The Steel Guitar Forum

Nothing we didn't already know!

(Of course, someone might just get lucky...)

I think we're learning that Jim likes a certain steel guitar sound, so he makes whatever adjustments are necessary to get that sound in the studio. Seven of those tracks were played on a Fessenden, but none of them sound at all like Robert Randolph. My Williams doesn't sound very much like Jim's guitars to my ears*, but on some of my recordings even I don't know whether I was playing a Williams or my old Sierra. I have no doubt that, if Jim played it, he could make it sound just like his Fessy, Milly, or whatever.

*If it did, I'd sell it.

This sounds like rather familiar ground, doesn't it?

I have lots of old recordings that I played on - listening now, I'd have to look in my old desk-diaries, see when the session took place, and that would tell me if it was my ZB, my Sho-Bud or an Emmons.

I do hope, however, that Jim will sell lots of CDs as a result of the thread....

My guess is 3, 6 and 10.

Jim Cohen wrote:Are we learning anything here, class?

Yes, sir. We are. What a great way to promote your CD! One has to have purchased the CD to listen to the tracks and listen them over and over. Songs get in your head and stick there. You tell others. They buy the CD. Greatest promo trick I seen in a long time. AND FUN!! I gotta hand it to you Jim..your a great PR guy. Kudos!(and a great musician too!I love your steel playin' no matter what you play it on.)

Are ya going to be selling the CDs at the big Ohio Show in New Phily? All this hype, I might like to have one.

Thanks, Tamara. But just for the record (no pun intended), let me point out that one does not have to buy the CD to play the game. There are free sound clips at my website that anyone can listen to. (Of course, if you like what you hear, we can find a way to put one into your personal CD collection... )

Alas, as of now I have no plans to be in 'New' Philadelphia for the show, but rather expect to be in 'Old' Philadelphia that day.

I'm sorry. I missed the thing about the clips on your website part. Maybe I'll just go have a listen.

I hate paying postage...and I don't think I can come back to PA for another year..dang ole' misunderstandin' judge....

that would be 2, 3 and 5 Jim

Nine of them sound like a push pull to me!
Jerry

Jim Cohen wrote:Y'all are just guessin', aren't you?

WOW MR COHEN,you sure are getting uppity since you've"GONE COUNTRY".

Right Jerry?
Ray

I'll go with:

1, 7, 10 for the MSA

This is a class? Can I be excused, I have to go to the bathroom.

So are there some liner notes saying the date and location of each recording? Maybe if 3 of the songs were done at the same studio on a certain date, that would help.

In terms of the odds of randomly guessing 3 out of 10 would that be 3/10 x 2/9 x 1/8 = 1/120 odds?

Okay - I'll admit it. My new goal is now to win Jerry Roller's copy of Jim's CD!

Seems like there's a few folks that have said they can distinguish between brands......I'm sure they will figure it out as soon as they get a chance to listen!

BTW...They all sound great!! I'm not even gonna try to guess.

Colm Chomicky wrote,

In terms of the odds of randomly guessing 3 out of 10 would that be 3/10 x 2/9 x 1/8 = 1/120 odds?

That's what I got. In summary:

Exactly 3 right: 0.0083
Exactly 2 right: 0.175
Exactly 1 right: 0.525

If I did this correctly, it means that the odds of getting 1, 2, or 3 right is 0.708 which means that about 3/4 of the folks who played this game will be winners and walk away with a little stuffed animal.

Joe

Nice try, guys, but you gotta get ALL THREE right to win! Keep guessin'!

Oh, and by the way, I might mention that, on track 3, we goosed up the treble to get that sound, and would have had to do so on either guitar. So don't pick it just because it's the most different sounding from the others. It was bound to be different sounding, regardless of guitar brand used.

Now get back to work... and keep your eyes on your OWN PAPERS!

Well if it't not 1,4,5 then it must be 1,4,10.

JIM its a crying shame you play with all the knobs to try and get as close to the same sound on both guitars as you possibly can then expect someone to second guess you and all the knobs there would be no way under the sun to do that. You are the cheater in this case, when someone does guess and get it,then it truely is a guess because no one can hear the correct guitar with you playing with the knobs sorry i even tried, This isn't a challenge it is a guessing game for ANYONE



TOMMY YOUNG
max-tone modifications

I'm having a good laugh over this thread since a couple of weeks ago after receiving Jim's CD, I told him how much I enjoyed it, and asked him what steel(s) he used on the recording, and he told me he used the MSA and the Fessenden but asked me to see if I could tell which songs used the MSA, and on which he used the Fessenden (He did tell me that only three tunes used the MSA). I only ventured a single guess on one song but I got it right. Jim then told me which songs used which steels so I know the answer but I ain't sayin.

Tommy, my first objective, of course, was to make a record! I'm not in the business of trying to provide A/B comparisons of guitars with all the amps and knobs left exactly in the same place. I'm trying to make a record!

Now, b0b made a good point: there's a certain sound that I go for, in my head. I think of it as 'my sound' or just 'yup, that's what I like to hear'. When I make a recording, you can bet that's what I'm gonna try to sound like, whatever guitar I'm using.

So, Tommy, this is just a good lesson for folks who think that guitar 'A' can't possibly sound like guitar 'B'. I think the evidence to the contrary, at least with these two guitars and this one player, overwhelmingly disputes that idea. I'll also add that it really didn't take much knob-tweaking to get it where I like it. Now, if I had been using a MultiKord or Fender 1000, that might have been a tougher challenge to get 'my sound' out of. But between the lacquer-body Fessy and the carbon-fiber body Milly: 'piece-a-cake'...

'Zackly!

OK, I have been playing along so Jim could get some mileage out of this shameless promotion but Chris has made it kinda personal so I am going to go ahead and end it right here. The MSA Millineum was used on songs 1, 2 and 4. I have no way of knowing if it is actually Jim doing the playing but whoever it is he is acceptably good! I love the CD and I impatiently await the announcement that I will be receiving it.
Jerry