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Topic: Poor tone & sound above the 8th fret |
Richard Kostreva
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2009 10:49 am |
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I have a 2005 Rains S10, DD3 Digital delay, Goodrich volume pedal, a Hilton volume pedal,and a Nashville 400 amp.
I need some help in identifying the problem with the tone and sound on this steel. I had a similiar problem with my last steel, also.
The sound/tone changes as I play above the eighth fret. It has a muffled/harmonic tone, not a clear crisp sound. Also, the 3, 4 & 5 strings on the lower frets, have a very piercing sound as the strings sustain. I tried different brand strings, which didn't help. I tried both volume pedals, with and without the delay, and every possible setting on the amp, all without success.
Could there be a problem with the amplifier or should I be looking at something else?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!  |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 13 Dec 2009 10:58 am Just curious.....................
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WHERE are you placing your right hand, the picking hand? How close to the pickup are you plucking the strings?
Also, what setting do you have on the amp for treble, presence, bass? |
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Richard Kostreva
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2009 11:24 am
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RAY THANKS FOR THE REPLY
I'm plucking the strings about the 27th-28th fret.
The amp setting are:
gain +4
LOW +12
MID -3
SHIFT 800
HIGH 0
PRESENCE -3
REVERB 4-6 |
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Dave Magram
From:
San Jose, California, USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2009 11:37 am
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Richard,
A lot of players place their right hand as close to the pickup as possible.
Here's Jay Dee Maness playing Hello Trouble:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAENUcHceZ4
You also might pay attention to your left hand, since the pressure you are putting on the bar may be changing as you move up the neck and your left arm comes closer to your body.
If neither of these suggestions make a difference, you may want to get another steel guitarist to play your steel and amp, and see if they have the same problem. 
- Dave |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 13 Dec 2009 11:52 am
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| ..also..make sure your left hand keeps pressure on the strings 'behind' the bar to keep unwanted overtones down. |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 13 Dec 2009 12:05 pm Experimentation..........................
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If you experienced the same or similar sound with a previous guitar..........it has to be YOU......I'd think.
For the sake of experimentation, try picking around the 15-18th frets and see if there is any noticeable improvement over what you've been hearing. A majority of your tonal sounds are gonna be derived from the placement of your picking hand.
My making small placement changes of your right hand, see if you can discover a "SWEET SPOT".
Let us know what you discover by doing this, okay? |
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mike nolan
From:
Forest Hills, NY USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2009 12:29 pm
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| Quote: |
gain +4
LOW +12
MID -3
SHIFT 800
HIGH 0
PRESENCE -3
REVERB 4-6 |
+12 on the low and cutting the mid and presence might be part of the problem. Maybe too much reverb as well. Try zeroing out the tone controls and slowly readjust.... leave the reverb out until you have a good dry tone. |
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Pat Comeau
From:
New Brunswick, Canada
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Posted 14 Dec 2009 1:18 am
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Hi Richard, i've noticed that the tone change if you always pick the string at the same place while moving the bar, i try to keep a certain distance between my left and right hand and my picking distance is never the same, i usely go by my ears and they tell me if i'm picking too far or to close to the pickup, and also one thing that improves the tone and sustain up the frets is a BJS bar...wouldn't leave home without it
_________________
Comeau SD10 4x5, Comeau S10 3x5, Peavey Session 500,Fender Telecaster,Fender Stratocaster, Fender Precision,1978 Ovation Viper electric. Alvarez 4 strings Violin electric.
Click the links to listen to my Comeau's Pedal Steel Guitars.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIYiaomZx3Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2GhZTN_yXI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvDTw2zNriI |
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Tor Arve Baroy
From:
Norway
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Posted 14 Dec 2009 2:58 am
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I`d remove one of the volume pedals.....  |
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Ron Whitworth
From:
Yuma,Ariz.USA Yeah they say it's a DRY heat !!
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Posted 14 Dec 2009 5:23 am
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Tor .. You have a GREAT sense of humor my friend!!
_________________
"Tone is in the hands. Unless your wife will let you buy a new amp. Then it's definitely in that amp."
We need to turn the TWANG up a little
It's not what you play through, it's what you play through it.
They say that tone is all in the fingers...I say it is all in your head
Some of the best pieces of life are the little pieces all added up..Ron
the value of friendship. Old friends shine like diamonds, you can always call them and - most important - you can't buy them. |
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Chris LeDrew
From:
Canada
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Posted 14 Dec 2009 5:40 am
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| Tor Arve Baroy wrote: |
| I`d remove one of the volume pedals..... |
Seriously, though....I second the idea concerning the left hand and making sure the strings behind the bar are muted with your fingers.
_________________
Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 14 Dec 2009 8:32 am
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Just a hunch: if your amp is a Peavey nashville LTD 400, it may account for at least some of your sound problem. A friend of mine reported a few days ago that he couldn't dial in the tone for any of his PSGs, and one of mine - a Dekley, on that amp. His description of "a thin sound in the upper register" through that amp, seems to match your description to some degree, and a Dekley should sound anything but "thin" through any somewhat decent amp. My friend's NV 400 may be broken, but I can't check it now.
Might be a good idea to test with another amp, while also following the advices about left and right hand techniques given by others in this thread. |
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Don Brown, Sr.
From:
New Jersey
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Posted 14 Dec 2009 11:21 am
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Richard,
A good place to start would be to simply get rid of anything between the steel guitar and the Amplifier for starters.
You may only have a cord problem. But for now do these steps. I hardly think it has anything at all to do with where you're picking.
#1. Take a Known Good Guitar Cord, and simply hook it straight out of the steel and into the Amplifier itself. Make sure your volume is turned down a bit, (becaure you won't have any pedals in line). If it sounds good that way, then check out your other cords one at a time, to make sure they are all good.
If #1 didn't didn't solve the problem, then it's either in the steel or the amp. And for now, the pedals can be eliminated to the cause of the problem.
#2. If you still get the problem, then try out another (known good) amplifier. If that sounds ok, then you've located your problem. (The amp)
If that hasn't solved your problem, go to step #3
#3. What you're hearing is coming from the Steel, and that's more likely a "Pickup Problem" Cold solder connection or the pickup itself causing it. However, first do this:
Other things to check:
Make sure there isn't any lint under any of your strings at the bridge (fingers) from where they've been wiped, also check for any lint under the rollors at the nut, and make sure there are no String Grooves on the tops of the fingers where the strings lay across them. Also make sure the Rollers don't have grooves worn into them as well. (not likely, but worth checking into).
Also, make sure the strings aren't too close to the pickup. If they are, bar pressure will cause them to be a bit lower, and possibly hit the top of the pickup.
Let us know how you make out. It's simply called, "Process of Elimination"
Hope that helps in solving your problem....... Don |
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Ray McCarthy
From:
New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 14 Dec 2009 11:43 am
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If none of those things work, get your ears checked.
Not kidding--fluid behind one or both of you eardrums can wreak havoc on your perception of tone. I know this from personal experience. |
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