The Steel Guitar Forum

I just can't seem to get a clean tone with my Fessenden sd-10 (L-705 pick up). I am using it with the Nashville 112, a Goodrich pedal and two George L cables. When I plug my Tele in it seems very clean. Someone suggested there could be a sympathetic vibration going on in the guitar itself that is bleeding into the pick up. When I turn the volume off I do get a growling sound that does sound kind of distorted. I checked the undercarriage but everything seems but there is definitely some sort of buzzing sound it seems like it is coming from space under the neck.

IS this a common issue..what are usual suspects and cures or diagnostic tricks to determine what causes this type of thing

If it's a mechanical vibration I approach locating it using a cheap engine stethoscope. You can buy 'em at Harbor Freight for about $10. It's a simple adjustable-length metal tube attached to a plastic hose that splits to an "earbud" for each ear.

You touch the tip to suspected "culprits" until you locate the source of the vibration. Simple, cheap, easy to use and very accurate.

Since you say it's fine with the Tele, it could be a nut roller, or some piece under the guitar that's rattling/vibrating. Also, make sure you're running the amp master a few numbers higher than the pre gain, so you're not overloading the power amp.

(Guitar and steel require different amp volume settings.)

The pre gain is almost off and I am still getting a growling over drive.

Plug your steel directly in to the amp with the same cord you used when your tele sounded clean. could be a bad cord or vol pedal problem.

JE:-)>

How far is the pickup from the strings? My experience with the 705 is that it sounds best best with a little extra space from the strings. It would only take a minute to lower the pickup and see if that helps.

Hey Jim. My test with the Tele was done with all cables and the volume pedal. The cables are brand new and so is the amp.

Mick OGrady wrote:The pre gain is almost off and I am still getting a growling over drive.

Are you using a powered volume pedal? If the gain on a powered pedal is set up too high, almost everything will be distorted. Have you tried plugging the steel directly into the amp? Also, check the wiring under the steel, as there may be a partial short or open connection that's causing a distortion-like sound.

Lastly, straight guitar and pedal steel are entirely different animals! Keep in mind that guitar pickups put out a lot less signal than steel pickups, so a pedal steel will tend to distort far more easily than your Tele.

In the original post he said: "When I turn the volume off......"

How would amp settings matter in this case?

Make sure your not getting sympathetic vibrations on the key head between the roller nut and the keys. One of my old Buds did this and drove me crazy trying to figure it out.
I stopped it by putting a few rubber washers between the strings. Worth a shot..
BTW....I am referring to the strings vibrating and not the roller nuts

The buzz from loose roller nuts on my guitar did not transfer to the pickup. Sounded terrible acoustically.

Thanks to everyone for offering different solutions. Someone told me that it could be the POT in the volume pedal.
I lowered the pick up..it's better but it definitely sounds like there is something rattling / growling near the pick up when the volume is off. I have no idea what it could be. It sounds like something under the neck near the pick up.

I will get that car stethoscope.

Have you tried playing an open chord and sticking your fingers in and on the various parts underneath? If something is loose or vibrating there, it should be easy to find.

BTW: Are you sure it's not just string buzz? Do you hear it on every string? On single notes and chords?

Hey Donny..I hear it when the volume is down..it is more pronounced on the wound strings and it occurs when I pick without the bar. It is more noticeable when more than one string is being played ... it is also audible on single strings, again particularly wound ones.

I get some acoustic distortion occasionally from my Fessenden but I do not notice it thru the amp. If I am practicing very quietly it can be distracting in a "what IS that!?" kind of way.
My mica is delaminating in a few places on the guitar -- you can feel it and you can find the spots by tapping a fingernail around the body and hearing the distinct sound of non-adhesion. I am thinking that this might be the source of my distortion. But again, I have never noticed this being transmitted through the pickup.

I was looking at Jay Dee Maness' guitar at the Dallas Show a couple years ago. He had taken some electrical wiring and stripped the cover off. He had cut the cover into pieces about 1" long and slid them over some of the strings, I think just the un-wound ones. He said it was a trick that Weldon Myrick had showed him. Supposed to cut down on string vibration in the head area. I thought about using heat shrink tubing but shrinking it down might defeat the purpose, or it might be better, who knows. Could just leave it loose.
You might want to change strings and try this to see if this helps. It would be a good idea to change strings anyway.

try another amp as well &/or have someone else try your amp...process of elimination