The Steel Guitar Forum

Personality. Why do some guitars seem to have loads of it, and others are just well built soulless machines?

Over the years, everybody that builds has figured out where to put the steel, the aluminum, the wood, the plastic, the nylon, the glue, the screws, etc. Somehow, though, the finished product functions perfectly, has a decent sound, holds tune fine, sustains well... but there's just a "soul" that isn't there. With another guitar, it just sings. It's not a brand specific thing; just sometimes there's a character (not the guy playing, lol) that comes through and makes you go, "Oh yeah, honey, you're MINE!!"

I have three steels. My old Franklin, my Sho-Bud (Coop) Pro 1, and this little Zum Stage One I just grabbed. Quite a scope of price range in the three, and they all have a unique character that comes out when I play. But, they all have a "soul" in the notes. I was at Bobbe's shop last week, and there was a Rittenberry there that just had that "thing." It's not the comparison to a P/P sound that I'm talking about.

Do YOU know what I'm trying to say? Thoughts?

It's what you like....

And another insightful discussion has begun...

So what do you like Mike?

On one hand is the "robot" player, getting all the right notes, right timeing, right cord, but just mechanical correctness. On the other hand, you can be part of the music and glide and flow with it, becoming part of the music. One comes from the brain and one comes from the heart. I want to play from the heart and be part of the music. I'm not there yet, but that is my goal.

I'm not sure the guitar is all that important as long as it is mechanically sound. It's what you put into it.

Theresa... if I only knew...

... red beans and rice, I know...

You play steel, I don't.
You should know what you like, you ask the ?

I think most builders will tell you. There's that 1 in 100 that really stands out from the pack...bb

Theresa, I guess what I'm asking is if anyone else has the same perception about different guitars as I, or if because of the mechanical nature of the instrument, it is less prone to individual personality things that, say, an all wood instrument would have.

OK, Mike you didn't specify that ?

To me, it's whether or not I can "bond" with the guitar. I can see the guitars that others play and they are excited about their own rig, but their guitar does not do much for me. I have my favorite that has risen to the top of the small pile of different guitars I have tried. I have to try them and see if they "grow on me or not" so to speak. The guitar has to play, not only well, but it has to have that "right feel". I have to be able to get out of the guitar the right tone for me. So, once a guitar initially catches my attention, then the above proccess starts. uhh, what was the question?
If I'm off base with my answer, can you rephrase your question to fit my answer, please??

A few come to mind...

Joe Turne's Marlen was the first steel I ever heard that stood out from all the other Marlen's

Buddy Charleton's Black Short Key Head EMMONS he played when he got inducted into the ISGHOF had it.

I saw Randy Beavers play a P/P D-10 that had it !!!

Terry Crisp Blue Derby D-10 Has it.

I had a Bule Emmons that Ron Sr built for me himself that I have been sick ever since I sold that had it.

Buck Graham's Sunburst P/P has it.

My black Derby D-10 has it...

Gary Carter's Derby D-10 has it...

Jim Walker's Rains SD-10 has it...

Kenny Martin's Red Derby D-10 Has It.. (used to be mine)

That ole 12 string Emmons that Chief plays has it...

Tom Killens Sho-Bud has it !!!!!

I am sure there are alot more and some I have forgot..

I sure have had my share that didnt have it..

I had a new Emmoms D-10... My first NEW D-10.. It didnt have it at all... I tried a Carter for a day..It didnt have it..

I havent owned but 3 brands of steel guitars.. Marlen, Emmons & Derby but I have played aloy of them

Oh yeah I had a Blue MCI waco with 710's in it that had it but I got short on cash once and sold it. That was when I worked for Bobbe during the Jeannie days.

Man that brings back even more memories... There were alotta guitars thru Bobbe's shop back then and you know everyonce in a while there was just that one......

I bought a Red D-10 Emmons from Tommy White back in the days when Jack was working at Emmons... 2156L that guitar had it.. I often wonder where it is ???

The one that suits you the best has it.No matter what brand.Whether it is a student model, pro model etc.

Your steel guitar may have it in your opinion and somebody else will tell you that they don't like it.
It is a personal taste I think.
I played numerous brands.To many to list here and I have found a couple steel guitars that I could actually bond with.
I will not name brand names because of the fact that my taste is personal.

Ron

No Michael.....fish and chips and spotted dick and custard!! remember the U.K.???

Micky Byrne United Kingdom www.micky-byrne.co.uk

Michael Douchette wrote:... nature of the all wood instrument would have.

That's what I hear in my maple MSA.

I don't think it can be explained. I think it's just an emotional connection that we make with a material object. What you think "really sings" or has it all might just be ho-hum for others. What impresses them most may draw scorn or apathy from you. I also don't think the sound...or the look...or the "feel", has anything to do with it...except maybe our minds. You can't measure or guage anything on a guitar and dicover why it turns you on. It's just a quirk of our psyche. One thing that amazes me is the players who sell a guitar and buy another, only to regret it later on. That tells me that their original guitar, at the time, sure wasn't very special (unless they really needed money to stay afloat). Our tastes just change and we want something different, only to find that what we had was pretty good, too. For many players "different" is what keeps them going (G.A.S.).

In the end, what we like is what we like. IMHO, there is no general concensus on what's good and what's not. The "magic" is in the player, or in our head, and not the instrument (we're not talking about Stradivarius', here). That's why there's still 40-50 different brands out there, and everyone thinks what he's got, or wants, or makes, is the best.

i know what you mean, michael..

and sometimes the steel can project that aspect into the player..

and sometimes the player can infuse that lack of personality into the steel.

steels are only human!

"This guitar has no soul!" -attributed to Robert Randolph

"This guitar has no soul!" -attributed to Robert Randolph

Maybe he should have poured lighter fluid on it and set it ablaze...INSTANT "soul", notoriety, and future collector frenzy!

My GFI-aka "Redgold Beauty's got personality, and one word describes this guitar-amazing!

I had a late 60s ZB that "had it" and a rack & barrel 'Bud that "had it" but they were both rag-a-matics underneath. So I started buying more playable guitars and quit worrying if they "had it" and started worrying whether or not I "had it".

Michael,
I don't know the answer to your question .... because I'm still trying to figure out why my axe sings one night and doesn't the next. (but oh those nights that is does sing.....)
Gary

I think that scenario applies to just about any instrument.

Speaking about something that I'm more knowledgable about, is trumpets. It's absolutley commonplace when trying out new horns, that a player will sit down for an hour or so trying out as many as 5 or 6 (or more) brand new horns of the exact same make and model. There will usually be that "one" that will stand out of the rest in the batch. I went through that when I bought my latest horn a couple of years ago. It's amazing how some will play very similar, yet some will play so differently. Some will have a nice, smooth response and others will play as if there's a sock in the bell! Yet, all the same manufacturers make and model.

I've found the same to be true with Bass Guitars as well.

mark...how do you pronounce your last name??