Strange noise-"stratitis"?

Colin Mclean · From: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

I recently bought one of the "Carter Starter" kits--yep, just started playing steel, how did you know-- and in the past couple of days I've noticed an odd quirk.

Playing two notes together seems to produce an odd harmonic quality, low and off pitch, and bending one of the notes against the other bends the noise too. Not sure how else to describe it, but if anyone here plays Fender 6-string guitars (namely Stratocasters) and is familiar with "stratitis", it's pretty much identical to that.

On a Strat it's usually a case of the pickup being too close to the strings, as the magnets in the pickup tend to influence the way the string vibrates, causing unwanting noise. However, I lowered the pickup on my Carter as low as it would go, and it only helped maybe a little, and now I notice in the "push-pull" thread that many if not all of you guys seem to have your pickup raised up pretty high.

Is anybody here familiar with this phenomenon?

As I understand it, steel guitar pickups tend to be wound a lot hotter than the typical 6-string guitar pickup. Does anyone know how strong the Carter Starter unit is compared to say your Emmons or Zum, etc.? Could it be I need a weaker pickup?

Thanks in advance.

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

What you describe sounds like a form of harmonic distortion that's often caused by a tube amp. It's more noticeable on steel because of the moving pitches.

Another cause might be a dead string.
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Colin Mclean · From: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Thanks b0b. I am using a tube amp, and now that I think about it the tubes are 2 years old in Dec.

I'll check it on my solid state amp and see what I get.

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

If your amp is a Fender try pluging into the second input and it should clear up
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Chris LeDrew · From: Canada

Colin, you look a lot like a young Lloyd Green. Smile

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Colin Mclean · From: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Thanks Bob, it is a Fender but I tried that and no luck. One of my preamp tubes is microphonic though, and rest of them could probably use replacing anyway, so maybe that's the problem.

lol Chris, you know what's funny is my wife actually thought that was me in that pic. I do look a little like a young Lloyd Green. The similarities stop when I start pickin' though. Wink

I'm currently playing through an old SS Crate bass amp head I have laying around, into a 4x12 loaded with Eminence 12ALPs (kind of a Jensen P12 copy). Weird set-up, I know, but it works a little better with the steel...

The sound starts back up if I loop in my Fender Reverb Tank, maybe it needs new tubes too, or maybe tubes and pedal steels just don't mix.

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

Colin Mclean · From: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

You know, I noticed another guy--playing a Lloyd song, Little Darlin'--on You Tube that appears to be using a Twin, or some other silverface Fender. Great sound on that clip too.

My problem could have something to do with the guitar itself, being one of the cheapest models you can buy and all. I keep going back to the pickup, it just seems like that's where the sound would start. I'm not against changing the pickup or other parts if it's easy enough to do, despite the old adage about "polishing a turd". I like to tinker. Smile

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

Because of the weight of the instrument and the power of the pickup, steel guitars tend to emphasize certain mechanical processes, as compared to six-strings. For example, this means that artificial harmonics work great on a pedal steel. However, part of the same aspect is that a pedal steel will "find" a dodgy tube or a resonant speaker buzz much more easily. It's not preferred, but you can get away with playing a six-string through a tube amp maintained to somewhat lower standards; try that same amp with a steel guitar, whoo-boy.

In my own opinion, one of the main reasons that reliable solid-state amps like the Peavey 400s or a rack preamp/power amp setup are so popular among steel players is simply because the tube maintenance standard has to be so much higher for a decent steel sound.

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

Colin Mclean · From: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Well, I can't record anything right now, the only tracking device I have is and old reel to reel and it's got some issues with the motors. The noise does almost disappear with the SS Crate amp though, and being that the tubes in both the amp and the reverb unit are years old (and the ones in the reverb unit are the original cheap-y Sovteks) that's probably where I'll start.

As for replacing the Reverb Tank with a Holy Grail (assuming that's a pedal) I've been trying to go in the opposite direction in the past couple of years. i.e. Reverb Tank, Echoplex, etc. in place of smaller, more practical units. I know some would say I'm just asking for headaches, but the sound really is different (better IMO--when they work!) on these units and I don't mind the impracticalility for now, even if there are some maintenance requirements. It's worth it to me. Hey, steel guitars need maintenance too, right? Smile

The last delay pedal I had, a Dan-echo, started making this clock whine noise, which AFAIK you can't fix, but if your Echoplex starts acting up, parts can easily be replaced.

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