The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm really enjoying fooling around with the
old Fender 1000, I remembered how I loved the action of this old thing, and it plays really well, but I had forgotten how thin the tone is. Can I improve the tone with modern pickups, or having these rewound?
When I compare it with my Fess, or ZB, the tone of the fender really sucks.
Jim

Only slightly. An equalizer (even a simple stomp-box job) will do far more than any pickup change. Most of that "tinnyness" comes from the guitar's design. What kind of amp are you using?

Jim,

I have a Fender 1000 completely restored. It is now a beauty___nine floor pedals___had the almag frame buffed at a place that polishes mag wheels, and mounted an Emmons volume pedal to the pedalboard. It is simply better looking than new.

The thin sound can very much be an asset. I like to use mine for a lot of tunes, that just seem to sound better with the thin sound.

It demands better playing technique than the custom 10 and 12 string instruments to get an acceptable sound; but the 1000's do sound great if you have the patience.

I play mine through a Webb 6-14 amp. I set the tone selector on #3 and dial a lot of the mids off, most of the bass on and most of the trebel off.

Rick

I first played it through a Nashville 400, with the Midrange almost all the way off, and it wasn't bad, then I thought it would be great through my Session 2000 and PX 300. Wrong this amp made the fender tone almost piercing. I loved my old 1000, that I bought in 1958, and it met an unfortunate fate. I was in the Philippines, hungry and met a man who had a Fender 400, and 400 dollars. You can guess the rest.
Jim

Jim,

I've seen some players take the pickup out and end for end it. The magnets extend progressively longer toward the bass strings if one looks on the underside of the pickup. With the longer magnets under the fine strings, some say this is better. I don't like this myself. To my ear, it sounds better the way the design was intended.

Make sure you have good strings, set the pickups to the proper height, and tweak your amp settings with the mids (as you say) set low. Work mostly with the bass and treble controls. I find that I can get a better sound without using the EQ section of my amp.

Rick

I find that if I set the controls of my Session 400 to where I would if playing my Stringmaster(that is to say mids almost completely scooped at around 3K and bass,highs and presence straight up)any Fender cable guitar - 400,1000,800 or 2000 sounds about like the Stringmaster - fat bright and shiney. -MJ-

Thanks Michael, that's just about the way it is with the Webb.

Rick