Effects

[Ronny Line]

Ive tried several different effects on steel, but none seem to improve the sound. Just the guitar and the amp(with reverb) is the best sound Ive found. Any thoughts?

[Stan Paxton]

It has been said the late great Jimmy Day felt the same way. He had a Li'l Izzy once, used it to prop up his amp to the right angle.
I personally like only a little slap back delay and good reverb, kinda helps keep things alive, since my own technique abilities don't seem to be enough.

[Marc Jenkins]

While I use quite a few effects on 6 string guitar (multiple overdrive/distortion boxes, volume pedal for weird non-attack stuff, compressor, tremolo, delay, reverb) I often find that I like the steel a little more straight-up. Most of the time it's reverb only, and sometimes a little delay, and once in a while some tremolo.

I really like this sound I've developed: I use a short-ish delay with lots of repeats, and a medium-fast, deep tremelo. Then I strike the strings with a piece of an old trumpet, between the pickup and the changer. It makes the steel sound like an electric harp through an underwater Fender amp.

[tomsteel]

In our group we have bass,drums,guitar and steel.I use a chorus effet alot to pad.It gives sort of an organ type sound especially for slow songs.Thomas Malugin

[Jonathan Cullifer]

I normally just use reverb and occasionally chorus (for rock and 80s country), but one of the more interesting things I've tried is a tap delay with a moderate level decay. It's not for every playing situation (I've only used it two or three times) but I think the possibilities are much broader. I'm curious.

[Donny Hinson]

IMHO, effects aren't made to improve the sound, they're designed to add versatility and variety to the sound. (There's a difference!)

[Tony Prior]

Yes, what Donny says.

Effects are probably the #1 most difficult things to add to a players overall sound. Mostly they can be annoying as all get go...

If you are not practicing with effects, you shouldn't be using them.

Overdrive should NEVER be used unless you know WHY you are using it and have the DRIVE signal worked out in advance. This is a very difficult patch to get right for the Steel, especially with the use of a volume pedal.

Delay should be used as part of your playing style, not just because you got one at GC on the way to the gig. The amount of punch, delay and mix is paramount to a players approach.

My opinion, it's blunt, if you don't really know what to do with the effects pedals or units you have,don't use them. Attempting to set them up on a gig "cold or blind" is a huge mistake.

effects basically don't make you sound better or improve your playing, but they can make you sound worse, or , if you are skilled at using them and setting them up , they can ADD to your vocabulary.

Now on the positive side..
A great sustaining overdrive patch will bring home a cookin' Blues or Rock tune...Strings 10 and 8 will rock the house (E9th) Don't think traditional in your playing...think like a Rocker...


A single slap Delay of about 325 to 350 ms at about 50% mix can really add dynamics to ballads and such, a soft picking attack will diminish the delay and a hard picking attack will bring it front a center.

effects can be great tools..and fun to use...

Practice with them first...

[Jim Sliff]

What those guys said.

If you sound great without effects there's no reason to use them. You don't HAVE to just because others do.

However, playing around with them you might find - as Tony noted so well - some new and useful sounds that you hadn't thought of before.

It really depends on your playing style - if you are a simgle-style player who just wants clear, clean steel tone and nothing else then don't waste your money. For players who play different types of music, though, effects can be very useful. And even in a single style, they add some variety.

[Mark Treepaz]

Then I strike the strings with a piece of an old trumpet, between the pickup and the changer. It makes the steel sound like an electric harp through an underwater Fender amp.

A "piece of an old trumpet" ?? Ok. I've just gotta hear more about this one (see my sig below). Please elaborate Marc(?)

[Marc Jenkins]

I believe this is part of a tuning slide? It has just the right weight and balance to bounce if I want it to. I recently started playing with picks, and it has made this thing a lot harder to pick up in the middle of a song, but man! does it sound cool.

[Mark Treepaz]

Oh, ok. I see. That's a finger ring from a 3rd valve tuning slide. So, you're basically using it in similar style to a hammer dulcimer. That's interesting.

[Marc Jenkins]

Yes, Mark, it does have a bit of an electric hammered dulcimer sound to it without the tremolo...

[Eric Jaeger]

Realistically, I find I periodically get rid of all the boxes, take a cable and go straight in. Then bit by bit I try this and that again and boxes start to sneak into the chain. Eventually it gets too much of a pain and the sound is too weird and I get rid of them all, go back to a cable, and start the cycle all over again.

I have no explanation or defense for this behavior, it just happens

-eric

[Dave Mudgett]

Sometimes I like them, but aside from reverb, delay, and occasionally compression on guitar, I treat them as "special effects", especially on steel. They can be great for creating some textural contrast, but I don't use them all the time.

For example, tremelo, chorus, flange, phase, and doppler-based effects like a Leslie are great in certain situations. But I think they can get boring if one leans on them all the time. I went through a serious "wah-abuse" period on guitar in the late 60s and early 70s when I was first learning - you know, trying to sound like Jimi, Eric, Zappa, and Charles Pitts (The Theme from Shaft) and so on. But as a listener, I find this kind of stuff much more effective when it hits unexpectedly.

Distortion pedals and I don't usually get along too well. If I want distortion at all, it's usually the natural sound of a good and appropriately sized tube power amp being pushed a bit. To my tastes, most of the distortion pedals I've heard sound like someone stepped on a beehive. That can be good sometimes - like on the Electric Prunes "Too Much To Dream" or some of Jimi's outstanding early stuff. But even then, I still prefer it as a special effect. I think they're way overused these days, at least on guitar.

All my opinions, of course.

[Jonathan Cullifer]

Distortion pedals and I don't usually get along too well. If I want distortion at all, it's usually the natural sound of a good and appropriately sized tube power amp being pushed a bit. To my tastes, most of the distortion pedals I've heard sound like someone stepped on a beehive. That can be good sometimes - like on the Electric Prunes "Too Much To Dream" or some of Jimi's outstanding early stuff. But even then, I still prefer it as a special effect. I think they're way overused these days, at least on guitar.

I totally agree. Distortion, especially on a pedal steel, takes a special playing technique, just like a match-bro. It takes a lot of practice to make it sound tasteful. When I first started playing I got negative feedback when I used distortion because I was playing the same way as I was without it. I almost never use it, but I do when I need to, and people seem to enjoy it.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Well yes, of course, fx do improve your sound if used properly. Adding the proper mix of delay on a ballad makes your sound fuller and sweeter.
Many other ways to use them if you're willing to take the time to understand how they work....yeah, even distortion, flange, tremolo, pitch alteration, rotary....all of them.

Reverb is an effect, no matter what some would have you believe, otherwise it would be offered on all guitar amps. It wasn't/isn't always included on an amplifier.

I'm one of Jimmy Day's biggest fans. I mean the man practically invented modern day pedal steel tuning along with Mr. Emmons. I don't know if he tinkered with other effects, but I'm pretty sure he used reverb.

The mind set that one can get by just fine without anything but your amp is fine if that is what you're looking for. More power to you, but so much more than a one dimensional sound is available if one is willing to put in the time it takes to learn about various effects and how they can give your playing more dimension. I hear many effects mixed with steel on recordings all the time.

Up to you, but I think some folks don't use them out of stubborness or are unwilling to put in the time it takes to learn what effects do and how to use them properly...but it's a lot of work. It doesn't come without a lot of time studying and understanding them. You gotta put in your time with them just like you do with practicing your playing material and techniques. JMO.