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Topic: Pickup Suggestions? |
Chris Battis
From:
Reno, Nevada, USA
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Posted 19 Nov 2010 5:07 pm |
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I have an 8-string that came with a George-L E66 p/u, which to my ear is just a bit too smooth and PSG-sounding. I'd like to replace it with something that has a little more bite.
The Stringmaster p/u's on my old Fender sound great, perfect in fact, but on this guitar I'm limited to installing another humbucker or something that has approximately the same footprint as the George-L.
I already tried a Wallace True-Tone on another guitar and could hear no significant difference between it and the George-L.
All constructive suggestions appreciated.
Chris |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 19 Nov 2010 5:24 pm
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What steel guitar do you have ? Your issue with tone is very likely not the pickup.
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Bob |
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Chris Battis
From:
Reno, Nevada, USA
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Posted 19 Nov 2010 5:38 pm Pickup Suggestions?
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| The guitar in question is a Remington S-8. |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 20 Nov 2010 12:37 am
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In my opinion its the steel. Remington steels sound like pedal steels to me. A pickup won't be able to change the basic nature of the guitar. I would go ahead and buy a vintage instrument. Plenty of Rickys, Fenders and Nationals around. For new steel I am a big fan of Cinesmith for a Bigsby tone and John Allison's steels for a Stringmaster type sound. I haven't played or heard anything that gets the Bakelite Ricky sound though. I'm sure somebody has. I am only speaking from my personal and limited experience.
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Bob |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 20 Nov 2010 12:39 am
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BTW: The footprint from an E66 is big enough that any pickup should fit in it with no problem.
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Bob |
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Chris Battis
From:
Reno, Nevada, USA
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Posted 20 Nov 2010 9:20 am Pickup Suggestions?
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Bob--Thanks for your input. I already have a couple of nice vintage instruments, and the Remington is so well-made that I'll probably hang on to it and hopefully learn to love it.
I've played banjo for 50+ years  and am strangely driven to tinker endlessly with my instruments, trying to squeeze out the last bit of horsepower, so playing around with different pickups is just par for the course.
I'll see what Pete Biltoft recommends.
Chris |
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Stan Schober
From:
Cahokia, Illinois, USA
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Posted 20 Nov 2010 9:49 am
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Have you thought about switching to a George-L 10-5 ?
You get a lot of tonal variety including a single coil sound, and you could install it without doing any kind of permanent modification that could de-value the guitar.
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Emmons S-8 P/P,DeArmond 40. Slowly drifting back towards sanity. |
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Twayn Williams
From:
Portland, OR
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Posted 20 Nov 2010 12:07 pm
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| Bob Hoffnar wrote: |
| In my opinion its the steel. Remington steels sound like pedal steels to me. A pickup won't be able to change the basic nature of the guitar. |
While this is true to an extent, changing the pickup can make a huge difference. While changing the pickup probably won't ever turn it into a clone of your Stringmaster, you can probably find a good sound that you'll be happy with.
If you already have an 8-string TrueTone, I'd send it back to Jerry and have him wind it down to around 12k or so. It WILL become MUCH brighter, airier, and "Fendery" will a lot of bite. And of course single coil buzz 
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Primitive Utility Steel |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Chris Battis
From:
Reno, Nevada, USA
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Posted 20 Nov 2010 12:50 pm
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So many pickups, so little time! Thanks to everyone for all the good suggestions.
Chris |
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