I don't claim to be an expert on this subject, but I have arrived at a few conclusions after many hours of research and observation. These ideas haven't been thoroughly expressed on the forum yet (at least, not that I've found). I think it's important to discover and establish the true factors that distinguish spectacular-sounding steels from average-sounding ones. I can't speak for others, but it was only the best-sounding steel guitars that got me into the instrument in the first place- none of the average-sounding ones inspired me.
Many people make vague statements like, "it's the sum of all parts", as if there's no way of determining how to get good results. Unless there are any magical-unicorn steels out there, I disagree with this. This is an issue regarding design, and there are many parts of a steel guitar that I would argue have no impact on tonal qualities. The "sum of all parts" is an exact recipe to an exact make- not the answer to why the great ones sound great. Ok- let’s get into it...
One popular idea is that certain pieces of a steel guitar should act as one to increase vibrations, and this process creates a superior tone. There are varying ideas on what these pieces are... that’s where the partial truth is. Some people think vibrations occur in some silly path, like from the string, to the changer finger, to the scissor finger, to the body, back through the changer finger, then straight to the moon and back. This can’t be true because the best steel guitars have more sustain. If the string’s energy is lost to parts that aren’t heard by the pickup, then it’s lost sustain. Centralizing as much of that energy as possible to the neck will cause it to ring longer, and increase sustain. So, how is this done? Assuming this is all true, I have at least one thought.
Looking at the Franklin changer, it seems to be designed with one thing in mind- decoupling the mechanisms underneath from the “guitar†parts on top (neck, roller nut, key head, body). This is accomplished by minimizing the amount of contact between the changer fingers and the scissors. The sustain increases and the tone sweetens because the scissor fingers aren’t absorbing the vibrations from the changer fingers. The neck resonates more, and the vibrations are distributed throughout the entire body much better than if scissor fingers were stealing it. This resonance of the entire instrument isn’t the goal – it’s just a side effect of a happy guitar. The goal to let the “guitar†part of the instrument act as independently as possible from the mechanical side. Other steel guitars I’ve had don’t do this (in fact, they seem to do the exact opposite) and I think it makes a major difference.
My wife has a cast-aluminum lap steel from Todd Clinesmith. It has such a sweet tone, and the sustain is incredible- better than most pedal steels. The best pedal steels are designed at the changer end to preserve this as much as possible. I haven’t seen the Infinity changer, but I’d love to confirm if it appears to be designed with this idea in mind. In all my study, I believe this is the single most important thing that distinguishes a good steel from a great one. I bet many pedal steels out there could really come alive if the changer & scissor fingers were replaced with a better choice.
I have a strong feeling that the second/third most important things are using tight-grained, quarter-sawn maple instead of the more-economical flat-sawn, and minimizing the amount of metal surface area screwed to the body underneath. The most lively-sounding steel guitars I’ve heard and played don’t have cross rods attached to 2 ½â€wide plates down the length of the guitar. This choice is completely in line with seeking to de-couple the “guitar†parts from the mechanical parts. At least one of my other steels had flat-sawn wood. It was less lively, but I’m sure some portion of that is due to the changer design.
I don’t think casted vs machined endplates makes a big difference in sound. Casted vs machined necks might make a difference- many of the Franklin guitars have machined necks and that reportedly has little influence, but I know Todd Clinesmith found a major improvement in casting his aluminum lap steels instead of machining. If I remember correctly, he said the sustain was superior in casted. After receiving one of his instruments, I tend to trust his opinion. I can tell he is very concerned with great tone.
I'm interested in what others think. That is- unless you're like my grandpa who bought a stratocaster, then traded it in for a telecaster and couldn't tell a lick of difference in sound...
