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Topic: Rains, Derby, Rittenberry, or new G2. . .which is closest? |
Nick Reed
From: Russellville, KY USA
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Posted 12 May 2008 2:34 pm
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Which of these do you think is closest to sounding like a Emmons P/P. My opinion is none of those mentioned. But what do your ears tell you. Many of us already know, the Emmons P/P has been the benchmark of what a Steel Guitar is suppose to sound like. I guess thats why I've stuck with mine all these years. But all the guitars being built nowadays sound good. I don't think they sound like a classic old Emmons. But they have a good sound of their own. If I were ordering a new guitar right now it would be a Williams. I feel they have great quality and craftsmanship, right on the money. But even a Williams don't sound like a Emmons P/P. All of us hear things differently.
Last edited by Nick Reed on 14 May 2008 11:43 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Sonny Priddy
From: Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 12 May 2008 3:14 pm steels
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Nick They Say Rittenberry. I Have One On Order From Bobbe. SONNY. |
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Antolina
From: Dunkirk NY
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Posted 12 May 2008 4:01 pm
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Rittenberry all the way. My next steel  _________________ The only thing better than doing what you love is having someone that loves you enough to let you do it.
Sho~Bud 6139 3+3
Marrs 3+4
RC Antolina |
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Lee Baucum
From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 12 May 2008 4:44 pm
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Quote: |
the Emmons P/P has always been the benchmark of what a Steel Guitar is suppose to sound like. |
I've often wondered who it was that made that decision. |
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Bill Dobkins
From: Rolla Missouri, USA
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Posted 12 May 2008 6:11 pm
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Lee Baucum wrote: |
Quote: |
the Emmons P/P has always been the benchmark of what a Steel Guitar is suppose to sound like. |
I've often wondered who it was that made that decision. |
Lee, I've often wondered the same thing.
A well know Steeler in Nashville told me he could set his Derby and his Emmons side by side and couldn't tell a nickels worth of difference. I know my Derby looks like it has the same changer as an Emmons. I think the Rittenberry sounds more like a P/P than a P/P. It definatley has a sound of its own.
There are so many great Steels out there, between the Derby and the Ritt. I don't what I would buy. _________________ Custom Rittenberry SD10
Boss Katana 100 Amp
Positive Grid Spark amp
BJS Bars
Z~Legend Pro,Custom Tele
Honor our Vet's.
Now pass the gravy. |
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Mike Mantey
From: Eastern Colorado, USA
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Posted 13 May 2008 7:20 am
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Are you kidding me. Not to knock other guitars out there, but come on. Have you tried a G2 personally? Every push pull player that I have put one in front of, has not said this..
Curious how you came up with your conclusions. |
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Mike Perlowin
From: Los Angeles CA
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Posted 13 May 2008 9:16 am
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Mike Mantey wrote: |
Have you tried a G2 personally? |
I have. It was at a private gathering of a few players who got together to show off our steels and try out each other's. There's no question, the G2 is a great guitar, but I think my Millennium sounds better.
There was also a pre-G2 Mullen, an Emmons p-p, and a Zum in the room. They all sounded fine, but different from each other. The owner of the G-2 liked (who also owned and brought the Emmons) liked my Milly enough that he said he was going to get one. _________________ Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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chris ivey
From: california (deceased)
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Posted 13 May 2008 10:42 am
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you're all wrong...my old acoustic stella with raised nut, de armond pickup and coathangers pulling the strings has the perfect tone!!!
john hugely, bloody emmons and churly caulker all played it and swear it's best! |
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Chris LeDrew
From: Canada
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Posted 13 May 2008 11:07 am
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I have never heard so many conflicting reports about a brand of guitar as I have the Emmons Push-Pull. I've had some people tell me they're amazing, others say they're a pain in the ass. Some say they are easy to tune and adjust, others say they should be properly set up and that it's very difficult to do so yourself. Most significantly, I've heard a lot of people say that all PP's are not created equal. So just because you buy any old PP doesn't mean that you'll automatically hear bells go off the world will be a much more beautiful place. Or will it?
