Tone and Sustain Mod

Billy Morgan · Post by **Billy Morgan** » 26 Oct 2006 9:54 am

I have a Mullen SD-10 and have owned it for several years. I am an Emmons type person and also own an Emmons P/P and an Emmons Legrande II. Although the Mullen is a great guitar mechanically, I have never been satisfied with the sound.
It is my opinion that it was a very thin, shrill sounding guitar and lacked both tone and sustain. I took the advice of some good players that I can depend on and know what a pedal steel should sound like and had Tommy Young do a mod on the guitar. The results are truly amazing. It brought the guitar back to life. It now has tone to the bone and sustains as good as any guitar I have heard. It’s hard to believe the improvement and when you go above the twelfth fret all I can say is amazing. I would think that anyone liking the push pull sound would love this guitar.
I don’t have a dog in this guitar mod fight, I’m neutral. I also know that sound is very subjective, but I’ve been playing steel guitar and working jobs for twenty-five years and I know what I hear. It turned a good guitar into an excellent one. I would recommend anyone interested, no matter what brand of guitar you may have, to contact him at 662 328-9511, because in my opinion this is the real deal.

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Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 26 Oct 2006 10:30 am

Can you give us a brief overview of what he did to the guitar to make such a dramatic improvement?

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Mark

Tim Bridges · Post by **Tim Bridges** » 26 Oct 2006 10:39 am

I asked Tommy and he said that's his secret and what you pay for when he does the work.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 26 Oct 2006 11:38 am

a very good steel player in sacramento, jim gray, has had some of the best steels i've ever heard. one of his latest was a mullen d-10. i played it for a minute and it was beautiful...sounded perfect...right out of the box...so i can't imagine anyone needing to change it! he also had a thomas which i felt the same way about. jim is now getting a carbon fiber msa millenium for the weight reduction issue.... i still play an old zum which sounds perfect...or terrible....but it's all due to my own ability.

Brian Henry · Post by **Brian Henry** » 26 Oct 2006 12:53 pm

Billy,
A friend of mine has a mullen and it has never been a very "thin shrill sounding guitar." [This message was edited by tbhenry on 28 October 2006 at 07:51 PM.]

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 26 Oct 2006 1:55 pm

hmm...I seem to be experiencing deja vu.

Al Terhune · Post by **Al Terhune** » 26 Oct 2006 8:57 pm

Oh, boy. Yeah, bill, de joo-joo.

So why do I have to open my mouth? I really can't tell you why. But here I go:

I believe everybody here. I believe that Billy's Mullen didn't meet his sound expectations -- and he is an experienced player. And I believe that Tommy's mod made it sound a hell of a lot better. Why in the world would we assume otherwise?

I also believe that most Mullins sound incredible--out of the box.

What Tommy needs to do is get someone to record their steel before the mod, and record it afterwards, just the steel, same settings, same equipment, same songs, riffs, etc. Before and after.

Al

Tommy Young · Post by **Tommy Young** » 27 Oct 2006 7:19 am

thanks for the kind words billy i'm glad u are now enjoying your guitar, al i'm trying to get someone to do just that very thing so it can be put on here for anyone to listen to, thanks for the help and i hope to soon have a clip tommy young

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 27 Oct 2006 8:00 am

I don't think sound clips are going to convince many people. A twist of a dial or a new set of strings can make the "before" and "after" sound different. Before most people are going to turn their expensive instruments over for a mod, you are going to have to give some explanation of what you are going to do to their guitar. Somehow, without revealing the whole "secret," you are going to have to give us some kind of general idea of what type of alterations you will do.

Robert Jones · Post by **Robert Jones** » 27 Oct 2006 9:20 am

I have been playing Mullen guitars for years and am yet to play or hear one that needed worked on. I have a combination of George L pickups and Tube Works that I play through and have "Tone to the bone." I can't even imagine someone having to do something to the guitar that Del hasn't already thought of. I'm not saying that there isn't room for improvement. I know Del well enough that he is still working on things and will no doubt come up with something that will sound even better.

