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Topic: Anybody Completely Satisifed With Their Tone? |
Chris LeDrew
From:
Canada
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 10:57 am |
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I'm constantly reading on the forum about ways to improve tone, and gadgets to help you get there. For a while, when I was beginning, I was constantly trying to improve tone by adding effects, changing steels, etc. I just thought about this the other day: I am completely happy right now with the sound I'm getting: Sho~Bud Pro 1, Goodrich LDR, Session 400. That's it. No more is there an elusive tone in my head that's making me thirst for another brand of steel, no pedal that's got me gawking at the computer screen with GAS.
Who is totally happy with their sound? Or, are most of us still wondering if the next steel around the corner is really gonna give us what we want?  Yes, I know that "tone is in the hands"....yadda yadda......but I really want to know who is plugging in their steel and going, "ahh, that is a good sound. I like it. I'm satisfied." If so, how do you think you arrived there?
_________________
Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 11:30 am
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| I'm completely satisfied, but then I have a Franklin guitar. |
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Alvin Blaine
From:
Picture Rocks, Arizona, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 11:32 am
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At times YES.
A Sho-Bud Pro-1 and old Fender volume/tone pedal into a '67 Twin with a 15 inch EV speaker. |
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Billy Murdoch
From:
Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 12:30 pm
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I am completely happy with John Hughey's tone  |
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Scott Henderson
From:
Camdenton, Missouri, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 12:33 pm
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YES...WELL SOMETIMES... THEN NO WELL IT'S OK...NO I DEFINATELY ALWAYS LIKE MY TONE MOST OF THE TIME UNLESS I'M PLAYING ... WHAT WAS THE QUESTION???....
All jokes aside I don't think I have heard of a player who is happy with his tone 100% of the time.
Never ending battle I guess.
_________________
D-10 JCH Dekley U-12 D-8 Magnatone Mullen RP Evans RE 200 profex 2 BJS bars
Dentyne gum (peppermint) |
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Ron Randall
From:
Dallas, Texas, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 2:03 pm Gotta Maintain that Tone
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I am satisfied with my tone most of the time. Some tubes and a 15" vintage virgin JBL do most of the job.
But, it is something I have to maintain.
Change tubes when they need it.
Replace the strings I use about every 3 weeks.
Practice some amount every day.
Stay with the pics and bar I like. Don't change brands.
Maintain cables, but don't change brands.
Control what you can. There are still plenty of variables at work every day that we cannot always control.
my 2c |
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John Coffman
From:
Wharton,Texas USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 2:06 pm
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Great tone is like the journey through life. Always looking for ways to improve upon. We all seem to find a sweet spot of sorts.
I seem to change my tone from time to time to keep thing fresh and new. Tone to me is like Blue Bell ice cream there is a favor for everyone. I seem to consume more than my pants size can handle. I find the need to go back and sample other favor as well as tone.
One scoop or two.
_________________
ShowPro SD10, Mullens RP, Bose S1 Pro, GK MB200, MB500, Bugera T50 Tube amp with SlidgeRig, TC HOF reverb effect. |
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Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 2:29 pm
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100%
_________________
Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952. |
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Kevin Hatton
From:
Buffalo, N.Y.
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 2:31 pm
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| I am completely satisfied with my tone. 68 restored Buckaroos era ZB Custom through a Webb. I was satisfied with my Sho-Buds and Push/Pulls also, its just for me the ZB Custom gets that west coast sound that was always in my head ala Tom Brumley. |
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Ray Harrison
From:
Tucson, Arizona, USA (deceased)
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 2:42 pm Tone
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Ron and Don your comments are duly noted.
A great friend and I were discussing my decision about buying a new Amp and his response was,"You're still gonna have the same Sh--ty tone". I knew him well enough to know he appreciated my playing, but I got his meaning. We have this "tone in our head" thing going and I've heard guitar players go from Tele, Gretsch, Gibson, Musicman, etc and when the knobs were finally settled.....they had the same old sh---y sound.
That is the nature of the beast. Our head sometimes gets in the way of a better, maybe great sound. Most guys just keep spending money on a sound.
Tone is a part of a great sound.
_________________
Ray Harrison
Bass/sing/Love PSG
77 Stingray/Kiesel 5 string bass
Telonics , Fender Rumble500, Polytone Amps
D-16 Martin, 1970 Ovation guitars |
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James Morehead
From:
Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 2:57 pm
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'nuff said.
