Still can't get the Fiddle tone and it's drivin me nuts!

Terry Sneed · From: Arkansas,

Some of ya'll probly remember my post a few months ago about how to get a fiddle tone out of my steel.
I got a lot of good advice, about cuttin the highs, or was it the lows, anyway I tried both ways, and uping the reverb. I even called Bobbe Seymore, and
Bobbe was helpful as always (Hope you heal up real fast Bobbe Smile

) Bobbe told me what some of ya'll had already told me as far as setting the amp, but he told me to use a fast vibrato also, and not to slide into a note.
I understand to "think fiddle" and use a fast vibrato etc, but for the life of me I cannot get a tone that sounds anywhere close to a fiddle. I'm talkin about single note playing here, not a violin or string section. I just want the single note fiddle tone. And the tone is the main problem. I have a Boss tone, I've been told to barely turn it on, and I've been told to turn it all the way on.
All I'm after is to play a line or two, on a few songs, every now and then and make it sound fairly close to a fiddle. Can anybody tell me how to set my Nashville 1000, and my Boss tone, and tell me which string sounds best for fiddle, so I might can just get fairly close to a fiddle sound. I sure would appreciate it very much. Smile

Terry

Rick Nicklas · From: Verona, Mo. (deceased)

Only place I have ever heard the violin sound used from the way you are trying to do it.... is in slower songs like Ray Price's "For The Good Times". If you strike the unison notes or the 1st and 5th tone (for a cello effect} the only way I've heard it sound great was on the slow songs.

There was a guy in Concord, California in the 70's that had a pickup/sampler unit that slid under six strings of his steel and he really could play all the fast licks sounding almost exactly like a fiddle. It was very convincing. If you want that sound then you may have to pay for some sort of sampling unit which will also give you the sounds of many other instruments. I'm an old fart now and I don't know how far technology has come in that area.

Terry Sneed · From: Arkansas,

Rick, all I want to be able to do is play fiddle sounds, occasionally on slow songs, on one string. I really don't care about the cello effect, I just want to sound close to a fiddle on one string, whether it's the 4th string, or 2nd string, or whatever. I know it can be done, I heard Bobbe Seymore do it on the song "A Way To Survive" ( and it sounded very much like a fiddle) on the video Live in concert Gene ONeal and Bobbe Seymore.
This video was very old, but if it could be done then surely it can be done today.
As a matter of fact, I'm watchin the video right now.
If I could get close to Bobbe's tone when he plays the fiddle part I'd be a happy camper!

Terry

Rick Nicklas · From: Verona, Mo. (deceased)

Terry, shame on you.... I thought one of the prerequisites to live in Arkansas was to play at least 3 hoedowns on the fiddle !!!.... Just kidding. Wish I could help more but it's beyond me. Once in a while I will try to play as close to a fiddle part as I can by choosing the right harmony combination's (they use the same tuning as a mandolin)and it sounds pretty cool... (sometimes). If you are unable to ever achieve this, remember that there aren't any fiddlers that can sound like a steel guitar. Very Happy

Hal Higgins · From: Denham Springs, LA

Terry...back in the 70's I had a Boss-Tone and got pretty close to a fiddle sound using the attack about 3/4 of the way open and volume set so it was equal to the volume of the steel when the boss-tone was not being used.....If I remember correctly, I was also using a Session 400 amp with my Lows set at about 3/4 open mids turned almost off and highs about half-way open.....with a pretty good bit of reverb (spring, built into the 400). I also played single notes using my 5th string and "A" pedal, not many slides but quick pedal pushes to emulate the way a fiddler would do his fingering. I hope this helps....let me know if it does. HAL
_________________
HAL...Excel D-10 w/ 8 & 5. SteelSeat.com w/back,SteelSeat.com Pedal Board on Legs with Quilter Tone Block 200 amp, Boss GE 7, Boss DD 3, Boss RV 6, Boss RT-20 Hilton Expression Pedal, Evans Cabinet with 4 ohm Eminence 15" speaker. BJS birthstone bar, Powder coated Tone bar by Michael Hillman. Dunlop Coated finger picks and Zookies L30 thumb picks.

Terry Sneed · From: Arkansas,

Jerry Roller · From: Van Buren, Arkansas USA

Terry, what has been said about two strings in unison is a big step it getting the fiddle single string sound but the thing to work on is if you barely slant the bar so the two strings are slightly out of tune with each other you will produce "beats" which mimic the grainy tone of a fiddle. Pick the two unison notes and slightly slant the bar maybe 1/32" or so. The more you slant the more beats you hear. Use the Boss or whatever unit you have at a pretty high setting because it will not be too much with a single tone or two like tones. Pick two different intervals of the chord and you will get a lot of distortion for fuzz.
Jerry

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

I used this effect back in the 70's both live and in the studio. I still have a copy of a record I played on using this technique to emulate a string section.

Back when I learned this technique, it was not advertised as being a "Fiddle" sound. It was being advertised as a "Strings" sound. I have never heard this effect used to where it actually sounded like an acoustic fiddle. It was used on slow songs to emulate a string section. If you heard someone getting a real fiddle sound, he probably used a MIDI pickup and a sound module.

