The Steel Guitar Forum

Hawaiian, Western swing and early country are all pretty such the same sound to my ears, with Western Swing having a more driven sound, most likely to the fact the bands were larger and the venues were larger so the amps were being pushed more. Roman is right on the money about the sound of 50s tweed Amps.

A great case in point is Jerry Byrd, who played Hawaiian, Western swing, and on earlier Hank Williams sessions, and still sounds like Jerry Byrd regardless. Pretty sure Jerry Byrd mainly played Bakelite rickenbachers with horseshoe pickups, or frypans. An old Rick with a horseshoe might be a good candidate if you're looking for a an old steel.

Popped into my local music store in nearby Masterton, which has a very nice range of guitars etc, and they have three tube amps, at least one of which is a neo-vintage model so I'm going to take my lap steel in there and see what they sound like. It will be interesting to see if there is much of a difference or not.

David Famularo wrote:Popped into my local music store in nearby Masterton, which has a very nice range of guitars etc, and they have three tube amps, at least one of which is a neo-vintage model so I'm going to take my lap steel in there and see what they sound like. It will be interesting to see if there is much of a difference or not.

The amp will make a difference too. I don't have a vintage small tube amp, but I use a recent small fender tube amp and it has no reverb, simple tone stacks (a volume knob only), and seems to have a good bit of the "old sound".

Beware, though, that many modern small tube amps are designed to overdrive WAY too soon, as they are aimed at the rock guitar market.

An excellent modern mass market small tube amplifier for a "vintage sound" is the Fender Pro Junior. Sounds wonderful with vintage American lap steels, and it's easy to dial in with only two controls: tone & volume. They've been marketed since 1993, so there's no shortage of 'em. FMIC markets them from one end of the planet to the other, so you may be able to find one to try out in your country.

I would agree with the posters who claim that the best way to achieve a vintage sound is with a vintage instrument. I am partial to postwar Gibsons, since they are a relative bargain in today's vintage guitar market. They are solidly constructed, they sound wonderful, and they play fantastic.

It's difficult to achieve a vintage sound with a $100.00 Asian lookalike. They are invariably cobbled together with the cheapest components imaginable that were originally designed for installation in standard electric guitars to sell at the lowest possible price point.

My favorites for the old sound are:
Gibson EH-185 (v.1a) 6 string C.C. pu: c.1939,
and
Gibson EH -185 (v.1a) 7 string C.C. pu: c.1939.

C. E.