The Steel Guitar Forum

Do you sacrifice any of the so called "Emmons Tone" by going with the SD-10 as opposed to the D-10?

I have a push pull SD-12 and I say no. It's got all the tone of a D-10.

I have both, and they both sound great!

Interesting question which I first dismissed. You know, “you can’t generalize to that degree”, etc. But then it kept popping back into my mind.

I think that there’s something to the generalization that the less restrictions in an Emmons “build” the more likely the better tone. I mean, I’ve long believed a student model, with no raised neck and fewer knee levers screwed to and constricting its body vibration and resonance, often sounds better than some of its bigger brothers. In fact, I’m not so sure that if a student model didn’t have the usual stability problems (it tends to wobble due to its non-pro legs) I wouldn’t use one more. Heck, they sure are lighter by quite a bit, too.

So, by the same token, just maybe an SD10, with less mechanicals attached to its undercarriage compared to a D10, might resonate more. Just wonderin’.

Clark Doughty wrote:Do you sacrifice any of the so called "Emmons Tone" by going with the SD-10 as opposed to the D-10?

I wouldn't think so. I also think there is no way to really tell what makes a guitar sound the way it does, since so many factors can affect the guitar's tone.

my s-10 sounds sweeter than the d10 i had at the same time only it has slightly less sustain. a little change in volume pedal technique helps compensate for that.

My first pedal steel was Emmons Black rock that Buddy Cage endorsed. I purchased it in1976. It had just 2 knees but it sounded amazing.

I don't own an S-10 but from what I've heard there is no difference in sound and I know of one S-10 in town that sounds better than my D-10. They are great guitars.

"Emmonites"?

I don't believe b0b allows religious discussions.

Lee Baucum wrote:"Emmonites"?

I don't believe b0b allows religious discussions.

I thought emmonites were a kind of fossil....

https://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeolog ... onite.html

--Al Evans

As long as you don't fight with the Shobudians, it's okay.

I always enjoyed Ben Keith's tone when he played an Emmons S-10 with Neil Young. Some people say that even the S-8 student model has "that sound".

Eric Philippsen sent me an Emmons P/P S 10 to try. At first it was thin sounding but I adjusted my amp settings and it made a big difference. My wife and our guitar player couldn't tell the difference between the S10 and my D 10 P/P at a jam session yesterday.
Could it be because it's black?????