How to sound GREAT

[Basil Henriques]

Stop looking for a good reason why you don't sound great. The problem is you and your hands. You don't need another guitar, this one will do. You don't need another amp, this one will do. You certainly don't need effects units, Jimmy Day has proven that.

When you have discarded all these lame excuses you will be left with your ears and your hands. Gee, you had those all this time. Each pedal steel guitar player is issued two of each, twice as many as you really need. What a deal!

Jeff Newman

[SteelieAJK]

I agree, except that black guitars have the best tone don't they?

[Basil Henriques]

Yes, as the link I provided to the Jeff Newman article says

Tone is in the hands.
There are little camps of all knowing, all seeing pedal steel guitar players everywhere you go, and all of them have discovered the secret of tone. A black 1965 Emmons push-pull guitar is one of those discoveries. Get one, it will make you sound like Buddy Emmons. And while you are at it, get a wife that looks just like his, and you might as well move to Nashville and sleep in his bed. Do all these things and you will get his tone, won't you?

[Ken Byng]

I had dozens of email debates with Reece Anderson on this subject. Reece was adamant that the instrument was not a part of the tonal equation. To him, tone was all in the hands. I maintained that my black Emmons push pull just sounded that much different to all of my all pull guitars. He in turn maintained that what came out of my amp could be EQ'd to sound however I want it to sound, but the hands dictate and govern the overall tone. He said that blindfolded, he could change the EQ on my amp while playing an all pull and then a push pull and would not be able to tell which was which. To me, an honest appraisal of the tonal qualities of different guitars is for the same player to play the guitars through the same amp with the same settings.

I never conceded the EQ theory to Maurice, and while I bowed to his superiority of experience, it was apparent to me that he had never spent any substantive time sitting behind and playing a push pull. I will say, and it's only my opinion, that the hands and style will account for 90% of the tone heard by an independent listener. The guitar, amp and settings and newness of the guitar's strings will also make a contribution to tone.

Mr Tonehound - Mike Johnson - has a push pull through a Peavey LTD amp when he plays live. I couldn't sound anything like Mike, and would end up sounding just like me with my preferred tone. Lloyd Green's tone is there when he plays JCH as well as Show Pro and and his beloved Sho~Bud. It's his touch that gives him his tone, likewise with Buddy, Tom B, Jimmy D, John H, anyone you care to name.

This is a great topic, but one that has been done to death on the other steel forum.

There is only one way to sound great - that is to put the hours in!

[Donny Johnston]

WHAT KEN SAID X 2.

[Basil Henriques]

This is a great topic, but one that has been done to death on the other steel forum.

There is only one way to sound great - that is to put the hours in!

Agreed about all you say but especially the "Done to Death', everywhere EXCEPT for here. It's posted to help enlighten the newer members to this forum/club.


As for the Push/Pull debate, having two 1970 PP's,(And most other models as well) I can honestly say it's a no contest.
For tuning stability and sitting comfortably within a mix the Emmons PP has no equal.. No matter what you do with EQ, you can't emphasise sounds that aren't there, and those definitive sounds just aren't there with the rest of the field.
Of course you could argue that the ShoBud, ZB, MSA et al have their own characteristics, that being true, why is it that the large percentage of top pros and session men prefer the PP ?
It responds to touch better, and therefore allows the player to stamp their identity whilst still retaining the instrument's recognisable sound.

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

Hear Hear, well said thus both of you! Tis the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

[Jif]

I think it is true of all instruments that they all have a unique tone, no two instruments of the same type are quite the same, unless of course they are digital!

I've never played a PP but I would imagine that each individual guitar will have to some extent however small, it's own unique tone.

The conclusion I came to was that there is a tone inherent in any setup but how you extract that tone with your hands etc is what defines "your" tone or indeed your style of playing.

I couldn't agree more with Ken -

"There is only one way to sound great - that is to put the hours in!"

[Jason Lynch]

I agree. I had this discussion on anther thread, and said then that it's easy tb get " Equipment-itis". Every new bit of kit will make me better.
A little while ago, I was at David Hartleys, and he played my guitar through my amp, volume pedal, seat and all. And he STILL sounded like David Hartley.