The Steel Guitar Forum

I have a MSA and had the pickups changed to the G.L.-66. Maybe I dont know what a steel guitar is suppose to sound like,but no matter how many knobs I turn on the Session 400 amp the tone is still sharp. I like a mellow tone. Any suggestion on different pickups! Thanks Rick W

Rick,

Part of what determines tone is where you are picking the guitar. First thing my teacher told me. Perhaps you are too close to the pickup. If you move your hand towards the fret board that may mellow up the sound some.

It could also be the pickup as well. I had a George-L in my Sierra and changed it also to a Bill Lawrence pickup. What a difference. But before you do anything contact Bill or Becky Lawrence and tell them what you are trying to achieve. He can build you a pickup that should do what you are looking for.

Good Luck

Mark T.

Rick,
I had a George L E-66 installed in my 76 MSA
S12 about a while back,and after tweaking the amp a little it sounds awsome.I also play
thru a Nashville 400.To each his own i suppose.Good luck.

Wayne

Rick, do you have the amp cranked up? Most amps give a much better tone with the volume on the high side (I run mine wide open!) All amps are different, but you might try these settings, and let me know if they help...

Volume......12 o'clock or higher!
Treble......9-10 o'clock
Bass........Wide open!
Presence....9-11 o'clock
Middle......Totally off!
Mid Shift...9-10 o'clock

These settings should give you some "fat sounds". If not, you might have to change the pickup.

B,

These are my "start settings" for Peavey amps. I use similar settings for other amps in that I always run the mids very low, or off completely. The only Peavey amp I have right now is the Stereo Chorus 212, but I have owned a couple of others. I find the shift controls especially "touchy", and have rarely seen anyone use the top-end (12 o'clock, and higher) of the shift, or "pyramid", as it is sometimes called.

How 'bout a stomp box eq with the highs rolled off to your liking? That's what I would do, but then I'm a lead guitar player first, steel player last...so far...

Yes Chris, a stom-box equalizer would definitely help. (Why don't all amps come with a graphic equalizer?)

And B, as I understand it, what the mid-shift or "pyramid" control actually does is to change the frequency that the middle control actually regulates. Look at it this way, if the shift knob is high, you're going to get a boost in the highs, and if the shift is low, you're going to get a boost in the lows. When it's set straight up, it merely means that the middle control is working where it would be if there were no shift control. But for fat, mellow sounds, you need additional boost on the bottom more than you do in the middle.