All I know is that all the conflicting reports are very confusing. I guess you just have to take the plunge and find out. _________________ Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com |
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Danny Bates
From: Fresno, CA. USA
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Posted 13 May 2008 11:11 am
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Chris... Nothing like a Stella tone but the black Stellas sound the best. |
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Scott Hiestand
From: MA, U.S.A
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Posted 13 May 2008 11:36 am
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Chris LeDrew wrote: |
I've had some people tell me they're amazing, others say they're a pain in the ass. |
These are not mutually exclusive opinions!
Whether or not it should be this way.....will we ever come to terms with the fact the beauty is in the ear of the beholder? PP's are without question great sounding guitars. The benchmark for the rest? You'll never get 100% agreement on that here. Some won't play anything but a PP, others see the "downsides" as enough justification not to play one, still others don't even hear a difference. There is no "right" answer.
(If someone plays a PP in a forest, does it sound as good as an all-pull in the studio)? |
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James Quackenbush
From: Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 13 May 2008 5:15 pm
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I'd have to say that I can't remember ever hearing a BAD sounding P/P ....They are probably one of the most consistant sounding pedal steels out there ....Is the P/P the end all , be all ?...... ??????.....There are so many other GREAT sounding steels out there today ... They all sound great at one time or another , especially in the hands of such tallented players of today ... I can be thrilled with the pedal steel that I am playing, then buy another brand a bit later, and LOVE the tone of that one too ... It's a good time to be a pedal steel player ....Jim |
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Billy Carr
From: Seminary, Mississippi, USA (deceased)
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Posted 13 May 2008 5:28 pm psg
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I tend to look at the effects and amps that were being used in the days of the "P/P's". I would think if a player used the same effects with the exact settings and played through the same type of amps and studio boards (direct), as they did years ago that it would be very hard to tell the difference. Todays guitars are for the most part being played through dufferent amps, settings and so on. I still believe the right player can get most any sound or tone he wants from pretty much any of the guitars on the market today, with the exception of one or two maybe. The guitars mentioned earlier are all fine built guitars. I'd take the all pull over a p/p anyday, due to the easy tuning of all pulls. When your playing in front of 2 or 3 thousands folks somewhere they won't know one from the other anyway. |
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Jeff Evans
From: Cowtown and The Bill Cox Outfit
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Posted 13 May 2008 5:47 pm
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Quote: |
So just because you buy any old PP doesn't mean that you'll automatically hear bells go off the world will be a much more beautiful place. |
True — they aren't magic tone talismans. EQ them thin enough and they can and do generate weapons grade sounds of sonic destruction (just as any steel guitar can.) Tragically, these same sounds are sometimes known among some members of the community as "those crystal, bell like highs" or, worse, "THE Emmons sound" (as if there is just one and thin and ultra bright is it.) |
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Curt Langston
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Posted 14 May 2008 9:13 am
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Quote: |
I can be thrilled with the pedal steel that I am playing, then buy another brand a bit later, and LOVE the tone of that one too ... It's a good time to be a pedal steel player ....Jim |
Good point Jim.
Which brings up the question:
Does getting a new guitar or other gear make us salivate with anticipation to the point where we believe that we have found the best tone yet?
Only to realize later when the new wears off, that the so-and-so guitar we used to have, actually sounded better.
I know for myself, a lot of the times I get caught up in the "newness" so much that I think at the time "man, this is the best"............
Yeah, best for now that is...........
GAS |
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Jack Dougherty
From: Spring Hill, Florida, USA
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Posted 14 May 2008 10:16 am
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Rittenberry.......Why?
This is not a question to cause trouble but more of an inquiry as to the reason a lot of you seem to like this guitar. Gary does have a pedigree if you will as a fine builder of steels. So does Del and Bruce and the Jacksons and so on. So what really sets one guitar above another? Why does the Emmons have to take center stage. Why have so many great players changed from Emmons to other guitars? Mind you, I have nothing against Emmons. Great sounding.
But as a wise man once said...If every body liked Pepsi....no one would drink Sevenup..
So the questions stands....Why?..
Please help me as I am in the market for a new guitar..
