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Topic: Sarno Freeloader on Student Guitar |
Nick Larimore
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 23 Sep 2019 7:19 am |
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Hello! I just started playing steel back in January of this year and am having a blast with it, and now I'm wondering if you all think it'd be worthwhile to get a Sarno Freeloader to put on my student guitar? Or should I just be saving up and get a pro level steel?
My rig at the moment is a Carter Starter with a George L's E-66 in it.
Also does the freeloader work better/worse/same with a humbucker pickup like the one I've got?
Thanks
-Nick |
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Gene Tani
From:
Pac NW
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Posted 23 Sep 2019 12:43 pm
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Kind of hard to answer that, those Sarno's are good investments, and always seem to sell instantly when put up in for sale forums here. But do you have basics covered: a good bar, picks, volume pedal, amp, seat, headphones etc
_________________
- keyless Sonny Jenkins laps stay in tune forever!; Carter PSG
- The secret sauce: polyester sweatpants to buff your picks, cheapo Presonus channel strip for preamp/EQ/compress/limiter, Diet Mountain Dew |
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Travis Wilson
From:
Johnson City, TX
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Posted 23 Sep 2019 1:16 pm
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I’m like Nick, a new guy.
So electronically, what exactly are Freeloaders and Matchbox doing exactly? |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 23 Sep 2019 1:19 pm
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If you're not getting a tone you like from your rig, the Freeloader can help. If you like your tone, why bother?
I don't know about pickups, but if you have a volume pedal with active electronics (battery or plug in), I doubt that the Freeloader will make much of a difference. On the other hand, with a passive pedal it can improve the tone considerably, especially at the high end.
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 23 Sep 2019 1:40 pm
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| Travis Wilson wrote: |
I’m like Nick, a new guy.
So electronically, what exactly are Freeloaders and Matchbox doing exactly? |
Engineers in the crowd (including Brad Sarno) can correct me if I'm wrong. This is how I understand it.
It raises the impedance seen at that input jack of the volume pedal to more closely match the impedance of other devices (amp or effects) downstream. This keeps a passive pedal from losing highs when it's not at full volume. Active volume pedals have similar circuitry as their first stage.
The Freeloader also has a control knob to vary its output impedance. This has an effect similar to using a different pickup. It's very cool, actually. I tend to think of it as a twanger/detwanger. But it is subtle, and hardly necessary if you're not performing or recording.
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Travis Wilson
From:
Johnson City, TX
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Posted 23 Sep 2019 2:26 pm
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| Thanks bOb. I’ve been thinking of getting a Freeloader just to play with. Sounds like it might be interesting with my passive pickups |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 23 Sep 2019 2:28 pm
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Good answers above. I like my Freeloader a lot and it is a standard part of my gigging rig. I use it with humbuckers. Pickup type is a non-issue.
But this or another impedance matching device will not make the difference between good tone and bad tone as it's generated by your touch & technique. There are so many moving parts to learning how to create good tone and there are no shortcuts. A C-S can produce good sound with nothing but a player and a decent amp. So we're back to what you have in mind re: the Freeloader. I love them but they won't make you sound good if you don't.
I say this with no snark intended. |
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Steve Vroman
From:
Albany, NY
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Posted 24 Sep 2019 5:46 am
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| I'm fairly new to pedal steel(about three years)and I play a Stage One with a passive volume pedal. I thought my tone was great until I got a Freeloader, now I wouldn't think of playing without it. To my ear, it provides better clarity and you have the ability to tamp down some of the high end if desired. |
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Tom Campbell
From:
Houston, Texas, USA
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Posted 24 Sep 2019 9:41 am
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| Best money I ever spent for an "add-on" device. I'd give up my active volume pedal before I would part with my Freeloader. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 25 Sep 2019 6:19 am Re: Sarno Freeloader on Student Guitar
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| Nick Larimore wrote: |
Hello! I just started playing steel back in January of this year and am having a blast with it, and now I'm wondering if you all think it'd be worthwhile to get a Sarno Freeloader to put on my student guitar? Or should I just be saving up and get a pro level steel?
