Buddy Emmons - Darrell McCall on YouTube from ISGC

[Bill Ferguson]

I think all of you will really enjoy this clip of "It's The Water" featuring Buddy Emmons & Darrell McCall.

This is from the 1992 International Steel Guitar Convention.

You can tell this was "off the cuff" because the entire band is having such a great time.

Buddy told me it was great to air this clip as in his words "I didn't make too many mistakes", like his mistakes aren't better than any of our picking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Mx5lhreMY

[Charles Curtis]

Bill, thank you for another great winner!

[Howard Tate]

Thanks Bill, I love it. I can't see it clearly, is that a Sierra? Whatever it is, it sounds great.

[Lee Baucum]

That was great!

I noticed that on one of the rides, the fiddle player sounded like twin fiddles. Was that some sort of f/x box, or just pure talent?

[Gary Lee Gimble]

Lee, I'm fairly confident the fiddler met the minimum requirement for talent to be on stage with Emmons. Whether a stomp box or whatever augmented the four stringer's expertise is beside the fact, stomp boxes are made for everything. Even one to blame it on the dog...
My buddy Jimmy Unger Sr, has a first generation split harmonizer. In case a listener is visually impaired, the big give away are the fiddle players bow strokes. There is always a slight chance another fiddler is hiding somewhere on stage, tipping the bottle and in que to play...

[John Steele (deceased)]

Thanks for posting that, Bill... great playing.

Very unusual tone for Buddy.

This clip would be exhibit A in any debate with those people on here who claim every steel guitar sounds the same, and that any great player can "dial in his own tone" regardless of what instrument they're on. Baloney in spades ! Anybody who thinks that sounds like an Emmons needs a weekend at the Academy For The Tonedeaf.
-John

[Bill Ferguson]

Yes, Tommy Williams, Fiddler, used an MXR Octdivider. You have to remember this was 1992 and the world of digital electronics did not exist.

Now concerning Buddys tone. The tone he had on the Sierra guitar was his tone of choice at that time and it fit that song very well. However, I have heard Buddy on Push Pull Emmons, All Pull Emmons, Sierra, EMCI, JCH and Zum and he exactly the tone he wants from any of them.

I get whatever tone I want on any guitar I play. That does not mean I always want the same tone.

Bill

[James Cann]

Buddy told me it was great to air this clip as in his words, "I didn't make too many mistakes."

Hah! We should all practice his mistakes! With that, the good playing will take care of itself!

[Bobby Caldwell]

Bill, Thanks for the memory. It was a hoot to work with Darrell and Buddy as it always is. You can tell by the look on our faces we are having fun. Buddy's sound was awesome as I remember that night but I think he sounds on anything he plays. I have seen him set in on a strange steel guitar that sounded okay until he got a hold of it and "BANG" there is "The BIG E" sound. I had the same feeling when Chet would play different guitars. It still sounded like Chet. It's in the feel and the touch. Oh well enough of that. Thanks again Bill. You keep diggin' up great memories for me. Loveya pal, Bobby

[Alan Miller]

I tend to agree with John Steele when he said in a previous post that it is an unusual "sound" from Buddy's Sierra , to me it was very "metallic" but maybe that was the sound buddy was wanting at that particular time ? Great video , I was looking for the mistakes can anyone point them out to me . It must be when you attain that level of proficiency any mistakes are so tiny noone else can see them.

[Gary Lee Gimble]

Regardless of the tone DeJour 15 years ago, there was a definitive signature. Unlike the bulk of today's aired mix, kinda all sounds the same...