Tom Brumley

Nathan Laudenbach · Post by **Nathan Laudenbach** » 15 Feb 2018 8:48 pm

I have been needing out big time to The Buck Owens show episodes on youtube. Can someone tell me about how Tom Brumley got his sound. What type if guitar is he playing, what pickup and what amp? Thanks in advance!

Clyde Mattocks · Post by **Clyde Mattocks** » 15 Feb 2018 10:38 pm

To me, Tom's sound changed quite a bit over the years, but because of his technique, his identity didn't. I get the impression he didn't have total say over his equipment when he was with Buck because they used all Fender (although I liked his sound then, too). His later stuff got closer and closer to the Buddy Emmons standard. The same can be said of Ralph Mooney. His Sho-Bud sound was nowhere close to his early Magnatone and Fender sound, but he was always Moon.

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 16 Feb 2018 1:48 pm

Tom went from a Fender to ZB to Mullen and then to Anapeg.
On the Buck shows he's playing a ZB thru what looks like a Twin. Maybe there's some early shows where he's still using the Fender, but most are with a ZB.
I would bet the p/u's were stock single coil ones that came with the guitar.
Usually 11 string E9â€¦not sure if the one on the Buck show has 11 strings on either neck, but the sgl neck ZB's he used with Dwight, as well as the Mullen & the Anapeg were S11's.

B. Greg Jones · Post by **B. Greg Jones** » 16 Feb 2018 3:14 pm

On the ranch shows, Tom used a fender Twin with JBL's. The 2 tone brown ZB is a D-10 with the 10th string tuned down to a low E note. The black ZB is the 1st D-11 that was built. The next one on the ranch shows had a red front apron and black necks. This ZB was a D-11-10. Tom didn't care for the 11 string C6th neck and even took the 1st string off his black D-11.

Greg

David Mitchell · Post by **David Mitchell** » 17 Feb 2018 4:07 pm

I found it pretty easy to get the same tone as Tom. It's being able to play like Tom is the hard part. No one ever will. When I first made these videos using the same gear as Tom had back then Rolene Brumley said "You sound just like Tom". My hat sized increased 3 sizes. Lol! If you really want to get nit picky they also used E-V 666 microphones on the amps. That's all they had worth a darn back then.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVponj_xKjk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDEd01mNQyI

Billy Carr · Post by **Billy Carr** » 17 Feb 2018 5:49 pm

Checkout the clean and smooth way Tom plays the steel parts with Marsha Thornton on the Buck Owens classic, "In The Palm Of Your Hand". Perfect.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 17 Feb 2018 6:09 pm

Tom's recorded sound was heavily altered from his live sound. Most of the lows were reduced to sound super clear on a car radio. In person he had a big fat tone with lots of reverb. Many of the studios had awesome reverb units that also altered the sound from what comes out of the amp. Tom always had his unique style regardless and lots of complex chromatic riffs.

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 17 Feb 2018 6:41 pm

One of my favorite intros from Tom...
"God May Forgive You", by Rosie Flores

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYV0SCWiW5s

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 17 Feb 2018 7:48 pm

Of course Tom has a huge body of work. From Buck, to Rick Nelson, Dwight Yoakam et. al.

I first began really listening to Tom's playing on the instrumental album Pacific Steel Co. about the same time I started playing steel. It was this sound of the tunes Arrowhead and the hauntingly beautiful Selah that floored me. I think these were recorded on his ZB Custom guitars.

Tom's work on Yoakam's I Sang Dixie will go down as some of the best steel guitar work ever, as well.

It was this era from about the late '70's on that I always loved for his tone. He had a unique style and distinctive tone and was one of my favorite steel players of all time.

I remember seeing him at St. Louis several times. I was thinking one year with his Mullen, he used a Fender Bassman but it may just have been a tweed amp of some other design. I defer to Greg B. about that. I think he probably knows as much as or more than anybody about Tom's gear and music.

