness and bite out of the lowest strings and mellow out the highest ones is time well spent.

My previous guitar, a Carter U12, had a Lawrence XR16, which I thought had a good sound, but it was excessively microphonic, so I swapped it for the Tonealigner.

When I got my current guitar, an Excel Superb U12, it had a Truetone aboard; the Tonealigner shortly moved over to the Excel and the Truetone went into the Carter and off to its new home in Tarheel country.

If I were to order a new guitar, I would spec a Telonics 409 or X12, since Tonealigners aren't in production.