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Topic: Pedal steel toggle switches and Pot. switch purpose |
Jason Bergeron
From:
Lake Charles, LA, USA
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Posted 8 Feb 2014 10:35 am |
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I have a 1981 Sho-Bud Super Pro that has two toggle switches as well as a Pot. switch. I know that if you turn the toggle switches in one direction, it seems to give more volume to that particular neck, or turn it off, making just the other neck usable. What is the exact purpose for these toggle switches as well as the Pot. switch?
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Sho~Bud Super Pro, Peavey Nashville 400
©Jason Bergeron |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 8 Feb 2014 10:45 am
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The switch that reduces the volume also changes the tonality (listen closely, the lower volume one has more twang). It's a coil tap switch.
The pot will probably be a tone pot.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Jason Bergeron
From:
Lake Charles, LA, USA
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Posted 8 Feb 2014 10:49 am
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| Lane Gray wrote: |
The switch that reduces the volume also changes the tonality (listen closely, the lower volume one has more twang). It's a coil tap switch.
The pot will probably be a tone pot. |
I have seen on old video tapes of my father that he used the switches in between playing sets. How will I know when I need to use them?
_________________
Sho~Bud Super Pro, Peavey Nashville 400
©Jason Bergeron |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 8 Feb 2014 11:53 am
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If you find yourself in a band playing a mix of country from both before and after 1975, you might consider using the tap on the older stuff.
If you were ME (I don't recommend it: my life is fun but I'm a goofball), you'd leave it in the tapped position most of the time, engaging the full coil only when you want that effect, especially when cranking up the fuzz.
My personal take is that the modern hotter pickups offer a hotter signal with two benefits (hotter signal for its own reason, and it drowns out the machinery clank), but that the lighter winds have greater bark, bite, twang and responsiveness.
When I was learning on a borrowed LDG, I hardly ever used the full wind.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 8 Feb 2014 10:40 pm
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There is no coil tap switch on a (stock) Super Pro.
The two switches on a Super Pro are:
1) Neck selector--3-position: front neck/both necks/back neck
2) bypass switch (2-position) for the tone control--(tone control pot works on both necks, but is bypassed by this switch)
The neck selector switch is the one closest to the top of the guitar. When it is in the middle position (both necks on), volume is slightly reduced and the tone of either neck becomes thinner/brighter because both pickups are on and in parallel. Some players (me included) make use of this characteristic to vary the guitar's tone somewhat.
The tone control bypass can also make the tone a bit brighter in the bypass position, because the tone control even in full "up" position rolls off a little bit of the high end. |
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Jason Bergeron
From:
Lake Charles, LA, USA
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Posted 9 Feb 2014 7:11 am
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| Brint Hannay wrote: |
There is no coil tap switch on a (stock) Super Pro.
The two switches on a Super Pro are:
1) Neck selector--3-position: front neck/both necks/back neck
2) bypass switch (2-position) for the tone control--(tone control pot works on both necks, but is bypassed by this switch)
The neck selector switch is the one closest to the top of the guitar. When it is in the middle position (both necks on), volume is slightly reduced and the tone of either neck becomes thinner/brighter because both pickups are on and in parallel. Some players (me included) make use of this characteristic to vary the guitar's tone somewhat.
The tone control bypass can also make the tone a bit brighter in the bypass position, because the tone control even in full "up" position rolls off a little bit of the high end. |
That's what I noticed when I was experimenting with them. I guess it comes down to a matter of preference when using them?
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Sho~Bud Super Pro, Peavey Nashville 400
©Jason Bergeron |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 9 Feb 2014 8:39 am
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Exactly. BTW, on my Zum D10, I prefer the sound of the "faux coil-tap" of leaving both necks hot. I rarely, if ever, select a single neck, choosing to leave both necks hot. This not only improves the tone (to my ears: I already said I prefer the lighter winds), but makes it easier to hop from one neck to the other, which I often do between phrases if the mood strikes.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Alan Berdoulay
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Posted 10 Feb 2014 4:17 am
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| You can also use the 'both necks on' position to help cancel hum |
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