JD |
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Junior Knight
From: Eustace Texas..paddle faster..I hear Banjos...
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Posted 14 May 2008 10:29 am
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Flame this...
I've said it before and I'll say it again;
The best tone on a steel guitar is the tone YOU like! I'm just sayin... _________________ 2006 Msa S-12 “milly” 8 & 5
. Peavey Nashville 1-12 Goodrich pedals & matchbro.Steeler Choice seats.. that is all..(for now) lol
www.msapedalsteels.com
texsteelman2@yahoo.com
Jagwire Strings
Facebook/ Junior Knight, Steel Guitar |
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Daniel J. Cormier
From: Lake Charles, LA, USA
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Posted 14 May 2008 11:22 am Rittenberry
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I've bought and sold almost every brand of guitar out there.I love the tone of the Rittenberry or Nashville LTD that where built by Gary.
But I'll Say it again ,You have to give it to the guy that sits behind the guitar.The right hand has more to do with tone than most of us will give credit for.
JMHO
DJC _________________ Daniel J. Cormier
Rittenberry with Tone to the bone,profex or tubefex and what ever amp, hilton pedal, BJS bars. Email at kajunsteelman@yahoo.com. |
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Andy Sandoval
From: Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 14 May 2008 11:38 am
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Nick Reed wrote: |
Which of these do you think is closest to sounding like a Emmons P/P. I'd have to say none of the above. |
Sounds like you just answered your own question. |
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Tommy Alexander
From: Friendswood, Texas 77546
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Posted 14 May 2008 11:46 am Rittenberry-Why,ask Jack?
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Jack,
I think that Jr.Knight said it best!
I have been playing the same Franklin since 1980; no problem with it at anytime; still love the tone.
I recently set down with Jody Cameron (Texas boy) and played on his Rittenberry for three hours.
Got hooked, came home and called Gary, talked with him for the first time, then ordered a new Rittenberry. Find one, play on it and then decide for thyself; great guy to talk with, the guitar plays great and the tone is exceptional.
This my story and I'm stickin' to it.... |
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Jack Dougherty
From: Spring Hill, Florida, USA
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Posted 14 May 2008 6:25 pm
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Well...the reason I ask is.....I have my Zum since '84. Positively nothing wrong with the guitar in all ways. Just curious as to the general perception of all these guitars. I happen to agree with Junior. But there is a big thread on the Rittenberry and a lot of players seem to have put in orders and moreover rave about the sound. I have not played it yet but I did speak with Bobbe and to paraphrase, says the best bang for the buck. For me, tactal and auditory response is the only way to really tell what works. Soooo I am at square one with the guitar choices. The simple way for me to solve the problem is to ask the builder one simple question. Why should I buy yours and not the other guys?
Now the journey beguins.... |
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Brad Malone
From: Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 14 May 2008 6:32 pm Rittenberry
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Tommy Alexander, You are confusing me, I thought you had to order the Rittenberry through SGN. |
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Cal Sharp
From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN
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Posted 14 May 2008 6:58 pm
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The sound of an Emmons P/P is the sound that inspired me to play. That's the sound I want. I don't want something that's the closest. I want the original sound. WTF is the point of buying a guitar that is the closest when you can just get a P/P? Duh.
 _________________ C#
Me: Steel Guitar Madness
Latest ebook: Steel Guitar Insanity
Custom Made Covers for Steel Guitars & Amps at Sharp Covers Nashville |
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Mickey Adams
From: Bandera Texas
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Posted 14 May 2008 9:47 pm The G2
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My money, and a lot of other players as well are on the Mullen G2...Hands Down! _________________ ARTIST RELATIONS: MSA GUITARS
2017 MSA LEGEND XL D10, S10, Studio Pro S12 EXE9
Mullen G2, Rittenberry S10, Infinity D10, Zumsteel 8+9
Anderson, Buscarino, Fender, Roman Guitars, Sarno Octal, Revelation Preamps, BJS BARS, Lots of Blackface Fenders! |
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Nick Reed
From: Russellville, KY USA
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Posted 14 May 2008 11:25 pm
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Great response Cal |
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