The Paul Franklin sound

[Don Drummer]

Brad I remember that article about Paul using no bass and assumed it was a typo or something. It needs a bit more elaboration for me to understand how it us even possible. Don D.

[Tommy Shown]

I have read on a link a while back, the author said that no matter how much equipment to sound like our heros, we get. We'll never get the sound we want. For example Buddy Emmons, John Hughey, Paul Franklin and the list goes on and on, all have a very unique style that is often copied and never duplicated. Although we try to "copy" it. If we all sounded like these giants, Then there wwould be no indiviuality. I also learned when I first started playing over 30 years ago, It is better for one to develop ones'style. I worked on mine by using the 3P's. Practice,Practice and Prasctice. then I went and watched some of my favorite local players at the venues, from there I worked on my method of style.
Tommy Snown

[J Fletcher]

I think Emmons, Franklin, Lloyd Green, and probably lots of other greats, spent their formative years trying to sound like their heroes. Worked for them!...Jerry

[Dag Wolf]

I totally agree with J Fletcher BUT their break through came after they found their own style..

Anyway the topic has some drift as the topic starter wanted to know about Paul Franklin's style and his gear.

Dag

[Ulf Edlund]

I guess most has been said in this thread.
If i would try to give some advice it would be two things.
I'll start with the technical.
As pointed out earlier the 710's can be quite harsh if they are too close to the strings.
I swapped from GeorgeL's to BL710 on a Franklin and at first i was disappointed.
Then i lowered the PUps to about twice the distance, or more, compared to the GL's and that made it all.

The other thing is the right hand.
Here's an "exercise" i used to develop a feel for tone.
Sit down and play something simple.
While you do that, try different approaches with your right hand.
Exaggerate.
Feel what it does to the sound.
Go from mellow to harsh.
Try to get a hollow tone?
The point is to pick in ways you would not normally do and get a feel for how it alters the tone.
Hopefully, this will help you find out how to "manage" the tone with your fingers.
Try picking a little farther from the changer. It worked for me.

A thing that i liked about the Franklin was how responsive it was to how i played.

[Tony Dingus]

Don, I read from an interview of Paul that he uses more finger that gives him bass. At the time I didn't understand what he meant by more finger until I noticed that I push the pick on my finger maybe more than most then I under stood. My guitar has BL 710 on the E9 and I use a Nashville 112 and my bass is set on zero and I have plenty of bass.

Tony

[Ulf Edlund]

I realized after i posted how old this thread was
But i guess the subject never gets old

[Dan Murphy]

This is not intended to be a negitive remark , but only Paul can sound like Paul. The rest of us sound like us. I bet Mr Franklin could set at my rig and get tone and sounds I could never get .... As its been stated before its in the hands!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dont waist time trying to copy somebodys tone , your just chasing your tail..

[Ulf Edlund]

Oh, up until now i thought it was just a matter of equipment
I see nothing wrong in trying to get a "Paul-ish" or Lloyd-ish sound, or whatever references you might have. Having influences doesn't make you a copycat.

[Francesco Porcu]

This question keeps coming up on how to get a sound like a particular steel player. Some believe it is in the hands and that regardless of the steel or equipment, they would still sound the same. I think the truth is somewhere between the equipment and the hands. About the only way that I would know for sure to what degree this is true is if I played their guitar and they played mine Even then, I would have to be very aware that their style and licks could confuse my ears. I would have to be very keenly tuned in the the tone, not the licks or style that makes them unique. I would still sound like me and they would still sound like them, regardless of the instrument or equipment. This is not the same thing as comparing the tone. I am sure they would get a different tone than me with nothing different but their hands, but to what degree? There is just no way that they are going to get the same tone out of any guitar and equipment. They are like the rest of us mortals and have their preferences as to the guitar and equipment they choose to use.

Hi George, I came across this discussion many years ago and I read all the messages out of curiosity, yours is the only brave one who expressed your real opinion BUT by writing something sacred, you understand the real difference by doing this test (I listen to you playing with your steel and your amp and in that moment you disconnect your steel and I connect my steel to your cable that goes up from your volume pedal that goes to the rest of your set up amp) and then let's see if it's just the hands or everything else counts too much. You wrote a nice message that makes everyone think, including the great steelers ... Best regards Francesco