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Topic: 3 pedal steel guitars... one sound, or 3?.. take a guess |
Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2014 5:56 pm |
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We did something like this here several years ago, and had a lot of fun with it.. I posted 6 recordings of 3 different guitars, an old MSA, A ProIII, and a Carter..
Many guys said they all sounded very close, but finally an audio engineer with a good ear guessed correctly, and heard distinct differences.. Anyway, I have clips of 3 very different guitars.. A pull/release Marlen S10 maple lacquer w single coil,, A MSA Classic S10 with SS humbucker and Maple/lacquer body, and an old Fender 800 cable pull steel. stock pickup.. Just messing around over the last year or so while dialing them in, I made little recordings, just me playing, a small amp, and a mike into the computer.. these are NOT high quality recordings, but are clear enough...
I will be honest, if I didn't know which guitar was which, I would have no clue by listening.. They all sound very close, using the same amp, same settings and recording technique...
Take a guess...
The Soundcloud clips are Steel #1, Steel#2, and down at the bottom of the list is steel #3...
I would like to see if anyone can get them right.. Some guys say all pedal steels are actually pretty similar sounding, others say they sound very different... Me, I am on the fence.. I just know that no matter what steel I play, they always sound pretty close, as they do in these clips.. Please forgive the mistakes, and random doodling.. Its just cheap licks and chords strung together with no rhyme or reason for the most part, but you'll get the idea... Ist correct answer gets a million dollars and choice of an Anapeg or mint condition Bigsby... bob
https://soundcloud.com/spongebob-7
_________________
I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time......
Last edited by Bob Carlucci on 6 Feb 2014 2:43 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Jim Park
From:
Carson City, Nv
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Posted 5 Feb 2014 6:27 pm
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Here's my guess
Steel #1 - Fender
Steel #2 - MSA
Steel #3 - Marlen |
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Chris Johnson
From:
USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2014 6:46 pm
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Hmmmmm,
I would say...
1. Fender
2. Marlen
3. MSA |
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Josh Rossow
From:
Mchenry, Illinois
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Posted 5 Feb 2014 6:56 pm
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| Gunna guess clip 1 Fender, clip 2 MSA, and clip 3 Marlen. I liked the playing by the way. |
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Ken Campbell
From:
Ferndale, Montana
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Posted 5 Feb 2014 7:17 pm
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3 fender
2 marlin
1 msa
All three sounded great. |
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Chris Johnson
From:
USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2014 7:35 pm
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Hey Bob C.
Could you post a link of the last test you mentioned?
Thanks |
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Bruce Derr
From:
Lee, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2014 8:15 pm
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My guess is the same as Ken's:
1 - MSA
2 - Marlen
3 - Fender
Hey Bob, I'm loving the Carter, btw. Glad you found that Marlen, sounds like you're really enjoying it. -Bruce |
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Don Poland
From:
Hanover, PA.
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Posted 5 Feb 2014 8:58 pm
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I have no idea, Bob, but I sure did enjoy your playing amazing grace  |
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Bob Muller
From:
Oregon, USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2014 11:18 pm
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Just guessing, but here's my pick.
1.Fender
2. MSA
3. Marlen |
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Dale Rottacker
From:
Walla Walla Washington, USA
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Bill Duncan
From:
Lenoir, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 6 Feb 2014 4:57 am
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Fender
Marlin
MSA
Not much difference!
_________________
You can observe a lot just by looking |
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Bill Duncan
From:
Lenoir, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 6 Feb 2014 5:13 am
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I would like to hear a blind test with three MSA guitars.
A solid maple with lacquer.
A formica over laminate board.
A formica over maple.
I've read posts where people claim one or the other sounds better, worse, different, and no difference. I've known people to claim a noticeable sound difference with just varying the finish, be it lacquer, polyurethane, polyester, no finish or what ever.
I believe it would be interesting.
_________________
You can observe a lot just by looking |
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Scott Swartz
From:
St. Louis, MO
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Posted 6 Feb 2014 10:58 am
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1 marlen
2 msa
3 fender
_________________
Scott Swartz
Steeltronics - Steel Guitar Pickups
www.steeltronics.com |
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Gary Cooper
From:
Atmore, Alabama
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Posted 6 Feb 2014 11:03 am
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1 fender 2 MSA 3 Marlen
_________________
GFI Ultra SD-10; Nashville 112; Hilton pedal, George L Cables; Pearse bar; Live Stings;Walker seat by Billy Knowles. |
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Duncan Hodge
From:
DeLand, FL USA
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Posted 6 Feb 2014 12:30 pm
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I agree with Gary. #1=Fender, #2=MSA and #3=Marlen.
Thanks again for the Marty Stuart Hummingbyrd post.
Stay warm up there, Duncan
_________________
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over." |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 6 Feb 2014 3:16 pm
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meh,, you guys stink.. Bunch of tin ears... LOL!!!... HA! I kill me...
Actually, I played a bit of a "trick" on one guitar to throw you off, and it seems to be working...
In any case, these guitars are all completely different, yet sound very close, because of the players ears[tin], hands[concrete], and heart. [failing].. Settings were pretty much the same , bass around 5, treble at 6 or so.. One amp [ on 2 samples] is a Roland 80 XL, and the other is a vintage Traynor tube amp with 4 x8 inch speakers, also very dis similar yet still real close in sound on these recordings...
