The Steel Guitar Forum

My Classic S10 Sounds more like a banjo than a steel. I have put new strings on after polishing the changers and rollers, still sounds the same. It has an E66 pickup which
is fixed at 1/8" below the strings, I use a BJ's 1" bar Kyser finger picks and Dunlop thumb pick. No matter what amp I use it still sounds the same. Any Ideas would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Dave.

Is it on all the strings or just some? It's probably your roller nuts rattling. A small drop of oil on each side of each roller should fill the gaps and deaden the sound.

Yes Jim it is on all the strings, some more pronounced than others, I've had the rollers off cleaned them and lightly oiled them, no joy.
Cheers
Dave

I'm assuming you mean ALL the strings are exhibiting this.... you ahve tried lowering the pickup, lubing the rollers etc, all the 'first thought' trys. NOW, check and make sure EVEYRTHING is tight on the guitar. The keyheads, the changer, the neck-- EVERYTHING....

I'm wondering though if you tighten and it STILL does this (i'm thinking tightening things up will fix the problem), that something is mucked up in the changer-- my thoughts would be the nylon washers have melted to the point of getting in between the axle and the fingers themselves (which can happen with a slightly worn axle)... or your fingers have worn too much and not making good contact...

it is in the finger changer, I had this problem with my MSA D-10, the finger changer
had to be cleaned, and checked for rough finish on top of the fingers, any rough areas
had to be smoothed out, the changer was lightly lubricated with razor lubricant.
after doing this my problems were gone and had to re-adjust and tightened rods.

You have to be <u>real</u> careful when you're polishing the changer! The old MSA's had one of the largest radius changers around, and if you don't maintain that radius (that is, not increase the radius any at all), the strings will buzz.

However, since you're getting it on <u>all</u> strings (it's very rare to get this on anything over a .036), I suspect, as Gino says, that something's loose. Or...the problem may be in the amp. Make sure a bad speaker isn't causing you to rework the guitar!

Hi Dave,

By saying "like a banjo" are you saying that each string has no sustain, no ring to it, more like a percussive, well, banjo sound or are you trying to describe a buzzing sound on each string? From the looks of the answers you're getting, they think it's buzzing. I'll bet it's lack of sustain as if you were playing with a plastic bar instead of a steel. Does it sound the same open as it does with the bar across the strings? Muted?
No matter which amp you try? Does it sound that way when it's not even plugged in? Or is it only bad when amplified?
Just clearifying the description will garner better answers. I'm thinking it's in the pickup but, what do I know?

BDBassett
Kent WA

Did you ever find out what was wrong with your MSA?

Dave
Play a PSB (pedal steel banjo).It might sound like a PSG!
Good luck tho'.
JS

You might also check out the wiring. A cold solder joint, which might look fine, could cause the signal to diminish very quickly after an attack. It passes the hot signal,but when it falls past a capacitance threshold, it could drop dramaticaly. Or a wire that's been moved around too much can cause similarly invisible gremlins.

This is probably unrelated to the specified problem, but 1/8 of an inch below the strings is lower than the optimum distance for an E-66,which is supposed to be about the width of a quarter. That is how it is set on my MSA Classic, and I certainly wouldn't prefer the way it sounds with it any lower.