For anybody that's interested, here's the cut of the Arrowhead instrumental: https://youtu.be/0Mghy5f1Olc
Selah: https://youtu.be/RiLjXghsYM8

B. Greg Jones · Post by **B. Greg Jones** » 17 Feb 2018 9:26 pm

Jerry, you are correct. That was a Fender Bassman you saw Tom playing through. He had sent it back to Fender and they added reverb to it but also recovered it in black tolex!!! It was also equipped with a JBL D-130 and was Tom's all time favorite amp. Tom started with Buck on a Fender 1000, played a Sho~Bud perm for a very short while and then got his 1st ZB in 1965. He played the ZB's for years and had started playing them again shortly before he passed. He also played the Anapeg and Mullen guitars in later years and Emmons built him a D-11 that I have seen a pic of him playing. Tom was never happy with the tone he got on Buck's records. As Greg Cutshaw said, they brightened it up in the final mix. Live at Carnegie Hall was a lot closer to what Tom liked in the 60's. I sure miss him but thankful that I got to know him. He left us a bunch of great recordings throughout the years.

Greg

Nathan Laudenbach · Post by **Nathan Laudenbach** » 18 Feb 2018 9:04 am

Thanks everybody for all the great information.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 18 Feb 2018 12:51 pm

He left us a bunch of great recordings throughout the years.

Not the least of which was the fine job he did for Ricky Nelson..

Michael Maddex · Post by **Michael Maddex** » 19 Feb 2018 5:10 pm

Some Good Info above. Also, there was a full-length interview with Tom in a Steel Guitarist magazine. If you don't have a copy, you can get one from b0b. Click on one of the Store Links at the top of the page. Buy the Whole Set-you'll be glad you did!

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 19 Feb 2018 5:46 pm

Tom's sound through the years was always great, but not always exactly the same...
This simple solo has such a unique tone, one that I had not heard before or since..
Never heard this sound duplicated, and it still makes me smile to this day... classic Tom Brumley from his Buckaroos days..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2VLIO14dns

J R Rose · Post by **J R Rose** » 20 Feb 2018 3:57 pm

I know this without a doubt has been discussed here before but I have to ask what guitar was Tom using on the original Capitol recording of "Together Again"? And what year was it? I personally like the Live @ Carnegie Hall the best. Thanks, J.R.

B. Greg Jones · Post by **B. Greg Jones** » 20 Feb 2018 4:27 pm

The Together Again guitar was a Fender 1000 through Tom's Fender Bassman. The guitar only had 2 pedals pulling 2 strings that worked.

Greg

J R Rose · Post by **J R Rose** » 21 Feb 2018 8:13 am

Thanks very much Greg, I knew if you saw this post you would have the answer. J.R. Rose

Rick Jackson · Post by **Rick Jackson** » 21 Feb 2018 9:29 am

Bud Isaacs told me Tom Brumley's version of Bud's Bounce was one of his favorites....

Steve Leal · Post by **Steve Leal** » 5 May 2020 6:40 pm

I got to meet Tom one time at the only steel guitar convention I ever attended that was in Dallas. I was a huge fan of his at the time and when I approached him, he was like talking with a family member. About as humble of a man as I ever met. He talked to me about the day he recorded Together Again. I remember him telling me that his steel was not functioning properly that day and when he squeezed the pedals, he had to ease off of them very gently in order for them not to clank and be heard on the recording. He said that because of that, his style/sound changed.

John Goux · Post by **John Goux** » 5 May 2020 9:03 pm

Man, that Rosie Flores track is so good, it reminds me of why there is one better than Brumley at this instrument.
John

Kenny Davis · Post by **Kenny Davis** » 5 May 2020 10:41 pm

Per Berner · Post by **Per Berner** » 6 May 2020 2:49 am

John Goux wrote:Man, that Rosie Flores track is so good, it reminds me of why there is one better than Brumley at this instrument.
John

That whole album is pure gold!

Joe Krumel · Post by **Joe Krumel** » 6 May 2020 4:03 am

Tom and Lloyd share a kindred spirit when it comes to "out of the box" ideas and clever beauty.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 6 May 2020 7:46 am

Here is a picture of Tom playing a ZB guitar with a ZB amp.
The ZB amp was made by Standell.

Erv

Boo Bernstein · Post by **Boo Bernstein** » 6 May 2020 9:07 am

John G -- Skip and I have discussed that intro before; just beautiful! I had to learn it a number of years ago to play a gig with Rosie. There was one move that kept throwing me -- I couldn't figure out how Tom could get it that smooth until I realized that he had a knee lever that raised the 4th string to F#! That intro encapsulates many of the qualities that we all love about pedal steel. Absolutely brilliant!

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