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Topic: Sound Files Posted - Steeltronics HSC Preamp |
Scott Swartz
From:
St. Louis, MO
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Posted 31 Mar 2009 1:03 pm |
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I have just added a bunch of sound files (both wav and mp3) that demonstrate the tonal improvement of the HSC at the Steeltronics homepage.
Go here and scroll to the bottom if interested.
http://www.steeltronics.com/index.html
The files were recorded using an early 80s SD-10 Emmons push pull guitar with a George L E66 pickup adjusted to 3/32 inch below the strings. The two wires from the E66 pickup were soldered directly to the TRS output jack. The signal path was chosen to eliminate as many variables as possible, with the only difference being inserting the HSC into the chain.
For the E66 unbalanced files, the signal chain was output jack to a George L cable 24 inches long to a tube preamp with a gain of 8 and an input impedance of 1 megohm.
For the E66 with HSC files, the signal chain was output jack to a 36 inch long TRS cable to the input of the HSC. A George L cable 24 inches long connected the output of the HSC to the tube preamp with a gain of 8 and an input impedance of 1 megohm.
The output of the tube preamp connected to an A to D converter with a 36 inch long George L cable. The digital audio was routed from the A to D converter directly into Wavelab 6. There is no EQ, reverb, plugins, or processing of any kind on any of files. Also note that no volume pedal was used in the chain, eliminating that variable also.
The parts were purposely played with very little vibrato to allow the raw tonal differences to be heard more clearly. With the direct signal path, no processing, no volume pedal, and minimal vibrato, the overall tone of the tracks is probably not what would be desirable for a steel track on a typical recording. This was done on purpose, since the intent of these files is to show the difference as clearly as possible.
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Scott Swartz
Steeltronics - Steel Guitar Pickups
www.steeltronics.com |
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 5 Apr 2009 2:10 pm
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Scott,
What I am hearing is the tone without the HSC to be briter and more clear to my ears ...
With the HSC the tone is smoother, but seems to lack the character that the tone had without the HSC ...It does however sound smoother
The tone with, or without, the HSC is basically different to me, not nessesarily better one way or the other ....I think it would be up to the musician as to what tone he/she would be looking for ....
Thanks for sharing the clips .... I'm not sure what differences you are hearing being right there listenning to the HSC ........Sincerely, Jim |
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Scott Swartz
From:
St. Louis, MO
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Posted 6 Apr 2009 9:08 am
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Jim,
Thanks for checking out the sound clips, it is interesting to hear how different people hear things.
A spectrum analysis of those clips shows the HSC clips to have a flatter and more extended frequency response, without the peak at 3 kHz of the E66 only clips. However a peak in the 3-4 kHz range will give a quality that many people call “presence”, many vocal microphones are designed with a peak in this range to accentuate the presence.
The 3 kHz peak of the E66 only clips is at the resonant frequency of the pickup, and the frequency response falls off quickly (12 dB per octave) past the resonant frequency. The E66 with HSC response is flat out to 5 kHz, so there is more upper treble in the 3-5 kHz range. This is easist to hear when I go up to the 20th fret on Track 1, you can hear more upper harmonics or “sparkle” on those notes with the HSC.
Setting aside the engineering speak, you may or may not like how the HSC changes the tone, you are certainly correct there.
Some other issues with sound clips
-They do not convey the way the guitar and the tone “feels” to the player. When actually playing and feeling and hearing the guitar through your hands the differences are greatly magnified in my opinion.
-Dependent on the playback system, small computer will not give a true picture of the tonal change
-These clips do not account for steel amps and typical speakers and their coloration.
Personally, I find that the flatter and extended frequency response with the HSC makes the guitar play more evenly across and up and down the neck, and the high notes sound sweeter because the upper harmonics are not being rolled off. But, everyone will hear it differently.
Realistically, the only way to know for sure if you will like the HSC in your rig for sure is to try it, but the sound clips can give you an idea, which is why I put them up.
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Scott Swartz
Steeltronics - Steel Guitar Pickups
www.steeltronics.com |
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 6 Apr 2009 10:04 am
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Scott,
I totally agree with everything you are saying ....The "Feel" of an instrument is VERY important to me ...It will either make or break how I play said instument ...
This is why while sound files give some indication as to what is going on, but don't tell the entire story .... As far as the frequency responce goes , there are some frequencies that DO need to be boosted and some that need to be cut with ANY instrument ....For example, the pedal steel usually does NOT need to have much midrange in most cases ...Again, it depends on the musician , but for the most part , pedal steel players can get along just fine with a bass and treble knob on thier amps ....The midrange IS however very important to an electric guitar player ....It's the exact opposite of a pedal steel player .... You might find that even though you have an "extended" freqency responce , that if the frequencies that need to be boosted are basically "leveled " the tone looses that character that would normally be there .... Then again, with the frequency responce extended, you would have MUCH better sounding higher registered playing ... That would be the benefit to me ....More clear , higher notes ....
When I record, I record everything flat, and then boost or cut later , but listenning to music flat, is boring to me ......Then boost or cut freqencies, and monitor thru regular hyped stereo speakers as opposed to studio monitors, and you have a HUGE difference in what you are hearing !!....
Again, this is only MY take on this ....Your take is different and has a lot of relevance ... The "Presence " that I hear with the hyped tone makes me sit up and take notice .... This to me is part of the "character " of the tone that I spoke about earlier ... I like peaks and valleys in tone, just like I do concerning volume .... Again, it's personal preference .....It's not about right or wrong, it's all about what we like to hear .... If you have the time , I would like to hear some clips of just things played about the 12th fret ....That would really be an interested listen ...Thanks again for your dedication to this ....It DOES truely have a place in our music today ....Sincerely, Jim |
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