Question: Pick ups and using guitar pedals

[Mick OGrady]

I tried to hook up my steel to my guitar pedal board which is the usual collection of Boss guitar pedals and was not crazy about the sound. I recently saw an interesting video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSechPmC20U) where Russ Pahl was being interviewed by Zak Child talks about how he had to make his own pick ups to reduce the ohm-age so that certain pedals, particularly overdrive pedals, would be useable. Any thoughts on this? (PS I am using Bill Lawrence pickups on my E9 necks).

[Bengt Erlandsen]

Waaaaay easier to bring the bring the level down (so it wont overload the pedals) by using a voltage dividing resistor network with maybe a bleed capacitor instead of winding new pickups.

Just for a test, try hooking up the effect-pedals after your volume pedal and see if you can get the desired sound without overloading the pedals by slowly pressing the volume pedal while playing anything from soft to really digging in on the strings. Effect-pedals might start overloading even before your volume pedal is half pressed.

If things sounds ok at/until a certain point on the volume pedal, then it is not rocketscience to get hold of a potmeter and maybe a capacitor to duplicate what your volume pedal did in front of the effects so you can hook up your original volume pedal after the effects or somewhere in between if that is desired.

Even a DI box that can pad down the signal to an appropriate level might do the trick in front of those effect pedals so they wont overload.

B.Erlandsen

[Jack Stoner]

I had a 1982 Franklin D-10 (bought new) with first Lawrence 705's and later 710's. No problems with some stomp boxes and tone problems with some.

I used a Boss DD-5 and no "tone suck" but I used (tried) some other stomp box types that did slightly change tone. even in bypass. The change was not noticed with a Telecaster but evident with the steel. That may be what you are hearing.

I now have a GFI with a Lawrence 710. I'm using a Keeley "Caverns" reverb/delay unit and no problems.

If its distortion, the pickup may be too close to strings. 710 is 3/16" distance or even a little more. Mine were set a loose 3/16 and Mr Franklin told me I had mine set correctly.

[Bill McCloskey]

Couldn’t something like a kemper eliminate those problems?

[Donny Hinson]

Béngt is right, all you need is a voltage divider (volume control) to lower the output of the steel pickups. It's easy to install a volume control into a guitar, and it's certainly cheaper than new pickups or adding another expensive gizmo into the signal chain..

[D Schubert]

I've had good luck using the amp EFX loop, rather than the signal chain to the amp, when using pedals designed for sis-string guitars.

[Bob Hoffnar]

Couldn’t something like a kemper eliminate those problems?

It would but then you would be playing through a kemper….

[Jack Stoner]

One thing I missed, or wasn't stated in the initial post by the user is where in the effects chain is the volume pedal.
I see the volume pedal as the last thing in the chain in some guitar effect chains. The volume pedal, usually in pedal steel, is between the steel guitar and effects and/or amp.

[ajm]

We can guess as to what the problem(s) might be to try and help.
However.........

The original post did not say what pedals (including the volume pedal) specifically were being used and what the order is.

The original post did not say what exactly about the sound he was not crazy about. Was it overdriven? Dull? Something else?

The original post did not say where in the LONG video the discussion was located.

The original post did not say what problem the player in the video was having and how modifying the pickups helped/fixed the issue.

The original poster did not say what pickups he is using, which may be a part of the problem.

The original post did not say what amp he is using, since it may not have an effects loop.

[Erv Niehaus]

Sounds like the Spanish inquisition.
Erv