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Topic: Best pickup for a Zum? |
Terry Sneed
From:
Arkansas,
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Posted 17 Nov 2004 7:02 am |
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Just wondering what pickups you Zum players have on your guitars. I have GeorgeL E66 on mine, and I like the sound. but I've heard a lot about True tone pups. any opinions appreciated.
Terry
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Zum D10 /8x5 / session 400
steelin for my Lord
[This message was edited by Terry Sneed on 17 November 2004 at 10:37 AM.] |
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Joe Alterio
From:
Irvington, Indiana
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Posted 17 Nov 2004 7:04 am
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I have a True Tone on my Zum, and it is perfect....single coil with NO hum! I would get a TT if I were you! 
Joe |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 17 Nov 2004 8:13 am
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| My Zum uni came with a TrueTone. It sounds great, but it does have some single coil hum (more or less, depending on nearby electrical equipment). I have a Bill Lawrence 912 that I will try some day for a quieter ride. |
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Roger Crawford
From:
Griffin, GA USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2004 8:42 am
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Terry,
I've got True Tones on BOTH of mine. Does that tell you something?
Roger |
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Terry Sneed
From:
Arkansas,
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Posted 17 Nov 2004 8:52 am
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Thanks ya'll. but is this hum on the single coil very noticable? I mean if I'm playin in church, which is where I'll be doin most of my playin, will the hum be heard by the audience when we're not playin, and every thing is quiet?
Terry
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Zum D10 /8x5 / session 400
steelin for my Lord
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2004 9:15 am
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Terry,
Just turn it off when you're praying. 
Erv |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Posted 17 Nov 2004 9:26 am
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True Tone on Mine Terry
to avoid hum keep the steel away from the amp |
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Terry Sneed
From:
Arkansas,
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Posted 17 Nov 2004 10:40 am
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quote:
Just turn it off when you're praying.
Good advice Erv.
Thanks Crowbear.
Terry
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Zum D10 /8x5 / session 400
steelin for my Lord
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John De Maille
From:
On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.
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Posted 17 Nov 2004 1:07 pm
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| My S-12U came with a Lawrence 912, but, the highs were a little soft, but, with absolutely no hum. I changed to T.T. wound at 19,500 ohms, and the whole guitar came alive. Very silky highs with plenty of bottom end. Jerry Wallace recommended the 19,500 because of the extra long pickup for a 12 string, otherwise I'd have had it wound to 17,500. There is a little hum at home, but, I have never been bothered with it on stage. I'd expect the hum to be problemsome in the studio though. But, there are ways to get around that. It's very negligable |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 17 Nov 2004 4:57 pm
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| Terry, about the single-coil hum. It comes up as you get down on the volume pedal. So when you are not playing, your v. pedal will be back and there will be no hum. The hum is not noticeable while playing in a group. It is most noticable when playing alone at the end of long notes. Then you get your v. pedal all the way down to sustain the note, and that amplifies the hum. You can maximize the signal to noise ratio by putting the pickup close to the strings (about the width of a quarter). And as some have said above, the hum may be worse when you have the pickup close to amps, flourescent or neon lights, some stages lights, transformers, etc. |
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2004 6:39 pm
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Terry,
You will get a slight hum from ANY single coil pickup ...Your pedal steel is like an antenna , and the amplifier will magnify the hum with your steel in a certain position....Experiment, and turn your steel or your amp until the hum is less...If you want quiet , use a humbucking pickup...If you want tone, use a Truetone, and you won't hear the hum thru the smile !!!....
When playing in church, they will sound heavenly !!!.... ........Jim |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2004 11:06 pm
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| My favorite pickups on Zum steel are Jim Pitman's Tonealigner, and Bill Lawrence XR-16. |
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Terry Sneed
From:
Arkansas,
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Posted 18 Nov 2004 6:31 am
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I've heard the LXR-16 sounds close to a Truetone without the hum. any opioions on the LXR-16?
Terry
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Zum D10 /8x5 / session 400
steelin for my Lord
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Joe Alterio
From:
Irvington, Indiana
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Posted 18 Nov 2004 6:41 am
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I have to say this:
The True Tone is the QUIETEST single coil pickup I have EVER heard.
In the music room in my house, any of my 6-strings with single-coils buzz....and they buzz loudly. Especially near my computer monitor. My Zum sits right next to my computer monitor where I practice, and I hear NO hum....AT ALL.
This is not to say that there isn't ANY hum....all pickups have some noise to a degree. But this pickup is as quiet as a humbucker....and a search on the Forum here will reveal that many others have found the same to be true.
I was quite skeptical myself that this pickup would be so quiet. I will now say that I cannot imagine ever using another pickup. And not just because it is quiet....but because it sounds amazing.
Joe |
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Tom Gorr
From:
Three Hills, Alberta
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Posted 19 Nov 2004 10:13 pm
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Joe,
Do you think the difference in hum is because the guitar pickups face the hum source, and the steel is at 90 deg?
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 20 Nov 2004 5:41 am
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Tom,
There are a few different factors to contribute to the "hum' problem....Angle, how close the amp is to the steel, flouresent lights, RFI interference, bad grounding , etc..... I set up, turn on my amp, and at low volume I put my volume pedal to the metal, and turn my amp till there is less hum ... Pretty scientific huh?
Hey, it works !!......Sincerely, Jim |
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Joe Alterio
From:
Irvington, Indiana
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Posted 20 Nov 2004 8:40 am
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Hi Tom,
Yes...the angle could (and probably does) make a big difference.
I will note that I have not had an issue at any gig thus far....even gigs where my Strat hums on stage. The steel is still perfectly quiet.
Whatever True Tone does, I hope they start making pickups for 6-strings next, especially Strats and Teles. I am that sold on them.
Joe |
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Dennis Detweiler
From:
Solon, Iowa, US
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Posted 20 Nov 2004 8:48 am
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I put a 19500 TT on my U-12 Zum. It sounded much better than the GL 12-1. But, it had a slight muddy sound to it. So, Jerry took it down to 18,900 and sounded much better, but still a very slight muddiness to it. He took it on down to 18,000 and it sounded great to me. I would rather add the low end with my amp or the Furman PQ-3 than try to get the slight mud tuned out of it. The highs are clean and silky and the lows are very punchy and clean. And it has that warm growl.
DD |
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Mark Metdker
From:
North Central Texas, USA
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