The Steel Guitar Forum

I've been thinking of trying another pickup in my guitar. Right now I have a Trutone (in a Uni 12 Williams).

So the question is, what pickup do you have? Also, are Williams considered a Wide mount pickup type?

Thanks for your help.

I am using a BL710 in my Williams but I would also highly consider an XR-16 which has worked nicely in other guitars.

A Tonealigner would be another consideration.

I think you'd be hard pressed to beat the TruTone.
That's what I have in my Williams.

TrueTone here as well. You would need a wide mount pup to go in there.

thanks for the info. guys. I like the Trutone, but just wondered if anyone had a good experience with a different pickup.

i guess i'm the odd one but i love the XR16 PUPS

Hey Larry,

What is it you like about those XR16? I've heard people really dig them.

Also, I saw the pictures of your new guitar.....awesome!!!!

Brian,
I have an XR16 in my Excel Superb U-12 .....I remember hearing my buddies Willy and it was a pretty bright sounding steel ....My Excel is also a bright sounding steel with a single coil pickup .....I played so many gigs where I had a lot of RFI interference that I needed to sadly go with a humbucker ....I am a single coil guy and LOVE Truetones .... The XR16 gave a nice balance to the tone ....The mids were stronger, and the lows were a little deeper, and the highs where not as bright , but still pronounced and very smooth .... I know that this is not the perfect example since it's not a WIlliams , but the Excel Superb is another bright
sounding steel , so I thought I would chime in here .....I am NOT a humbucker kind of guy, but I can live with the XR16 where I couldn't with a lot of other humbucker pickups ....The Tonealiners are suppose to be a nice pickup too but I haven't tried them ....Good Luck in your search ....Jim

Thanks James! That is exactly what i hear in my guitar. It's very bright so I'd like to try and mellow it out a bit. If the XR16's beef up the mids and lows a little, that may be the way to go.

My 400 Series SD-10 had the Williams single-coil in it when I got it (Bill told me he made them himself at the time the guitar was made). I found it a bit thin in the upper register, and hum was more than I'm comfortable with, so I put in a 710 about a week ago, and I think it sounds better--it's fuller, not quite as bright, and, of course, doesn't hum.

Brian ONeil wrote:Thanks James! That is exactly what i hear in my guitar. It's very bright so I'd like to try and mellow it out a bit. If the XR16's beef up the mids and lows a little, that may be the way to go.

ask Mr.Willy

The BL710 or BL712 for the 12 string , is brighter than the XR16 and not as full sounding ...I like the overall tone of the XR16 in a brighter steel because it tames that extreme high end that cuts like a razor , and smooths out the mids and bottom end to give the steel more body in the tone dept .... An XR16 in a steel like a Zum for example that already has a full bodied tone would probably be SUPER fat in tone ....It's all about what you want out of your steel ....My Excel was not thin, but was very bright and noisy in some gigging situations .....The XR16 tamed the noise , and also tamed the brightness and added a nice fatness to the tone that wasn't there before .... I still have it in my steel , and I am use to having interchangeable pickups , so I don't have a problem changing out a pickup if it doesn't work for me .....YMMV ....Jim

I recently ordered a new Williams, and am having Bill put a George L E66 on E9th and a 10-1 on C6th. This is what is on my Carter and I am very happy with them. We'll see when Willy gets here in October whether I made a good choice.

Lawrence 710's in mine, I think they sound great.

I recently ordered a SD10 Willy. I chose the E-66 pickup.

Carter has sound files of various pickups here:
http://www.steelguitar.com/resource/pic ... sounds.htm