Need pickup changeout advice for a Morrell

Malcolm Leonard · From: Rhode Island, USA

Which pickup should I put on the pro model Morrell lap steel to get a fatter,richer,heavier sound?Can I do this for less than a hundred dollar bill if I do the actual installation work myself?
Thanks,
Malcolm

[This message was edited by Malcolm Leonard on 26 May 2005 at 07:24 PM.]

Andre Nizzari · From: Bronx, NY

Nah, quality steel pups are more than a hundred dollars. Horseshoes, chicagos......

Bobbe Seymour · From: Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.

I can help on this,

615 822 5555

Bobbe

Tom Jordan · From: Wichita, KS

Malcom,

Bobbe will help you. Don't pay attention to the nay-sayers. I picked up a True-Tone pickup from Jerry Wallace (less than a hundred bucks, if I recall) and mounted it my Morrel...it sounds great. I routed out the cavity and made a new cover plate from a new Tele pickgard. I also mounted a normal volume and tone knob...looks like they belong there. It may be more than you are willing to tackel but it worked out well for me.

With the right touch on the strings and a little amp knob-turning, the lip stick pickup sounds pretty good also. I like to experiment and the Morrel is my "test-bed" guitar. I do play out with it on occasion because it "fits" me real well. I may try a double-coil next if I can find one....Bobbe?

My latest project is a D-8. I've got an ancient ash plank (2x12) and a big chunk of walnut for fret boards. I can hardly wait. My last project was a "Fender Deluxe" S-8 copy and it is really cool, although I'm thinking of "modernizing" the bridge and nut.

Good luck and have fun...even if you don't change a thing. That Morrel is a fine guitar in the right hands...most are.

Tom Jordan

Keith Cordell · From: San Diego

If it is the single coil type I have had a lot of success with the Artisans putting in Fralin Fat pickups, they are seriously cool. If you want to go to the extent of routing, the Wallace pickups are king of the hill these days.

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Rickenbacher T-Logo Bakelite lap steel, Peavey Delta Blues, Proco Rat, Lap Dawg bar

Chuck Fisher · From: Santa Cruz, California, USA * R.I.P.

Are you referring to the Pro 6 (6-string) or the Little Roy Wiggins 8-string?

On the 6-string any strat pup fits, their "hot rails" may be replaced with single or double coil models. These maple guitars have good sustain and pretty decent balance considering strat pups are mostly made for standard guitar and have an "arched " blade or polepiece setup.

The 8-string has close-spacing, and the lipstick-tube pup is still too narrow, weak on either string 1 or 8, depending on their setup. Also the bridge on these is frequently mounted off-center, check it.

The True Tone would sound great, there are used ones , as well as GeorgeL humbuckers for 8-string in the Acessories for sale area in the forum. You might need to slant the pickup mounting ala Gibson Eh185 to fit the narrow spacing on the 8-string.

BTW , the Morrell guys pack these poorly so ask em to bubble wrap guitar before they put it in the case or your maple will arrive with black case-dye marks scuffed on it.

These come out good with a bit of work, but only the Pro-6 is use-able stock.

Andre Nizzari · From: Bronx, NY

Well since this is a forum I have to say that even though a lot of guys praise the true tone, I just don't hear what these guys are hearing? I hear a dark, thin compressed sound. Yeah, don't listen to me if you want a pedal steel sound. What, I'm wrong guys??

[This message was edited by Andre Nizzari on 27 May 2005 at 04:02 PM.]

Chuck Fisher · From: Santa Cruz, California, USA * R.I.P.

I recenly have been playing a prototype 8-string lapsteel with the GeorgeL and switching over to the Tru-tone. I like both, my preferrence is the GeorgeL, BUT, I play blues into very overdriven tube amps, and I have a pretty heavy touch. The Tru-Tone sounds more like a Tele-on-steroids where the GeorgeL is more tooty-humbucking-cream-Clapton. I have noticed the Tru-Tone to sound nicer when played with a very light touch, its very expressive and full. It is very quiet for a single-coil, but its still way noisier than the GeorgeL into my (fuzzy-distorty) setup. The "note separation" that you experience in a big fat chord is better on the Tru-Tone.

For some reason, harmonics seem easier to hit and louder on the GeorgeL to me.

Anybody else want to comment on these?

Keith Cordell · From: San Diego

I used the Truetone on my Sierra 8 string, I replaced the George L that was on there. The noise was not a concern, but it was dead quiet for me. It is the kind of pickup that a lifelong Tele man can truly fall in love with; if you like humbuckers (for God's sakes WHY?) you will probably like different pickups.

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Rickenbacher T-Logo Bakelite lap steel, Peavey Delta Blues, Proco Rat, Lap Dawg bar

Tom Jordan · From: Wichita, KS

Chuck,

I've noticed the harmonics thing...I hadn't considered that it may be the pickup...hmmm...I get great harmonics on my Deluxe copy that I made but have to really work hard at it on my Morrel. My "Deluxe" is hard rock maple and tuned to E13-it just sings the harmonics with out effort. The morrel is maple but about half the weight and is tuned to A6. Same pickups but different tunings and density.

Actually, a song like Sleep Walk plays nicer on the E13 neck because the harmonic notes/strings are same fret and next to each other...the A6 envolves position movement for the first two notes causing me to "clam" frequently on the palm harmonics...gotta get that D8 built.

Tom Jordan

Malcolm Leonard · From: Rhode Island, USA

Chuck,I was referring to the Morrell pro 6 string model.I have heard from several people that the pup on the Little Roy is not wide enough,and in photos it looks does inadequate.
That kind of thing always surprises me.Why would any well known steel builder put a guitar on the market with such an obvious fault?It certainly does not help their reputation to commit such a blunder and they must know better.They do have ears and eyes,after all!
Malcolm

Chuck Fisher · From: Santa Cruz, California, USA * R.I.P.

Do you have the lipstick tube or the hot rails pickup?

I kinda liked the hot rail one, it was kinda Jeff Beck-ish. My Pro 6 was very heavy, it sustained very well. The strings rub in the tuner-slots and some carving is needed to get smooth motion. I put Grovers on as the keys are kinda hokey.

I would say try to find a pickup that has the least "arch" in the blade or polepiece layout, or is adjustable in pole-heighth.

Morrel is US made out of really cheap parts with a good piece of wood. The little-roy pickup is pure cheapness and pretty questionable design work, they ought to clean up their headstock routing on both guitars, and get an 8-string pickup that works well, they could be good guitars if they did that and raised their price a tiny bit.

Tom Jordan · From: Wichita, KS

Yeah Chuck, if'n they'd only set it up with a decent pickup. As far as the hunk of wood, it's one of my favorite guitars and I'm seriously thinking of getting another. Wood working has always been a hobby so I don't mind the small routing job to mount a good pickup as well as a new bone nut.

What surprises me is that the guitar is still produced with the cheap lipstic...there are other options available that wouldn't hurt the price much...hmmm.

Tom

George Manno · From: chicago

I have a Little Roy 8 string. It took about six hours to clean up the headstock problem, install new tuners, put the bridge in the right position and install a new Bill Lawrence blade pickup. It took another hour to cut a new nut and widen the spacing just a tad. If I had to do it all over, the next time, I'll start with a little Ronson and a match.

GM

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