The Steel Guitar Forum

I've been having a dilemma the past few days. I'm wanting to try different pickups in my Emmons LL3 again. I've tried Lawrence 710's and the tone was muddy. So I went back to 108's. Now, I'd like to try single coil Truetones but I despise the hum that they produce naturally. Someone suggested to me today to try the Alumitones that the tone of them are comparable to that of the TT's. Now a few questions came into my mind. Are the Alumitones humbuckers? Would the counterforce in my LL3 restrict the Alumitones? Is the tone of the Alumitones brighter or darker compared to the 108's? Thanks everyone in advance!!

Austin Tripp

Austin, I have a SKH LG111 which came with the 108N pickups. I have changed to Tonealigner pickups and they sound great. Nice and clear with no mudiness, also with individual pole adjustment it is easy to balance string response for each string. I fitted mine by just using a dab of silicone on each end of the pickup which has worked fine and doesnt interfere with the counterforce at all.

You may take a look at Frenchy's The "Steel Mill" Traditionalist SC Pickup
http://sites.google.com/site/frenchyspe ... s/products

Hi Austin …
I too own a LL3 with 108N’s and want to experiment with different pickups. I seem to be experiencing a lack of bass and midrange, which may be due to my equipment. Using a Nashville 400 I have an MXR EQ on the effects loop in order boost bass and some mid frequencies.
As been stated here on the forum, the pickup cavity is shallow enough to only allow pickups that are no larger than standard Emmons single coil style.
I just purchased a Tonealigner and Truetone to give a try. I am excited to try the Tonealigner due to its pole piece adjustability. By using an oscilloscope I hope to be able to dial in a nice balance across the strings. As for the Truetone it’s going on my C6 neck and will see if I can adjust the pickup low enough on the bass strings to provide nice string balance.
Will write you the results of my findings.
Rob…

Ivan,
Sorry to hijack, but a short key head Legrand III?
Was the counterforce added after the guitar was built?

Yes Jack it is a SKH LG111. It was custom built for the original owner by Emmons using the last few SKH parts they had left. It is a lacquer finish with counterforce on both necks. I have recently changed the pickups to Tonealigners which suit the guitar perfectly. It is a great axe.[/img]

Very cool Axe Ivan - I need to come up and have a play on that at some stage

Austin Hello!

I have an Emmons LeGrande II with 710's installed ....
You were saying that 710's are too muddy , i actually find that hard to believe as my ones can almost peel the wall paper when i add a bit more treble. hehe ..Did you measure the pickup impedance ?
On my guitar they are around 24K Ohms. And i am quite happy with them now. Great for playing in the studio and live , they cut great through the music.

If you are planning to install Alumitones, you need to modify your "tone arms" in order to fit the pickup in the cavity !! So be aware of that !!
Otherwise pickup will touch the strings !
Bud Carter has warned me of this too !

Please read this !
I was getting ready to buy Alumitones and had to prepare my steel to fit the pickups !
What i actually did was , i ended up pulling the necks off and taking the tone arms off the bridge , cut 5mm off the top , reassembled everything and put 710's back on until i get the Alums.

Now i was able to further lower the 710's and the tone became more mellower and not as scratchy as before !!

I have since decided to leave them in the guitar as i kind a liked it a lot more then before the modification of the bridge ....

So be aware of this i mentioned above ! You probable know all this anyway, just wanted to make sure you are aware of it as it will cause you the pain !!!

Hope this helps mate !

If you want to hear what my 710's sound like , please go to www.myspace.com/tomisteel
There are a few samples of my playing !!!
That was through the Session 400 ltd.

Cheers !!!

The Alumitone is NOT a humbucker...Its not a single coil either.It is a Lace Sensor Austin....Im using them on both my G2s now, and loving them..I mean REALLY loving them...

Tell me more about Tonealigners. Are they humbuckers? How do you adjust the individual poles?

Austin Tripp wrote:Tell me more about Tonealigners. Are they humbuckers? How do you adjust the individual poles?

Yes they are humbuckers, and the pole pieces can be adjusted with a hex wrench sized approx 77 zeptoparsecs.

Hmmmmm. Now I'm starting to think about tonealigners. I'm mostly concerned with E9th. Where can I purchase a pickup and how much do they cost?

@Austin

Info here:

http://www.bobhoffnar.net/tone_one.html

Order here:http://www.bobhoffnar.net/tone_two.html

Also a few vendors carry them in stock such as Jim Palascar.

http://www.steelguitars.me/

Tomi, the 710s definitely need to be setup much further back from the strings than other pickups to get a nice balanced tone. Too close and they tend to get quite sharp sounding. You need to get yourself to Brissy this year, you and your playing have been missed the last couple of years.

Austin,
Feel free to give me a call if you want to ask about my pickups.

917 572 5416

Ivan, thanks for the suggestions on the 710pickup, yes i did realize that after putting up with them for 7 years of having them on the steel.
Now it sounds much more pleasant to the ears !
But , watch out...soon they are about to go out of my steel !!! I am just fed up with that sinthetic sound....

Austin - please let us know how you go with your Tonealigners !!! Would like to know ! Thanks

Austin,
I just had a Carter with the Alumitone pup and I didn't care for the sound of them at all. Maybe they sound better in another guitar, but I would never try one again. I have an Emmons SKH Legrande (1983) with the original single coil pup and I wouldn't change them pups in it for nothing. I love the sound of the original Emmons single coil pickups that it came with.

Al