"The Sound" in 2023

[Justin Shaw]

Back in the day, it was my understanding that you basically needed and Emmons or a Sho-Bud to get the tone that people call "The Sound." I have never played an Emmons or Sho-Bud, but I really loved the tone of my Rayline that I had, which was made by a guy who worked at the Sho-Bud factory. It seemed to me that the single coil pickups and all-wood body contributed a great deal to the tone. I ended up selling the Rayline because I needed the money and it was way too short for me.

Do I have to buy a vintage steel to get that old school clear sound or are there modern builders that get it? Does it have to be single coils or is there a humbucker that gets it?

If there's a relevant thread already please direct me to it I couldn't find one.

[Damir Besic]

If you like your Rayline tone , I’d recommend buying a nice Sho ~ Bud

[Justin Shaw]

If you like your Rayline tone , I’d recommend buying a nice Sho ~ Bud

That's my basic solution too. Although considering all the variables when buying I may be sending you a message at some point, asking if the Sho ~ Bud I found is a good one!

[Damir Besic]

Ok

[Donny Hinson]

Justin, I have no doubt that an old ‘Bud, a tube amp, and single-coils would probably make you happy. But much of the difference you hear in today's music isn’t all due to the gear or the player, but due to the way recordings are made. In the old days, a player would choose a guitar, pickups, and an amp, and then set things the way he liked them. Then, the recording engineer would just try to capture that sound. But these days, the engineer or producer not only “suggests” what gear you should use, but also sets the sound (read: tone) the way he wants it. So what you get is less of the player’s preferences, and more of the studio’s. Add to that the compression and involved mixing that takes place, and it’s no wonder the new stuff sounds different. Whether or not it’s “better” is all point of view.

Keep your gear simple, selecting what you want, and you’ll likely be happy.

[Justin Shaw]

I definitely hear you on recording differences Donny, thanks for the reply.

I also will definitely select what I want, but that's been pretty hard to figure out so far, as all the pedal steels I've ever played I had to buy first. There is no store in Ontario, Canada where I live that regularly stocks pedal steel guitars, where I could go and try a variety of options. I really wish I could visit one of these stores I see on the forum all the time.

But I think you nailed it with this:

Justin, I have no doubt that an old ‘Bud, a tube amp, and single-coils would probably make you happy.

I'm a little overwhelmed by how many Sho-Buds there are. An E9 4x5 would be great but I'm not even sure that exists. Lots of D-10s around. I think I'll keep an eye out for one that's beat to hell on cosmetics but has quality, functional insides, just like me.

[Douglas Schuch]

I owned and restored 2 Sho-Buds - a 75 12 string, and a '73 Pro II D-10 (many consider this model the ultimate for S-B tone). I also own an MSA Millennium 2 D-10. I sold the Sho-Buds before moving back to the Philippines about 5 years ago, but before selling them, I set them up and played through each steel into the same amp and speaker. Since I like the vintage steel tone, I thought I would prefer one of the Sho-Buds, but that did not prove to be true. The 12-string had a vintage S-B pickup, the D-10 had Wallace single coils wound to the specs Ricky Davis recommends (plus coil taps). The MSA has the interchangeable pickups, and I had a BL 705, a Telonics X, Tonealigner, and two Alumitones. And basically, they all sounded pretty much alike to me, if I tweaked my amp a little (Stereo Steel, Telonics 12" speaker). And the one that I concluded sounded best - and most "vintage" to me, were the Alumitones. The differences were very minimal, but I thought the Alumitones had slightly better string seperation, and nice twang on the higher strings.

IMO, pickups make a fairly subtle difference in tone. Amps and speakers make a little more. The guitar? Sorry, I just don't hear it. I'd say buy the guitar whose mechanics you like and seems to fit you, put in Alumitones (or any other pickup that strikes your fancy), get a good amp and speaker, and then use the amp EQ to get the tone you want.

I honestly don't think, if given high-quality recordings of different guitars and pickups, played through a good amp and speaker, that anyone can say with any authority which guitar or pickup is which. YMMV.

[Larry Dering]

There is a great video on YouTube of a steeler playing several different steels and the difference is minimal. I like the ShoBud and Emmons tone but I am happy with the tone on my Derby, Justice, BMI, GFI, and Mullen steels. I would be hard pressed to trade any of these for an old Emmons or ShoBud. I have owned 2 early ShoBuds and they sounded great but I like the modern playability and tuning stability of the modern steels.

[chuck lemasters]

I agree with Larry. My first pro level guitar was a 75 Pro 1. Whatever tonal advantages it may have had over the many guitars I have owned since were offset by tuning stability, pedal action, etc.