Lets Share Some Recipes for Tone

[Kevin Fix]

I was thinking that this would be a real good topic! It would be like your wives or husbands sharing recipes. What are your amp settings?

I have a Nashville 112
Low: +9
Mid: -9
Shift: 11:00
High: -3
Presence: -15
Reverb: 10 or 11:00
Guitar is a Super Pro with Bud PUP's.

Have a great day and God Bless!

[Greg Lambert]

I was thinking that this would be a real good topic! It would be like your wives or husbands sharing recipes. What are your amp settings?

I have a Nashville 112
Low: +9
Mid: -9
Shift: 11:00
High: -3
Presence: -15
Reverb: 10 or 11:00
Guitar is a Super Pro with Bud PUP's.

Have a great day and God Bless!

almost identical;

I have a Nashville 112
Low: +9
Mid: -6
Shift: 300
High: -3
Presence: -3
Reverb: 0 - use a digital delay and digital reverb
Guitar is a Derby D10

[Fred Treece]

Something a little different maybe. I just started playing steel a year ago and decided to plug it into what I already have. It works.

Stage One S10 3x4

Boss GT-10 --> Tech 21 Power Engine
Twin Reverb amp model, Middle Gain
Volume 30
Bass 45
Mid 50
Treble 50
Presence 20
Reverb 40-60
Delay 185ms at 45%

The Tech 21 provides clean headroom all the way up to ear bleeding volume, and weighs about 30 pounds. The GT-10 needs no introduction, you either love it or hate it or never used it.

[Johnny Cox]

A good guitar plugged into a good amp. Nevermind the settings, what works for one guy doesn't work for the next. Hands,Hands,Hands. Good tone = good technique.

[Roy Carroll]

I have a NV 112 with an Eminence, TT speaker. Mullen G2 with a Telonics 206 p/u.
My settings are:
Bass = +12
Mid = -12
Shift = 1 0'clock
High = -6
Presence = +12
No amp Reverb, using Wet Reverb and DD-5 delay (Minimal)
All I ever change from room to room is the shift, slightly more or less depending on how my ears are in each particular room.
I will say that Johnny is correct, hand position is crucial.
The speaker made a big difference. I was using a PF350 speaker before. Great speaker but very heavy. The TT weighs 7 lbs. and is very good on the low end.
Good topic

[Fred Treece]

I have pretty good hands, tone wise. But I can make a good guitar plugged into a good amp with a good speaker sound pretty terrible with the wrong settings. I trust my hands to do what they're supposed to do, but I don't trust any amp.

This is a worthy thread because people can see tone settings for particular amps for particular guitars. 99% of us are looking for an ultimate clean tone. Not that every clean tone is going to sound the same in every amp from every player, but we are all technically in the same ballpark.

[Justin Schack]

Hi,

I found this thread while searching for some amp-setting tips and am hoping folks might have some more-general advice for me.

I am a longtime 6-stringer who's new to pedal steel, but have learned and practiced enough over the past 14 months (since buying a Stage One) to finally feel comfortable playing it on a few songs at my band's next gig on Tuesday.

I don't have a dedicated "pedal steel amp," nor am I about to buy one. I do have a Princeton-style build, with a 12" Texas Heat speaker, that has served as my main gigging amp for a few years when playing a Tele. I use this when practicing PSG at home and it sounds fine enough for that purpose. I tend not to adjust the tone stack for PSG because I also play 6-string through it at home and at gigs. But this time around, I am going to use a separate amp for my Tele and run the PSG through the Princeton clone.

My question is, generally what should settings on that amp look like to get a good, classic PSG-type tone? The three tunes I'm playing the PSG on can all be described as either classic country (i.e. "Heartaches by the Number") or country-style takes on not-necesarily-country songs. They are sparse arrangements. We don't have a drummer or bassist. I'll only have a dreadnought acoustic, a fiddle and vocals (alto lead/tenor harmony) in the mix with me.

