The Steel Guitar Forum

I believe I found them in the Forum archives.

I have a few Emmons. They run the gamut in ages, types and configurations. That being said, my "desert island" one would be the '81 D10. It's a real workhorse and every time I sit down to it it's like putting on an old shoe, so to speak.

Patrick Huey wrote:I played this , 1974 I believe, Bryan Adams 8pedal 10knee that David Mitchell had and it was the most awesome p/p I’ve ever seen. Absolute perfect tone, twang, that awesome “growly” twang in the mids...just amazing! And the pedal and knee action was just ALMOST as smooth and easy as my ‘95 pre RP and for a p/p that’s saying something! And David said in several years of gigging it NEVER had to be tuned! He offered it to me first when he sold it and I’m still kicking myself as I didn’t have the money at the time.

Patrick, I believe this is the one I own now and I wouldn’t trade it for any wrap around or bolt on. I had a few of the knees removed because it was a bit overkill but this is the best sounding guitar I’ve ever played. It’s a 72 btw.

I play a converted 1970 SD10 3+4 cuttail when doing the little bit of E9 work I do (I primarily bang away on a '59 Fender 400 9+2 in B6).

The P-P was built out by Kelcey O'Neill, who is doing quite a bit of P-P service work out of North Carolina. It has the stock pickup and volume control, and is the warmest, smoothest sounding 10-string I've ever played - plus it plays like butter with very quiet, smooth - but quick/responsive - mechanics.

One important thing to watch for when shopping for P-P's is original pickups, and if they've been rewound (many have) beware of pickups wound to high DC resistance (i.e. in the 13-20k+ ohm range. Most - but not all - with very high DC resistance tend to be brittle sounding with little warmth. High DC resistance also does NOT necessarily indicate high output - any pickups in thew 10-11k ohm range have both more output and warmer tone than those with high resistance.

Lower resistance is generally good - high resistance indicates sound files are needed to determine what the guitar sounds like.

Note - pickup resistance, like speaker resistance, is a fixed number; impedance varies with output voltage and frequencies, and is not a fixed number.

I currently have invoice #2171, a Wraparound D-10. While I’m really just into the service end of things and not really a player, this guitar has an undeniable vibe. I’ve blind picked it from sound samples, as have others. This particular guitar supposedly belonged to Weldon Myrick, and used during his Connie Smith days. Whether or not it is, it has a sound second to none, and I personally prefer it to the several bolt ons and cut tails I’ve heard next to it. The wraparound may not be better in everyone’s opinion, but it is most definitely unique, and there are good reasons for it. Most notably, of the three models, it is the only one that the changer is not connected to the endplate in some way by means of screws. The wraparound changer connects only to the body, and is also unique in that it is also connected to the body by being bolted from underneath, and not just screwed down from the top. This particular guitar has something unique to the latest D-10 wraparounds , in that an aluminum block is used as a common anchoring point for both changers, thus tying the both of them together. I’m aware that the changer mounts for this guitar are modified cut tail mounts, but they are essentially the same mounts used on later wraps, and the mounts from underneath definitely original as there is evidence of the wood compressing from the original changer mounts. Whether this is where the vibe comes from, the wraps definitely have something special.

What's the story on the 3rd row of holes in the end plate?

They were supposedly for a split tuning system. The parts are missing, but I’m working on having replacements made. Buddy had one like that, and the owner of that guitar made a post on the forum years ago saying that it did work, so I guess we’ll see. Definitely original endplates though, has the correct foundry marks on them.

They were supposedly for a split tuning system. The parts are missing, but I’m working on having replacements made. Buddy had one like that, and the owner of that guitar made a post on the forum years ago saying that it did work, so I guess we’ll see. Definitely original endplates though, has the correct foundry marks on them.