The Constant search for Tone

[Tomas Enguidanos]

It is interesting, after reading Fish’s book on Emmon’s, how Big E constantly searched for tone and new moves on the instrument he designed, with his own technique, always pushing himself and his instrument farther. There is,I believe , especially in the great ones, but perhaps in all musicians, something physical that happens to your brain as you develop musicality and grow in your ability to think musically and express those thoughts.

This results in a great investment of time and money, in striving for a certain sound. At times there have been leaps in musical thinking and expression. At other times technological breakthroughs. I for one love the old original sound of pedal steel, but it certainly changed and evolved. I don’t necessarily like where it evolved to, but that is important in my development of my own sound.

There are so many amazing players, each one with their own sound. Cheers to all of you.

[Len Amaral]

Buddy once referred to tone as a 4 headed monster. I have the exact quote somewhere but I'll paraphrase:

The signature tone starts with your hands. Then the voicing of the guitar itself, then the pickup then the off board gear, amps, speakers and effects.

Guitar player call it "chasing tone" It's an ongoing search and I don't know if many people actually get there. At my age I'd like to think I am fairly satisfied with setup. Then again....L

[Bobby D. Jones]

I at one time searched for tone.

The funny thing about tone is, We search for tone. And by the time we find it. A D10 guitar with a heavy case, That big Nashville 400 with a 15" Black Widow, And those stomp boxes and add on goodies.

Finally for some of us, We find the tone we was looking for. But then at the age we found it, Our hearing starts to decline, We can not hear that great tone like we once heard it.

And then comes the time to start cutting weight, A 65-80 lb. steel in case, 60 lb. Amp. And heavy seat have to go.
A 50 lb. S10 or S12 in case, A 25lb amp with a rare earth speaker magnet and split our seat contents with a back pack makes our back feel much happier.

Time changes things.

[Tony Prior]

I was never an anal TONE freak for the Steel, if it was clean and leaning bright with mild mid range presence I was happy. I'm still that way.

With the Telecaster, ok, I am perhaps more anal. It starts with new strings which allow for very consistent tones gig to gig, even using a couple of different amps. I kinda know what to expect with amps and pedals, if it ain't happening, its the guitar , I was probably too lazy to do in-between gig maintenance.

[Damir Besic]

tone is not just a gear and a player, big part will be your surrounding as well , are you playing outside , inside, small venue or big venue , big audience or a few people, wooden stage or concrete, is there glass behind (around) you, wood , curtains or metal etc etc … you may have perfect tone one day, and next day at your next gig , with same setup , your tone will suck … etc etc … and then there is a sound man , you can dial in the tone of the life time on stage , but your sound man is going to be the one who will ultimately decide how you gonna sound in house , countless times I’d spend time at the sound check working on my tone , just to have people coming to me in the middle of the gig saying “ band sounds great , but we can’t hear any steel guitar “ eventually I got tired of arguing with a sound guy, and I’d just point to the sound guy and tell people to go talk to him … so, I stopped worrying about that years ago, I just setup my amp pretty much the same way every time , and just play , as long as I can hear myself good , I’m good …

[Chris Brooks]

Damir writes: just to have people coming to me in the middle of the gig saying “band sounds great, but we can’t hear any steel guitar"

I have grown a bit skeptical of those comments from "people."

First, I don't want the audience to hear my steel guitar all the time. Second, when I am playing as part of the rhythm section, my steel shouldn't stand out; it should be part of the rhythm section mix--which some people just can't hear. (They are not musicians).

Third, the steel is not like guitar, bass, and drums, which when the starting gun goes off, all start playing and don't stop until the end of the tune. A song is not like building a brick wall where you just pile bricks on top of each other until the wall is built.

When someone says "Turn it up!" (Boy, do I hate that. My 78-year-old ears have logged a lot of hours of sound.) I usually nod, reach back to my amp, and look like I am doing something to it.

[Donny Hinson]

Could someone post a clip of a pedal steel with a "bad tone"?

(I've never heard one.)

°

[Gil James]

I'm more worried about a bad note, than a "bad tone"on the steel. If it sounds good to me it's fine, but I'm not playing in front of a bunch of Steelers though. I pretty much have a captive audience, my wife,and my church on sundays and wednesdays,and they love it. But,like Tony, I am pretty obsessed with the sound/tone of my acoustic and electric guitars,it's got to be just right,and I've got serious GAS to show for it.

[Roy Carroll]

Here ya go Donny,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uQiJVAj3f8
You can learn it all in a week he says.

[Fred Treece]

tone is not just a gear and a player, big part will be your surrounding as well , are you playing outside , inside, small venue or big venue , big audience or a few people, wooden stage or concrete, is there glass behind (around) you, wood , curtains or metal etc etc … you may have perfect tone one day, and next day at your next gig , with same setup , your tone will suck … etc etc … and then there is a sound man , you can dial in the tone of the life time on stage , but your sound man is going to be the one who will ultimately decide how you gonna sound in house , countless times I’d spend time at the sound check working on my tone , just to have people coming to me in the middle of the gig saying “ band sounds great , but we can’t hear any steel guitar “ eventually I got tired of arguing with a sound guy, and I’d just point to the sound guy and tell people to go talk to him … so, I stopped worrying about that years ago, I just setup my amp pretty much the same way every time , and just play , as long as I can hear myself good , I’m good …

I don’t have much to add to this excellent comment on the topic, but one thing comes to mind. Your tone will sound one way to you, another way to your bandmates, and another way to the audience. If you have a sound guy, there is yet another perspective. So, who are we really working for? Your tone is what will make you play the way you want to play. Chase it for all you’re worth.