The amp in question has Volume, Bass, Treble and Reverb controls (plus Tremolo speed/intensity, which I won't use for PSG). It also has a mid switch and separate mid pot on the back of the amp (which, along with the 12" speaker, is the main difference from a stock Princeton). It has tons of clean headroom and barely breaks up when the volume is dimed (though engaging/boosting the mids can add more dirt).

When I'm playing the Tele I generally cut the Bass, boost the Treble and leave the Mid switch off, with Reverb on 3 or 4. Based on a little reading in this thread and elsewhere, I'm thinking for PSG it would make more sense to boost the Bass (i.e. set it somewhere between 6-8 out of 10), cut Treble (maybe 3-5), engage the Mid switch and set that pot to 5 or 6 and leave the Reverb where it is. It's an outdoor gig but a relatively confined seating area, and I'll be mic'ing the amp/sending it through the PA, so I won't need a ton of stage volume.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on whether that makes sense and, if not, other suggested approaches.

Thanks!

[Jimmy Lewis]

I agree with Johnny Cox it's all in the hands and technique. The late Wayne Cox sat down at my steel one day and did not change any settings whatsoever. The guitar sounded completely different. Looking at different settings for different amps is a good guideline to get started but it's all in the hands. It starts with what you feel in your heart and all comes out your hands. The amp just amplifies that sound and you use the tone controls to shape and color what you are hearing in your head. Different amps are going to color The tone differently because of the way they are made and components that are used.

[Drew Howard]

Hilton volume pedal
Fender Twin Reverb

[Fred Treece]

I'd appreciate any thoughts on whether that makes sense and, if not, other suggested approaches.

Since you are mic’ing the amps, stage sound is your main concern. Set the amp where you can hear it clearly. Your sound should be distinctive but not overwhelming compared to the other instruments and voices. Bass and treble are usually pretty easy to balance out. The midrange is the key. Start with it all the way off and then bring it up until it starts honking, then back it off to the sweet spot. An acoustic guitar and a fiddle are a good match, if the players are good and they have quality equipment. The pedal steel is an outsider, but if you bring it in right the magic will happen. It doesn’t matter what’s in your hands or your heart if your tone isn’t balanced with the sound of the rest of the band.

[Donny Hinson]

...My question is, generally what should settings on that amp look like to get a good, classic PSG-type tone? The three tunes I'm playing the PSG on can all be described as either classic country (i.e. "Heartaches by the Number") or country-style takes on not-necesarily-country songs. They are sparse arrangements. We don't have a drummer or bassist. I'll only have a dreadnought acoustic, a fiddle and vocals (alto lead/tenor harmony) in the mix with me.

The amp in question has Volume, Bass, Treble and Reverb controls (plus Tremolo speed/intensity, which I won't use for PSG). It also has a mid switch and separate mid pot on the back of the amp (which, along with the 12" speaker, is the main difference from a stock Princeton). It has tons of clean headroom and barely breaks up when the volume is dimed (though engaging/boosting the mids can add more dirt.

With just a bass and treble, you're seriously limiting your tonal selections. Remember, you only have one pickup on a steel, so going to the pickup switch to get a fatter tone isn't an option. I'd set the volume on 8, the treble between 2 and 4, and try the bass at 6-8. But it's really pretty subjective, and we don't know what type of tone you like. Old country standards normally used a brighter tone, but not all players followed suit.

Keep in mind that a stomp EQ pedal can do wonders for your tone when you have few controls on the amp. There's a reason that most all steel amps come with some kind of mid or mid-shift control!

[Justin Schack]

Thanks everyone for the thoughts on my question. I appreciate the comment that stage sound is what the amp settings will control, whereas I can always rely on the board EQ for the mic'd sound going through the PA.

I do have a mid control on the amp, so will engage that and I like the idea of starting at zero, turning it up til it honks and then backing off to the sweet spot.

Will let y'all know how it goes. thanks!

[Michael Sheehan]

As someone said over at the Telecaster message board, "tone is in the underpants."