Comparison of 6 different steel guitars

[John LeMaster]

I stumbled on to this video of a fine steel player expertly comparing - by seamlessly switching from one to the next - an Anapeg, 4 different Emmons steels, and a classic MSA. He chose the song "From A Distance".

(If this has been posted on the Forum before, forgive me, as I had not seen it.)

https://youtu.be/Fpn55HVAoEg

[Bob Carlucci]

Guys a great player with a wonderful touch. The Emmons S12 Universal was the best sounding guitar he played although they all sounded good in his hands... The Anapeg is warm but I dunno, they don't do it for me most of the time.. They seem to lack a nice high end definition, at least the few times I have heard one.. When Brumley switched to the Anapeg, I felt it changed his signature tone. Nothing at all like the ZB guitars he played for so long.
The white MSA the guy was playing sounded good, but didn't really compete with most of the other guitars he used. As I have said here many times, the mica MSA Classics did not sound as good as the later maple/lacquer guitars to my ears.. Very cool video.. Flawlessly done...

[Bill Fisher]

Anapeg, my preference.

Bill Fisher

[Tom Higgins]

If it was audio only,with no mention of multiple steels,I`ll bet nobody would even suspect what was going on.

[Dennis Detweiler]

I liked the Anapeg. Sparkling tone without harshness. I was impressed with it's tone and sustain. More push/pull than a push/pull.
The old MSA had a murky midrange.
The Emmons guitars sounded very similar to each other. Lashley guitar a little weaker in mid tone.

[John Sluszny]

If it was audio only,with no mention of multiple steels,I`ll bet nobody would even suspect what was going on.

Right ! He plays so well
that he could play any good psg brand.

[John Sluszny]

Oops !

[Charley Paul]

I thought they all sounded very good. I listened once on my iPad, and then a second time with some decent headphones. Through headphones, the subtleties came through much better. My favorite was also the Emmons S12.

Here’s the thing…..I wonder, did he use the same amp settings for each guitar? The Emmons LL sounded a bit muddy in the low mids, something I would think could have been EQ’d out. I am not of the mindset that using the same amp settings is the best way to judge a guitar. Same amp,yes! Same settings, no! I’d rather see each guitar played with optimal settings. Each guitar will sound different, but aren’t they supposed to each be a bit unique? Isn’t that one of the beautiful things about high end instruments? They should each have their own personality, and in my mind it should come through in the subtleties of the sound.

That being said, I could be happy with any of those guitars, especially if I was even half as good as him at playing them!

[Ricky Davis]

Emmons Push-Pull 12-string; out-sounded all the others hands down to me.
Ricky

[Doug Beaumier]

The bolt-on did it for me, although they all sounded very good. The video proves once again that most of the sound is in the player, not in the guitar.

[Tony Glassman]

All the Emmons’ were clustered closely together with the Bolt—on just edging out the rest. The Anapeg sounded nicer than the MSA.

[Bob Muller]

All sound good, the Anapeg sounds best to me, the Msa would be my least favorite.

[Tony Glassman]

Misfire

[Christopher Peck]

If it was audio only,with no mention of multiple steels,I`ll bet nobody would even suspect what was going on.

There's some truth right there

You better hide before the zealots find you...

[Andy DePaule]

My thoughts.
Same same, but a little different. He's a very good player and sure made them all sound good.
The Anapeg was nice. I'd never heard one before.
I do agree the MSA was the least of all but in good hands they all sounded fine.
The ones MSA is building now are so much better.
That was a nice tune too!

[Donny Hinson]

I thought they all sounded fairly good, remarkably close for the variety of guitars played. That said, I found something...lacking...missing, in all the tones. There was no "sparkle", no real definition there. Indeed, they all sounded just a bit "soggy" to me, like a guitar with old strings, or an amp with the presence control backed off. Now, Sveinung's a great player, and the tones represented may just be his preference. Some of that may also come from where he is picking, but it's more than that - I can't really put my finger on it. Indeed, the same dampish-full tones seem quite popular today, and I sometimes (at the request of the bandleader) use them. But I really like some "sizzle" with my steak, if you get the idea. There really has been a lot of "homogenization" of tones in the past couple of decades, everybody's sounding more and more alike.

I really miss the variety of sounds we had in the '60s. I feel bad for players coming up nowadays, they have have missed so much.

Mindless prattle, I guess. Forgive me.

[Bill Fisher]

What do you mean, no sparkle? The ANAPEG had LOTS of sparkle. The rest didn't.

Bill

[Dave Mudgett]

I think they all sounded different but good. I think the material being played has a lot to do with what guitars seem, to me, to be more "in the zone" and which ones don't.

I really thought the Anapeg stood out on this material. The 12-string Emmons really cut through on the high end, as did the Bolt-On. The other Emmons were solid but not quite as chimey. The MSA didn't have the level of chime as the others, but still sounded good to me. But I might well feel differently about these how these sounds fit with different material. But of course, this is all totally subjective.

But hey, they all sounded like pedal steel guitar to me. Good pedal steel guitar, that is - the guy can play.

[Ron Pruter]

Liked them all except the Emmons 111 and the MSA.😁

[Norbert Dengler]

a master player...hard to say, on this tune the anapeg did really well...

[Lee Baucum]

Nicely done video.

I'm sure all of the guitars would sound great on a bandstand.

[Bill Ferguson]

Kindof wraps up and makes true

"Tone is in the hands"

I could not tell enough difference to even begin to say one was better than the other. IMHO