The Steel Guitar Forum

David Lindley is the source of the sound and the excellent amp is the icing on the cake.

Since no one has mentioned it, you may want to experiment with adding a phase shifter to your signal chain to work towards getting the Lindley sound. When I first heard someone mention that Mr. Dave used a phase shifter on some tunes I wasn't sure if I believed it. But when I listened back to some of his work, for example, his solo on You Love The Thunder (from Running on Empty) it does seem that he might be using one. I experimented with a MXR phase shifter and sure enough, it works really well in certain tunes for getting the Mr. Dave sound. YMMV

From a Fretboard Journal interview (#11 Fall 2008):

"No, there was an MXR phase shifter. I had a very peculiar one, and I also had Dan Armstrong's Purple Peeker."

In reference to the Running On Empty solo.

I have a video of Mr. Dave playing with Jackson Brown in the 70's from a tv studio concert. In it Dave switches between a Telecaster and his lap steel. The amp looks like tweed deluxe. The sound stays virtually the same. I've always assumed that his basic sound then comes from the amp and is flavored by effects. I've read that he did tweak the amp.

google "coodercaster". I think they used similar set-ups

duplicate post

I have three, a '50, '51' and '54. Use them a lot.

For all the years I've heard Lindley on the great albums he's been on, I got the sense that his tone came from the way he held the bar above the strings.

As if he gets this vibration "bounce buzz" of the bar off the strings.

Has little to do with his amp, not even so much his guitar although I would be inclined to agree the guitars he used ball-parked things for a good album-specific tone that emphasized his playing style, helping to launch those many songs.

"Peter Jacobs" in 2007, Lindley put his Dumbles up for sale --
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtop ... 5b09def3b8

Before Running, Farther On off of Late For The Sky.

It was never clear how far or near
The gates to my citadel lay

I keep thinking I'll find what I'm looking for
In the sand beneath the dawn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b7VsVKSzy0

When I first saw Mr. Dave with El Rayo X back in the the '80's he had a little blue Boss CE-2 chorus on the floor. No other pedals, just oddball guitars into a Dumble amp. I went out and bought a CE-2 after that and still own it. Not that I use it much with a lap steel.

This was after Running on Empty and other Jackson Browne albums which are obviously a phase shifter (Take it Easy, for example).

Lindley probably recorded with his Fender tweed Deluxe as much as the Dumble. His Deluxe has an old Vox Bulldog speaker in it which give it a bit more aggressive tone. I'd guess the Dumble sounds smoother and the tweed more raw.

Terry VunCannon, that's a great collection of Nationals you have there. They do get a good tone...I can see why pro's like em.

Hey guys, new member here.

I'm glad to see that someone identified the phase shifter in some of Lindley's work with Jackson Browne. Usually when I mention that to my peer guitarists, they think I'm nuts because they don't even hear it.

There's another aspect of Lindley's sound that has always fascinated me. The best I can describe it is a "soft" attack. His notes seem to swell up a bit softly, yet still have sufficient punch. I was wondering what you guys think of this. Am I simply hearing the result of rolled-off highs, or was there some aspect of his pickup/amp combination that provided that slightly soft attack?

Edit: I'm speaking of a real subtlety here. Just a slight nuance of a soft attack, at least to my ear.

Hi, Brian - welcome to the forum. Yeah, I hear that softish attack thing he does. Almost like a volume pedal swell, except it’s just his attack. Also, if you see him live or watch videos, his vibrato is a big part of his sound and attack — it’s big, yet somehow doesn’t sound like the sacred steelers who use a wide vibrato to get vocal sounds.

He’s just wired differently than us mortals...

Thanks for the welcome, Peter.

Yes, his vibrato is amazing. The guy is so on-point with his techniques. All noticeable and up-front yet not overdone. I think that rare is the player who can maintain that sweet spot so consistently.