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Mullen Royal Percision D-10 Red Laquar Pearl inlay 8&8
"Life is too short for bad tone".

Eddie D.Bollinger · Post by **Eddie D.Bollinger** » 27 Oct 2006 12:00 pm

Tommy's ability is not limited to one brand.
He has enhanced the tone on Mullen, Carter, and Zum guitars. All at the request of the
owners. The people that use Tommy will tell
you that his work is non-invasive and that
he is not out to do any damage to any builder's reputation. Tommy is all about
the player and his tone needs.
The main thing to remember is that some guitar owners are completely satisfied with
the raw tone coming from their setup. They
need not feel threatened by Tommy's work.
It simply does not apply to them in any form. They should be thankful that they have
exactly what they are looking for and listening for. As far as I know, All(Thanks
Chris) steel guitars are assembled
by humans. To me, that means, if even to a small degree, that no two steels are exactly
the same. Every part of the guitar plays a part in the tone factor. Tommy just tries
to tweak every component of the guitar for
optimum tone and clarity. At least that is
what he did for me. All of this my opinion
so please aim your flames at me, not Tommy.

[This message was edited by Eddie D.Bollinger on 27 October 2006 at 03:47 PM.]

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 27 Oct 2006 1:19 pm

ok eddie....the majority of steels are assembled by humans...but what about the rest of them??

Brian Henry · Post by **Brian Henry** » 27 Oct 2006 2:07 pm

I guess that we shall have to just wait and see what impact this mod has in the future.[This message was edited by tbhenry on 28 October 2006 at 09:32 PM.]

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 27 Oct 2006 2:09 pm

No flame intended. It's just too much of mystery without further clarification.

Eddie D.Bollinger · Post by **Eddie D.Bollinger** » 27 Oct 2006 2:43 pm

Point Taken Chris.....Wrong choice of words
and I was being just a bit sarcastic.Sorry.

Tommy hasn't been doing this work all that
long so I am sure that only a few people
know enough about it to debate the issues.
I know that Tommy is working on a way to put
it out in the open for comparison. Then the
issue can be put to rest provided that only
the people who have had the service done
and people who have heard the results
for themselves are doing the debating.
People who debate this in the name of one
steel manufacturer or another are not helping to further the idea of this forum.
The purpose of this great forum is to
exchange information that can help someone
who needs that particular help.
Once again, I say that not everyone needs
Tommy's help. I did. But even before that,
I was proud to call Tommy my friend.
A new idea should be exciting to our group.
I think it is to the people who are looking
for a better overall tone. There is no reason for this to be a threat to anyone
or any company.

Brian Henry · Post by **Brian Henry** » 27 Oct 2006 2:46 pm

,[This message was edited by tbhenry on 28 October 2006 at 07:49 PM.]

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 28 Oct 2006 7:51 am

just havin' fun with you, eddie...anything people want to do to improve steels is ok with me.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 28 Oct 2006 8:09 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>...his work is non-invasive and that
he is not out to do any damage...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

So then, we can probably assume he's not adding, subtracting, or substituting parts. Maybe he's just tightening or loosening certain screws to attain the best sound and tone...a general "tweaking", as it were? This probably takes more time than anything; adjusting, playing; adjusting, playing.

I do know Ron Lashley once said "One screw in the wrong place can ruin the sound of a steel", and I've experienced myself, first-hand, how much tightening some screws in a piece of wood can change it's properties.

Every time I think that no one can know more about a product and it's users than the manufacturer of that product, I'm reminded of what John LeMay did for Peavey amplifiers.

Al Terhune · Post by **Al Terhune** » 28 Oct 2006 6:44 pm

tbhenry -- that's an interesting comment about Bobbe and other pros. I don't know if you've noticed, but Bobbe's said nothing (I don't think) about Brad's Black Box. Do you think perhaps this means the Black Box has no merit? I wouldn't think so, but just because Tommy's not endorsed by a big name might just mean he's not had one as a customer yet.

Tommy -- I support you, man! Since I'm not a "professional," though, and am pretty happy with my tone, I don't think I would be a customer unless I ran into a lot of extra money. Good luck with your mods, and I hope you make a lot of steelers happy.

