A different tone?

Bobby Boggs · Post by **Bobby Boggs** » 16 Mar 2005 10:52 pm

I just tried it.MatchBro.

Jussi Huhtakangas · Post by **Jussi Huhtakangas** » 16 Mar 2005 11:35 pm

Whoa, that was the coolest thing I've heard in awhile!!

Tonewise, I have a Wright Custom which sounds a lot like like that. The PU on it is placed further away from the bridge than usual, something like an inch and a half. I just wish I could play like that. C'mon Donny who was it?

Jerry Clardy · Post by **Jerry Clardy** » 17 Mar 2005 3:42 am

OK, now....Let's have a lot more of that!

Is that Reece playing through the board?[This message was edited by Jerry Clardy on 17 March 2005 at 03:52 AM.]

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 17 Mar 2005 4:49 am

It sounds like its a "direct to board" cut to me but I could be wrong....That sound is FABULOUS and is not that difficult to obtain.

I have heard it used several times in different ways. Fender cable guitars nail it,Sho Bud Fenders come pretty close, multiple pickup steel guitars with phasing,coil tap, or series/parallel would have no problem... Pickup placement is the key!!
That tone has that "in between' strat kind of vibe. If you like that sound Pete Klienow is the MASTER at obtaining it.. its all he uses... bob[This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 17 March 2005 at 04:53 AM.][This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 17 March 2005 at 04:54 AM.]

Bobby Boggs · Post by **Bobby Boggs** » 17 Mar 2005 5:33 am

Like Ricky stated.It's Jim Loessberg.......

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 17 Mar 2005 5:42 am

An Emmons??.. Kind of illustrates the fact that tone is in the hands,head and heart...not to mention the tone knobs!!! There was some very creative Eq tweaking to get that "Fender" vibe from an Emmons guitar... pretty impressive.. Jim is a great player! bob

James Lutz · Post by **James Lutz** » 17 Mar 2005 6:36 am

Jim has one of the best tones I have ever heard anyone pull out of a steel guitar. He is a pleasure to listen to and it has been my pleasure to work with him more than a few times in the past couple years. Believe me, there are no studio tricks involved with him, it is an old Emmons straight out of the volume pedal into a Nash 400. And yes the knobs on his amp are set a bit differently than other players. What a great tone he gets, and what perfect technique as well.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 17 Mar 2005 8:34 am

Yes, Ricky Davis has it...inside info, that is! (Interesting that nobody guessed it was an old p/p Emmons?!) It's from a Dugg Collins CD ("Sounds Like Texas"), and it's good modern western swing.

I sure wish we heard some more different tones on today's popular recordings. Maybe this will start a trend?

Buck Grantham · Post by **Buck Grantham** » 17 Mar 2005 10:07 am

The tone is fine and the playing is great !!!!

Don Walters · Post by **Don Walters** » 17 Mar 2005 10:49 am

... it was an old p/p Emmons ...

imagine!

Jerry Clardy · Post by **Jerry Clardy** » 17 Mar 2005 3:01 pm

What kind of mike was on that recording setup?[This message was edited by Jerry Clardy on 17 March 2005 at 03:03 PM.]

John Lacey · Post by **John Lacey** » 18 Mar 2005 5:35 am

Part of that tone has to be fairly lightly wound pickups. Love the clarity.

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 18 Mar 2005 7:23 am

Ricky-You are really Something!! Amazing!

I cliked on the URL of you playing with Dale Watson on your old Sho-Bud on the Opry with Roy Clark, and you were terrific....al

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My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 18 Mar 2005 7:30 am

That is the nice mellow jazz tone and playing that I like.

Jim is a great player. I bought his tape quite a while ago,"Watch what Happens" just to hear what his course is like, and I was impressed by him then.......al

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My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 18 Mar 2005 9:27 am

At one time, Jim was trying to figure out how to use a bass guitar pickup on his steel, in order to get a different, more mellow tone. I wonder if he was ever able to accomplish that.

Lee, from South Texas

Fred Shannon · Post by **Fred Shannon** » 18 Mar 2005 9:34 am

"(Interesting that nobody guessed it was an old p/p Emmons?!)"

Well, where in the heck were all the "tone experts" when we needed them. Guess Donnie H. has proved another point--mebbe' some of us really don't know.

Glad to know it was Texas' own Jim L. on the steel. You know he, along with Weldon Myrick, passed through this little town on his way up. Just another standard we west Texas players have to try to meet. (We never do). Jim played with the band I started with in 1948, Hoyle Nix and his West Texas Cowboys. Good job on the cd Jim. Thanks Donnie for raising the "tone" fallacy again.

phred

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"From Truth, Justice is Born"--Quanah Parker-1904

Peter · Post by **Peter** » 18 Mar 2005 11:14 pm

At one time, Jim was trying to figure out how to use a bass guitar pickup on his steel, in order to get a different, more mellow tone. I wonder if he was ever able to accomplish that.