| bob wrote: |
| The Freeloader also has a control knob to vary its output impedance. This has an effect similar to using a different pickup. It's very cool, actually. I tend to think of it as a twanger/detwanger. But it is subtle, and hardly necessary if you're not performing or recording. |
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I agree strongly with what b0b said! (And Jon, as well.) Personally, I would no more recommend an "impedance matcher" for a beginner steeler than I would recommend a Momo steering wheel for someone who just started driving. "Stuff", by and large, won't really do much to improve your sound if you've only been playing a few months. You're at the threshold of learning, and you need to get past the idea that this or that gizmo will do much to improve your playing. Saving for a better guitar is a good goal, since the one you have is not one of the best. But even with a better guitar, what comes out will be more due to your ability than whatever gear you're using. The clip below shows what can be done with your exact guitar, and many players with far better equipment (including myself) can't play nearly as well, or sound nearly as good. You haven't said what kind of amp you're using, but a decent amp can be important, far more important, than anything else that goes between your steel and the amp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT1TvjnlYHM
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Patrick Huey
From:
Nacogdoches, Texas, USA
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Posted 27 Sep 2019 12:56 am Re: Sarno Freeloader on Student Guitar
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| Nick Larimore wrote: |
Hello! I just started playing steel back in January of this year and am having a blast with it, and now I'm wondering if you all think it'd be worthwhile to get a Sarno Freeloader to put on my student guitar? Or should I just be saving up and get a pro level steel?
My rig at the moment is a Carter Starter with a George L's E-66 in it.
Also does the freeloader work better/worse/same with a humbucker pickup like the one I've got?
Thanks
-Nick |
I’ve heard great things about the Sarno Black Box
_________________
Pre RP Mullen D10 8/7, Zum 3/4, Carter S-10 3/4, previous Cougar SD-10 3/4 & GFI S-10 3/4, Fender Steel King, 2 Peavey Session 500's, Peavey Nashville 400, Boss DD-3, Profex-II, Hilton Digital Sustain, '88 Les Paul Custom,Epiphone MBIBG J-45, Fender Strat & Tele's, Takamine acoustics, Marshall amps, Boss effects, Ibanez Tube Screamer, and it all started with an old cranky worn out Kay acoustic you could slide a Mack truck between the strings and fretboard on!! |
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George Redmon
From:
Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.
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Posted 27 Sep 2019 9:27 am
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| Nick, i use the SMS "Freeloader" on my MSA SuperSlide and love it. Even with my hearing after 45 years of playing, i can still tell when it's not there. Everything Brad Sarno builds is fantastic. This particular device is something you can use on any steel as you become more proficient at playing. So it's a good gear investment for now and the future. Everything i purchase i believe helps my over all tone. If i sound better, i play better. Oh, and all of brad's products hold their retail, resale value. Best of luck on your steel guitar adventure. |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 27 Sep 2019 12:05 pm
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| George Redmon wrote: |
| This particular device is something you can use on any steel as you become more proficient at playing. So it's a good gear investment for now and the future. |
+1 
Only reason I rarely ever use mine, is that the effect unit I always use pre-VP does the same impedance-balancing act as the Freeloader although with a fixed PU-load.
If I want/need a variable PU-load, I plug in the Freeloader as first stage. That's what I bought it for. |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 28 Sep 2019 8:37 am
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Electronically, the FreeLoader is two things. It is a tone control that uses a method called "variable impedance" or "variable loading" to dial up/down the treble energy in the pickup. Secondly, it is a buffer. A "buffer" by definition isolates or "buffers" the input source from the output so that whatever happens after the buffer can not affect what comes before the buffer. Also, buffers by nature typically have a very low output impedance. A low output impedance means the device can drive VERY LONG runs of cable without suffering tone loss.
I totally agree with bOb calling the FreeLoader's vari-z knob a twanger/detwanger. It really does control that part of the tone and is handy during a gig because some tunes want more of that and some want less. I also refer to the knob as a harshness controller or tamer.
Brad
| b0b wrote: |
| Travis Wilson wrote: |
I’m like Nick, a new guy.
So electronically, what exactly are Freeloaders and Matchbox doing exactly? |
Engineers in the crowd (including Brad Sarno) can correct me if I'm wrong. This is how I understand it.
It raises the impedance seen at that input jack of the volume pedal to more closely match the impedance of other devices (amp or effects) downstream. This keeps a passive pedal from losing highs when it's not at full volume. Active volume pedals have similar circuitry as their first stage.
The Freeloader also has a control knob to vary its output impedance. This has an effect similar to using a different pickup. It's very cool, actually. I tend to think of it as a twanger/detwanger. But it is subtle, and hardly necessary if you're not performing or recording. |
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