Tone Struggles

Chris Harwood · Post by **Chris Harwood** » 7 Sep 2023 1:58 pm

I think I'm lusting after the same tone, you're finding elusive...but a couple of BIG steps behind you and much lesser guitars...and trying on a non pedal 8 string as well.
Ha...even just started a thread about it (the Guyatone thread).

Watching this one like a hawk.

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 8 Sep 2023 5:54 am

Jake, I'm hoping you solve this with the pickup swap. I have to admit my GFI SD10 4x5 had a similar issue and I tried it with all sorts of amps, external processors, cables, buffers and so on. I finally had enough and put a 705 I had as a last resort. For me it improved the low end and overall tone in a good way. It still doesn't sound as good as my Derby SD10 3X5 with an E66 pickup or Justice SD10 3X5 with a Lawrence 705 but it is much closer to my desired tone. Steve Swartz is winding some nice pickups and is now the supplier for GFI. I fully intend to have him make a pickup for this steel. It's beautiful and very well made instrument. Just listen to Ronnie Miller or Mike Sigler play theirs.

Jake Bopp · Post by **Jake Bopp** » 8 Sep 2023 7:41 am

I'm excited for the pickup swap, for sure. I may have my hands on a 66 Emmons this weekend, so maybe I'll have something to compare with side by side.

Philip Mitrakos · Post by **Philip Mitrakos** » 8 Sep 2023 10:17 am

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 9 Sep 2023 10:13 am

Going direct to board is very limiting, tonally.
Been there, done that.

Find a Twin Reverb and turn the volume(s) up!
(Setting volumes to 3 or 4 sucks. The power section has nothing to work with.)
Set treble to 3, mids to 0, bass to 8.
Now play and enjoy your fat sound.

Jake Bopp · Post by **Jake Bopp** » 10 Sep 2023 8:42 am

Hoo boy, between this Emmons I got last night, and my steel is night and day. Same amp... there's the gloss. Even with COMPLETELY dead, rusty strings - the tone I want is here. Unfortunately, this is a C6 guitar - and I only know how to play E9. I'm gonna have to get her converted.

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 10 Sep 2023 8:49 am

Way to go, Jake!

I still want to know if the new pickup makes a difference on the problem guitar, when you get it.

Jake Bopp · Post by **Jake Bopp** » 10 Sep 2023 8:51 am

Fred Treece wrote:Way to go, Jake!

I still want to know if the new pickup makes a difference on the problem guitar, when you get it.

Just watching paint dry, waiting for the mail!

I'll film the install. There's SO few pedal steel videos online with people working on them. I understand protecting the trade, but for people like me it'd be so beneficial to go sweep floors in a steel mechanic shop...

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 17 Sep 2023 4:08 am

Jake, have you made the switch to the new pickup? Waiting for your report good or bad. The Emmons is hopefully your savior.

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 17 Sep 2023 6:11 am

Jake Bopp wrote:Hoo boy, between this Emmons I got last night, and my steel is night and day. Same amp... there's the gloss. Even with COMPLETELY dead, rusty strings - the tone I want is here. Unfortunately, this is a C6 guitar - and I only know how to play E9. I'm gonna have to get her converted.

Well there you have it ! When I was building pickups my main customers were people trying to make there steel sound like a different steel. That’s when I realized that pickups are sorta like microphones. They make a difference but can’t make Luke Bryan sound like Frank Sinatra.

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 17 Sep 2023 8:00 am

Now swap the pickups out on the Emmons and the problem guitar and see what they sound like.

No, don’t do that. But you get the idea.

Follow through on the experiment and get a functioning pickup. At least that way you’ll know if that is the issue or not. If it provides a decent fix then you can decide to keep the guitar, or you can sell it for a better price than you could get for it without having done the fix.