Cliff Kane · From: the late great golden state

Hi Terry,
have you ever tried an Ebow? It vibrates the string to emulate bowing. You can get a lot of cool sounds similar to bowed strings and reeds/woodwinds. It does not sound exactly like a fiddle, but the Ebow with a bar/slide will at least strongly suggest a fiddle or what ever you are imitating. They can be bought for about $80, a fun toy if nothing else. They used to make a two-string model tthat was popular with steel guitarist, but that model has been out of production for a while, but the standard single-string Ebow is still in production.

Here's their website:http://www.ebow.com/

Cliff

Brendan Mitchell · From: Melbourne Australia

What Jerry Roller said is the way I was taught to get the fiddle sound . I always thought the slightly out of tune beats sounded like the vibrato fiddle players use .

Terry Sneed · From: Arkansas,

Thanks Jerry, I'll give it another shot with the two unison strings. But my biggist problem is tryin to get a tone that sounds similar to a fiddle.

Yea Cliff, I had an Ebow for about 6 months and couldn't find anything I liked with it, and sold it.
Just didn't find a use for it.

Richard, If you've never seen the video, "live in concert" Gene ONeal and Bobbe Seymore, you need to get it from Bobbe if he still has them. And listen to Bobbe play "A Way To Survive" with Rob Parker doing the singing. Bobbe plays a solo and when Rob comes back in to sing the last verse Bobbe reaches over and switches something on, I reckon it's his Boss tone, and plays some single note fills that sound very much like a fiddle. Surley somebody else has seen this video, and knows what I'm talking about.
anyway, thanks for all the advice guys.

Terry

Bent Romnes · From: London,Ontario, Canada

Terry, Richard Sinkler is right. It is strings sound, not fiddle.
The way Jeff Newman taught us...let's see if I can recall this from memory...

Use a Boss Tone unit(or something that creates fuzz tone)
-crank up the distortion.
-turn down the treble on your amp
- play on the 4th and 1st strings in unison(c pedal) but slant the bar slightly. You want the vibrato effect. Don't pick the 2 strings together, alternate them.
-Don't overuse.
Jeff got a super strings effect from this.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Bent,

That's the way I learned.

Also using strings 4,5 & 8 (or was it string 10)using the same techique gives a cello type sound.

Whether Bobbe can make his steel sound like a fiddle, I don't know. I know I have the "Nashville Bar Association" record by Emmons, Hughey, Garrish, Crawford and Hicks and they use these effects to emulate both string and horn sounds. Sounds good as they use them, but in no way does it sound like Johhny Gimble, Buddy Spicher or the Tower of Power horn section.

Tamara James · Posted 27 Sep 2008 9:42 am

Bo Legg · Posted 27 Sep 2008 6:57 pm

Put your chin on it with beer breath and play it slightly out of tune with a bow. Pretty close, huh!

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Bo,

The fiddle players I have played with the last few years, number one, can't tune their fiddle, then, number two, they couldn't play on fret (key) if someone held a shotgun to their head. Mad

Terry Sneed · From: Arkansas,

Guys, just get the VHS video, and watch Bobbe play single string FIDDLE backup on "A Way To Survive"
and you will see a single string FIDDLE sound can be done on steel guitar..No, it don't sound exactly like a fiddle, but it is mighty close. Smile

I don't know what Bobbe was using, but I do know he sounded mighty close to a FIDDLE.
I can't beleive I'm the only one on this forum that has seen this video. Confused

Terry

Hal Higgins · From: Denham Springs, LA

Terry.....I've seen and heard Bobbe do it live, so I know it can be done.........good luck on getting it down. HAL
_________________
HAL...Excel D-10 w/ 8 & 5. SteelSeat.com w/back,SteelSeat.com Pedal Board on Legs with Quilter Tone Block 200 amp, Boss GE 7, Boss DD 3, Boss RV 6, Boss RT-20 Hilton Expression Pedal, Evans Cabinet with 4 ohm Eminence 15" speaker. BJS birthstone bar, Powder coated Tone bar by Michael Hillman. Dunlop Coated finger picks and Zookies L30 thumb picks.

Paddy Long · From: Christchurch, New Zealand

I gave up and learned to play a real fiddle Whoa!

Tony Dingus · From: Kingsport, Tennessee, USA

Terry, I've seen the video. I was hearing what I thought was a fiddle ,then noticed the fiddle player was just standing there and not playing and realized it was Bobbe. Sweet!

Tony

Billy McCombs · From: Bakersfield California, USA

Terry go to youtube and type in bosstone demo 1 and you will see Bobby demo the bosstone. Hope this helps. Thanks Billy
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jolynyk · From: Prince Albert Sask. Canada

Buy a fiddle, I can't seem to get a steel sound out of my fiddle either, so kinda makes us even.. Laughing

Terry Sneed · From: Arkansas,

Hal, Tony, glad to know I'm not the only one that's seen Bobbe do this.
Tony, that's kinda how I realized it was Bobbe and not the fiddle player. But I saw Bobbe turn and ask the fiddle player if he wanted a ride, he shook his head no, and Bobbe took over the fiddle playin on steel. If I could just get close to Bobbe's sound, I'd be real happy. Smile

Thanks Billy, I've already seen the video, but I'll look at it again in case I missed something.

Terry

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