Lee, I built an eight string lapsteel with a cheap bass pickup on it, and it had a similar sound. It was a cheap copy of Jazz Bass pickup, not the split Precision pickup.
I also used a plastic bridge to modify the sustain.

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Peter den Hartogh
1978 Emmons S10 P/P; 1977 Sho-Bud D10 ProIII Custom;
1975 Fender Artist S10; Remington U12; 1947 Gibson BR4;
Internationally Accredited 3D Animation Academy

Bobby Boggs · Post by **Bobby Boggs** » 18 Mar 2005 11:48 pm

Sorry I still think there's a funky pickup in a funky place. I heard Jim play before,not a lot like some of you Texas guys.But I've never heard him use this tone.No disrespect to Ricky.I'm just a hard head.I have to see to beleive. Or in the case I wish Jim would come on here and set me straight.

. I getting really close using a MatchBro with just a touch of the Dobro effect............bb[This message was edited by Bobby Boggs on 18 March 2005 at 11:53 PM.]

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 19 Mar 2005 12:14 am

Never mind.[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 19 March 2005 at 12:14 AM.]

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 23 Mar 2005 8:26 pm

Yeah Bobby; Jim only dialed in that tone on that project and done with the board EQ on Mixing.
Ricky

Jim Loessberg · Post by **Jim Loessberg** » 24 Mar 2005 12:37 am

Hello everybody!

My good friend, Ricky Davis was out to see us at Ginny's and asked me whether I had seen this post. I had not and he sent me the link.

First let me say thank you to you all for the nice compliments. It really makes an old hacker feel good.

I get more comments on the tone on this record than anything else I have ever recorded.

Here's what happened. I was in the studio all day recording someone for Frenchie Burke's record, I think Floyd Domino. When he left I pulled the steel out of my car to do the overdubs on two Dugg Collins tunes. I liked what I played (as well as I was ever going to like it) and left it at that.

The next day when I listened to the steel with fresh ears it sounded muddy. I suppose my ears were fatigued when I recorded the steel part after being in the studio all day. Since I was somewhat satisfied with the steel track I decided to try to experiment with board EQ on the steel part I had on tape.

All I did was boost the highs a little on the board. I can't really figure out why it ended up sounding like it did but I thought it sounded kind of cool so I left it.

The steel is a 1964 Emmons (Herb Steiner now owns it) with stock Emmons pickups wound to around 16 or 17 and a Nashville 400 with a 1501 Black Widow speaker. That particular amp always sounded better than any other Nashville until I had to take it in for reparis. It has never sounded the same.

Here's another clip of a thing I did around that same time. As far as I can remember it was the same setup (it might have been my other Nashville 400, I can't remember for sure but it's the same steel). This one doesn't sound anything like the Dugg Collins clip. The last part of the lick is even a similar lick, clam and all.
http://www.jimloessberg.com/torres-rooster.mp3

As for the bass pickup, I still think that would be a good idea for a jazz sound but I have never gotten around to trying it.

Best to all,

Jim

Jim Loessberg · Post by **Jim Loessberg** » 24 Mar 2005 12:39 am

Hello everybody!

My good friend, Ricky Davis was out to see us at Ginny's and asked me whether I had seen this post. I had not and he sent me the link.

First let me say thank you to you all for the nice compliments. It really makes an old hacker feel good.

I get more comments on the tone on this record than anything else I have ever recorded.

Here's what happened. I was in the studio all day recording someone for Frenchie Burke's record, I think Floyd Domino. When he left I pulled the steel out of my car to do the overdubs on two Dugg Collins tunes. I liked what I played (as well as I was ever going to like it) and left it at that.

The next day when I listened to the steel with fresh ears it sounded muddy. I suppose my ears were fatigued when I recorded the steel part after being in the studio all day. Since I was somewhat satisfied with the steel track I decided to try to experiment with board EQ on the steel part I had on tape.

All I did was boost the highs a little on the board. I can't really figure out why it ended up sounding like it did but I thought it sounded kind of cool so I left it.

The steel is a 1964 Emmons (Herb Steiner now owns it) with stock Emmons pickups wound to around 16 or 17 and a Nashville 400 with a 1501 Black Widow speaker. That particular amp always sounded better than any other Nashville until I had to take it in for reparis. It has never sounded the same.

Here's another clip of a thing I did around that same time. As far as I can remember it was the same setup (it might have been my other Nashville 400, I can't remember for sure but it's the same steel). This one doesn't sound anything like the Dugg Collins clip. The last part of the lick is even a similar lick, clam and all.
http://www.jimloessberg.com/torres-rooster.mp3

As for the bass pickup, I still think that would be a good idea for a jazz sound but I have never gotten around to trying it.

Best to all,

Jim

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 24 Mar 2005 8:44 am

Thanks Jim, that was very educational! It is truly amazing how different those solos sound. Who would have thought that board EQ could make such a difference. Great playing, in any case. I envy you Texas guys for having such a plethera of talented pickers around.

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