And don't reveal your secret! i personally like the mystery accompanied with endorsements by reputable players.

Al

Eddie D.Bollinger · Post by **Eddie D.Bollinger** » 28 Oct 2006 9:38 pm

Donny, that is an excellent analogy of Tommy's approach to tone enhancement.
Tommy understands that everyone's benchmark
of tone is different. He simply tries to get
the most out of any guitar he is working on,
so the brand really doesn't matter.
I have seen him take a single 10,student
guitar and get incredible tone and sustain
out of it so it really isn't about body size
or style either. This tone correction
procedure is not totally new. I think Tommy's approach and expertise is what sets
him apart.

Dale Stacy · Post by **Dale Stacy** » 29 Oct 2006 9:16 pm

As I have posted in the past, Tommy has worked on 3 guitars for me and all with great tone . I would like to add that normally the guitar is left with Tommy at his shop and it usually takes approx 3 to 4 days to complete.As you can see from this that it is not possible for the customer to observe everything being done to the guitar.
Eddie and Donny you are correct about the tweaking of screws and etc. but it goes much further than just that. He performs some new ttechniques in areas such as neck,changer,
p/up and even the keyhead/rollernut. As stated by Eddie, these are non-invasive changes to the guitar. Also it is true that Tommy has just began offering this service to the steelguitar world. He has been working on this for quite some time doing a great deal of trial and error.
I think those who have the opportunity to hear and compare will definitely hear a difference.
The forum is a great communication tool for all of us to use to discuss new ideas and thoughts concerning Steelguitar.

Curt Langston · Post by **Curt Langston** » 30 Oct 2006 4:55 am

I asked Tommy and he said that's his secret and what you pay for when he does the work.

Oh no.

Is this done with smoke and mirrors?

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 30 Oct 2006 6:07 am

Odd how in the 6-string world techs write articles specifically to share how they do things like this...and here we have the "cloak-and-dagger" treatment. I doubt Tommy would lose any business if he disclosed his "secrets", as there are plenty of players unwilling to play with the "dirty side" of the guitar anyway. Just those with an experimenter's knack (and usually a lower budget) woudl do mods themselves.

Seems kind of a disservice to withhold such information.

"It is my opinion that it was a very thin, shrill sounding guitar and lacked both tone and sustain." - I would have to say that about every recording I've heard where I knew it was a Mullen. Why not share the information and do a service to the steel community? Actually, it would probably *increase* his business and give him added crdibility.

Joe Smith · Post by **Joe Smith** » 30 Oct 2006 6:27 am

Well, I still say that all I did to my Mullen was change the PUs to 10-1s, It gives the guitar a fatter sound. It still sounds like a Mullen, plays like a Mullen. Hummm must be because it is a Mullen. I have three steel guitars and they all have 10-1s and they all sound different. My Carter sounds like a Carter, My Fessy sounds like a Fessy, and My Mullen still sounds like a Mullen.

Tommy Young · Post by **Tommy Young** » 30 Oct 2006 6:47 pm

gentlemen what i do is not for the amatuer if it were then all of u would be doing it and it has taken me a very great deal of time, effort and thought and mechanical knowledge to do this mod on several kinds of guitars as they are all different even the royal-pre. and pre royal are different as is carter and zum all different in their on distinct sounds & characteristics are different so to tell u in a few words is totally out of the ?????? for all that dont understand this TONE is the resonance of the guitar, wood, aluminum, steel screws washers , the design of each are different, all of these factors and other things as in how the wood was dried how rich the soil was have an effect on how the pup hears the TONE that it produces to it, it((pick-up) only changes the highs and lows of the total SOUND, and most people do not understand this just ask the /////T O N E \\\\expert (((bs)) and many of the great steel players and builders of our time that try their best to accomplish having a better TONE, and is very tricky to do,, is why i cant tell u all that i do because i change the way a guitar resonates this-- TONE---- the end result is what we hear, thanks sorry for the long thread not only that some wont ever sound good but most will if u find the DEAD spot and correct it thanks TOMMY YOUNG