The Steel Guitar Forum

Anyone know what period, is supposed to be the best push pull model ?...Do the ALuminium necks sound better than the wooden necks.?..I emailed Emmons to try and buy a new SD 10 push pull re-issue...I never got a responce so I just gave up trying...I hope this question is in the right place on the Forum...Many thanks

Bob.... Please close above post...There doesn't seem to be any Emmons experts out there.....Sorry if I put the question wrong place...Thanks

Ivor, there are two ex-employees of the Emmons Company posting in this thread so I would consider them as experts on Emmons guitars. Jack Strayhorn was as fine a builder as the company ever had. Doug Palmer was an employee as well but I'm not sure what his job was there. I think the questions you ask could only be answered based on opinion only with no definite correct answer. My opinion is the the best push pulls were from '67 thru maybe '71 but that is just an opinion. I have a great push pull that Bryan Adams built for me in '81 but my favorite push pull is a '67. I have no opinion as to which is best between wooden and aluminum necks. I think Buddy Emmons settled on a '67 push pull with aluminum necks, at least that is the push pull that he kept thru the years so that is good enough for me Jerry
P.S. I would love to be able to buy this guitar that is the subject of this thread!

Ivor, What Jerry wrote plus the fact your question is better suited for the Pedal steel section.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewforum.php?f=5

Hi Jerry...Many thanks for your help...I have no real information on push pull Emmons guitars and that is why I was interested ...I have a crazy notion of perhaps buying one...Many people have different opinions about guitars and their sounds....For me, I think a push pull has a very sweet even sound when a player swells the notes both up, and down again...Push pull guitars seem to hold the downward swell much smoother than all pull guitars...Infact Bob Adams pointed that out to me just recently and the more you listen, you can hear it, espeically when the player is on the upper part of the neck...I have two superb new M.S.A guitars...D 10 LEGEND AND D 10 Millennium... It would be very very hard to find anything better made....Ok thats the scoop...sure appreicate your input...Good luck...See you in Dallas 2012

Hi Bobby...Thanks for the help...Yes I now see that this is in the wrong place...I really don't know how to change it...I am happy with Jerrys advice and will be content with that, ....Maybe Bob will see this post and move, or cancel the thread...Cheers

Ivor, while this thread is open I would just like to tell you that I dearly love every Emmons guitar I have ever had. I have 5 push pulls ranging from '66 bolt-on to the '81, and 3 LeGrande II's and a LeGrande III. I would sell some if I could decide what I can do without. I have also refurbished and sold several Emmons guitar both LeGrande and push pulls. I loved them all!
Jerry

Clyde Mattocks wrote:Deferring to Doug and Jack as they were there. Just an observation on most manufacturers. In a period close to a changeover design, there will always be some oddball combinations of older and newer parts as they don't want to waste perfectly good parts that they have on hand. Lots of times, they will refer to them as "special order" or "custom". (Remember the Gibson 335's that had the tops predilled for a fixed tailpiece and then had trapeze Bigsbys facory installed? They simply slapped a plastic plate with the words, "Custom Made" over the holes.) Leo Fender was known to be frugal about using up the parts he had on hand.

Sorry, I missed this post in the original topic.

A month or so ago my friend Mike Eisler and I went to Lynn Staffords home and played about 7 different PP's from cut tails to bolt on's to a wrap around, from different time periods. They all sounded like you would expect a PP to sound, some had a little more "body" or a little more sustain or a little more growl etc, but they all sounded great.

PP's have a different sound than most other guitars, not better not worse, it depends on what you want to hear.

Having been a PP player for over 35 years I am one of those that just can not seem to get that sound out of my head. I have tried other guitars but always go back to the PP.

I just bought a 1980 PP from Lynn Stafford, rosewood with aluminum necks, sounds like a PP should. I am going to put gauged rollers (less bar pressure down low) and Tonealigner pickups (individual pole piece adjustment) and Ernie Ball strings (my choice) on it.
I have already made some personal changes underneath to suite me, and I am expecting to get many more years of playing from this older unit.

There are many fine guitars out there and PP's are not for everyone, but for us that like em

Larry Behm

From the first day I rec'd my 1972 P/P....8+4, I "KNEW" it was the greatest guitar I've ever owned.

It arrived 'already tuned', right from the factory. A broken "G" string and a faulty neck selector switch was replaced immediately by the factory. Since that time, I've not had one item break or wear out. I've played it vigorously for many, many years, lugging it in and out of a warm house, into a blustering northwest snow or ice storm, into a cold autobmobile and then back into a cold club or dance hall.

The guitar has stayed in tune better than any I've ever owned. The 'sound' is full and sweet. I got it
with the regular or standard (non=stereo) pickups.

Right on Larry Behm. The thing I love about the old push-pulls, in addition to the clarity and fullness of the tone on most that I've owned, is the fact that once they are adjusted out properly, they stay in tune. I never cringe and hope that a certain pedal/lever combination will be in tune at any given time, it is always on the money with my push/pull - no drift even after a string change.
Jody