I have a feeling that the lo fi nature of the recordings is part of the reason for the "sameness", but that only goes so far.. Its not a pro recording, but they are fairly clean sounding clips - to my ears anyway.. When I play these guitars here at home, there are subtle differences.. The key word is subtle.. That MSA guitar is suppossed to be by all accounts "muddy sounding".. Its not, not at all, even with the stock muddy SS Humbucker that many guys[ like me!] yank out...
anyway, any more guesses??.. I am kind of enjoying this... bob
_________________
I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Greg Johnson
From:
Greencastle, Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 6 Feb 2014 3:51 pm
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Fender
Marlin
MSA
Regardless which is which your right very little difference.
_________________
MSA CLassic SD-10
92 Emmons LII
79 Super Pro
Quilter TT
Evans FET 500
Fender Twin 65 RI
American Takimine |
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Douglas Schuch
From:
Valencia, Philippines
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Posted 6 Feb 2014 4:19 pm
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Well, for what it's worth, I would say:
Steel 2: Fender
Steel 1: MSA
Steel 3: Marlin
(listed in the order they are on your website)
_________________
Bringing steel guitar to the bukid of Negros Oriental! |
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John De Maille
From:
On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.
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Posted 6 Feb 2014 7:16 pm
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#1. Marlen
#2. Fender
#3. MSA |
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David Higginbotham
From:
Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA
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Posted 6 Feb 2014 7:39 pm
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John D. Wrote:
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#1. Marlen
#2. Fender
#3. MSA |
I've never had a Marlen but I agree with John as well.  |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 7 Feb 2014 2:42 am
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Scott Swartz is correct.. I originally made a mistake thinking he got it wrong, but when I checked the post, he was correct..
Guitar 1 was the Marlen, 2 was the MSA, and 3 was the Fender.. Several guys got the "brightest" and "darkest" sounding guitars backwards.. I played the MSA with an attack that was kind of old school.. A little closer to the bridge, and thought about what a Fender cable steel sounds like.. They do "pull" different than a rodded guitar, with a nice longish "swoop" to each note bend either up or down.. Its hard to explain, but its there..
I am just playing around here of course, but its kind of fun knowing that there are so many preconceptions.. You know, MSA's are muddy, Fenders are bright, etc..
As you heard 3 very different steels had a pretty similar sound when played by the same player..
That bright sound is what is in my head I guess and it comes out through the equipment.. As stated earlier, I think these same clips done in a good studio would have brought out the individual characteristics of each steel better than my crappy computer recorder.. It is an interesting experiment however regarding our ears and our preconceptions.. I had fun with this post, thanks to all, you guys are wonderful sports.. One day I would like to do the same thing in my friends studio, using several different steels, and playing the exact same thing on each one, instead of just noodling around incoherently.. Perhaps then the tonal nuances would be more distinct... bob
_________________
I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Scott Swartz
From:
St. Louis, MO
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Posted 7 Feb 2014 7:42 am
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I own a Fender 400, so am pretty familiar with the tone and the harmonic structure. They have less sustain than "modern" steels also, but the main thing is there is more 4-8 kHz content in the Fender tone, a sort of sparkle to it.
The MSA vs. Marlen is less obvious, but I had a MSA for while, and to my ear they have a woody character to their sustain, and I was pretty sure I was hearing that in the recording.
I think it would have been easier with better recordings, and the average bandmate would certainly say they sound very similar and acceptable in a band context.
_________________
Scott Swartz
Steeltronics - Steel Guitar Pickups
www.steeltronics.com |
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Josh Rossow
From:
Mchenry, Illinois
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Posted 7 Feb 2014 7:07 pm
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So Scott, what would you of picked, the Anpeg or the mint Bigsby? I had to ask  |
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Scott Swartz
From:
St. Louis, MO
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Posted 7 Feb 2014 9:25 pm
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Between pics and seeing them relatively close up at the ISGC various years, definitely the Anapeg.
Not sure I would take one to a bar gig, but I crave good mechanics and tone.
The interesting thing is my Fender 400 is every bit as accurate as my Williams 600. The pulls and returns are dead on, however I did disassemble and carefully clean everything and it was like new when I got it. The single raise single lower is limiting, but thats part of it I guess.
_________________
Scott Swartz
Steeltronics - Steel Guitar Pickups
www.steeltronics.com |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 8 Feb 2014 4:46 am
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| Scott Swartz wrote: |
Between pics and seeing them relatively close up at the ISGC various years, definitely the Anapeg.
Not sure I would take one to a bar gig, but I crave good mechanics and tone.
The interesting thing is my Fender 400 is every bit as accurate as my Williams 600. The pulls and returns are dead on, however I did disassemble and carefully clean everything and it was like new when I got it. The single raise single lower is limiting, but thats part of it I guess. |
Scott.. send me your address, and we'll get that Anapeg right out to you!.. oh yeah, they aren't built anymore... oh well, sorry about that!
VERY interesting you said that about the Fender.. The Fender 800 S10 I owned and played on this thread was extremely accurate and precise as well, with dead on pulls, solid stops, never went out of tune EVER, and NEVER broke a string.
It was a well engineered guitar, and played beautifully.. Thats another misconception among steel players, that these are primitive "bad playing" steels.. The 800 had double raise and lower and wasn't limited at all as far as I am concerned..
I am often puzzled that there aren't more guys willing to pay a decent price for them.. It was the heaviest S10 I ever saw, and THAT was a factor in my decision to sell it.. As you heard, it did everything the other steels could do... bob
_________________
I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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