That guy in your video, Roy? What a dork. It took me almost twice as long...

[Roger Rettig]

I have never obsessed over tone (a very subjective matter, anyway) until very recently.

For my working life, I used a succession of different amps and FX (very little of the latter). Most of the time, what I was sending out there was, ultimately, in the hands of the sound-monitor.

I will say that I've had 'favourites'. I did like the old 1970s Fender Vibrosonics with the 15" JBL and I liked the Peavey range, too. I have never owned an out-and-out boutique amp, not even a Webb. Mostly, though, my amp was my personal monitor and I stopped worrying about what the front-of-house guy did with my signal: I had no control, anyway.

Lately, though, it's been different. Now I'm no longer playing for my living I only sit at my guitar for my own fulfillment. The amp is a Roland 80XL. During my last five 'pro' years, that's all I used. They'd take a signal from the rear panel and I had just enough on-board effects to lend some dimension to the sound.

Now, my amp is beside me (6' to my left and pointed at me) in a plain 18' by 13' carpeted room. How did I live with these amps so long (I used to carry three 80XLs)? Now I struggle to find a setting that is even bearable. It's nasal and unpleasant. I can't describe it in sonic terms.

This is why I recently asked for comparisons between the Telonics and the Quilter TT12. Now, when it matter the least (because nobody but me is listening), I'm considering dropping a four-figure sum on an amplifier???

Worse, suppose I do spend the money and the 'bad tone' turns out to have been my fault all along?

[Jerry Overstreet]

Chasing tone plagues many musicians. We are inspired by the great players to find that sound. It's the reason we started playing to begin with. It's been my nemesis from the start and kept me from realizing my goal.

I believe what separates the great players from the average is that they learn to play in spite of the shortcomings in execution and gear, while in my case, I can't seem to perform well unless I have the sound I crave at my fingertips. That and performance anxiety have caused my gun to jam many times.

I'm aware of these issues but at the same time they are difficult to overcome most occasions.

Reese Anderson said Concentration and Relaxation are the keys to good execution. I believe that is true. If not executing well, tone is elusive regardless.

[Bill Duncan]

Jerry, great post.

I try to play in tune, in time, pay attention to touch, and be accurate. That keeps me busy and occupied.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Lost my train of thought earlier. I meant to add that with time and experience, the less these above mentioned negative issues affect players as they progress. It is then that they can explore other gear options, tunings etc. in comfort without having them put stumbling blocks in the journey.

[Fred Treece]

Yes, Jerry. Not that I am a polished pro, but I personally don’t see the quest for tone as a stumbling block. A challenge, maybe - to find the secret sauce in each piece of gear in the chain - but one that I enjoy. A friend told me a story of seeing Clint Strong play with his jazz band in Reno, and how his tone while warming up sounded terrible and not at all what he would have expected. Then when he started playing for real he was his usual astounding greased lightning self and made the most of what that particular tone had to offer. I think maybe that’s what you are talking about.

[Larry Dering]

I have to admit I am OCD over tone. And I have owned and played plenty of gear that was less than desirable. I can struggle through a gig with it but I quickly move on to what I feel is best. It takes time and effort plus lots of lost finances to get the right combination. But once I hit the magic jackpot I feel my playing becomes more relaxed and easier to perform.

[Brendan Mitchell]

Damir writes: just to have people coming to me in the middle of the gig saying “band sounds great, but we can’t hear any steel guitar"

I have grown a bit skeptical of those comments from "people."

First, I don't want the audience to hear my steel guitar all the time. Second, when I am playing as part of the rhythm section, my steel shouldn't stand out; it should be part of the rhythm section mix--which some people just can't hear. (They are not musicians).

Third, the steel is not like guitar, bass, and drums, which when the starting gun goes off, all start playing and don't stop until the end of the tune. A song is not like building a brick wall where you just pile bricks on top of each other until the wall is built.

When someone says "Turn it up!" (Boy, do I hate that. My 78-year-old ears have logged a lot of hours of sound.) I usually nod, reach back to my amp, and look like I am doing something to it.

This is the way I feel .

[Jim Pitman]

I've owned/sold about a half dozen different brand pedal steels for the 40 or so years I've been playing. Two of them had "bad tone". What was different was they lacked sustain. That's the bar for me. Excuse the pun.

[Jim Peter]

At times I think I have my tone dialed in and sounding good then I go on vacation for a week, come back and sit down at my steel and think that my guitar sounds terrible.

[Samuel Phillippe]

Been playing guitar for 70 years with lap steel thrown in for about 10 and pedal steel for going on 2 years and have never found that perfect tone. One time it's there, next time you need to noodle to find something you like.
Have tried different amps, strings and all the gadgets only to find out I am only making these gizmo manufacturers wealthy.
Every time I play somewhere I need the time to tweak things to sound somewhat acceptable.
Another player for the sessions always says the tone is good when I say I'm not happy with it. So at 84 I just ask hows the tone? If they say ok I'm done tweaking, and play

[Fred Treece]

Another thing. Same amp, same guitars, same settings, same effects - at an outdoor venue Sunday evening sounded barely passable, the next day at a gorgeous indoor rehearsal space sounded positively glorious. Couldn't wait for the gig to be over, but didn’t want rehearsal to end.