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Jerry L Miller
From:
Sublette, Kansas, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 3:02 pm
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B.M.I. S10 Session 400 Sho-bud pot type volume pedal very happy with the tone i get
jerry |
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Jamie Lennon
From:
Nashville, TN
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 3:04 pm
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Yeah I love my tone, especailly with my new Carter !!!
_________________
Mullen Guitars, Little Walter Amps, Benado Effects, D'Addario Strings
www.georgettejones.net |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 3:32 pm
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| I guess you could say I'm happy with my tone, as I can just about nail anyone's tone (from Mooney to Emmons to Chalker to Brumley). Nailing their styles, abilities, and techniques is a lot harder. To sound like them, you need all parts of the equation, not just their tone. |
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Ricky Davis
From:
Bertram, Texas USA
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 3:49 pm
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| I've had nights that I was, but there's years between them ..... |
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Paddy Long
From:
Christchurch, New Zealand
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 3:49 pm
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| I have the ultimate combination -- A Zumsteel and a Revelation Pre ---- couldn't be happier |
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 3:51 pm
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Paddy, yes, but what about your tone?  |
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Herbie Meeks
From:
Arkansas, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 4:11 pm Forget it, and Play
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I gave up on that and try to stay in the mid-range
I find the building, band stand, or room, changes the sound. I just try to blend in with the band
or other instruments, Then if I am miked through a sound man's board, forget it,
The audience will be hearing something different than I am on stage.
All the gadgets, I also tossed in the closet, except
the Chorus, |
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Fred Shannon
From:
Rocking "S" Ranch, Comancheria, Texas, R.I.P.
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 4:43 pm
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Absolutely!!! Course' I don't know about the rest of the world. It's the darn lead player's tone that bugs the heck out of me. He playes it all the time. I'm really tired of listening to it.
Phred |
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Emmett Roch
From:
Texas Hill Country
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 4:45 pm
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As soon as I stopped worrying about my tone, I realized I had found it.
My guitar into my volume pedal into any amp, and it sounds like me.
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On Earth, as it is in Texas |
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Stan Paxton
From:
1/2 & 1/2 Florida and Tenn, USA (old Missouri boy gone South)
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 5:00 pm
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Ray, I think you got it right. I'm just a hack player and trying to improve myself, no use hunting that different steel, or different amp, etc etc. I found that out lately: I have had the lacquer guitar several years, love it. Then got the notion I wanted an ext e9, and it is same brand but a mica guitar. Worked with it quite a while trying to get comfortable with the grips which got messed up by the 2 extra strings. Feeling much better about the guitar now, and suddenly I notice it beginning to sound just like the lacquer guitar. So, no I'm not satisfied with the tone yet, but know it is me, not the instruments.
_________________
Mullen Lacquer SD 10, 3 & 5; Mullen Mica S 10 1/2 pad, 3 & 5; BJS Bars; LTD400, Nashville 112, DD-3, RV-3, Hilton VP . -- Gold Tone PBS sq neck; Wechter Scheerhorn sq neck. -- "Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone." -anon.- |
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Bowie Martin
From:
Wilson, NC USA 27896
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 5:25 pm
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Yes, I am totally happy with my tone. Get compliments on that all the time. Now, I just gotta learn how to play. Working on that as hard as I can.
Emmons all pull
PX300 Peavey - Profex II |
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Chris LeDrew
From:
Canada
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 5:55 pm
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Ron Randall and John Coffman touched on two points that particularly make sense to me:
1. Tone needs to be maintained through regular string changes and general gear maintenance, as well as attention paid to technique.
(I do find my tone starts to wither if my strings are old or my hands are out of practice.)
2. Your version of great tone may change as time goes by.
(I've been using less and less low end lately, and enjoying a bit more of a honk. So yes, that evolution also seems relevant to tone.)
A third point, displayed by all the posts in general, is that many are satisfied with their tone on an array of different brands. I think this proves that tone is a matter of human input as well as instrumental output. Obvious point, I know, but interesting to be reminded of it.
...and yes, Sho~Buds need a little human input to produce good tone as well. They're only 90% inherent, right James? 
_________________
Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com |
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James Morehead
From:
Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 5 Jun 2007 6:12 pm
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Yeah Chris, I'm busted!!  At Tulsa, there were many who put on the picks and visited my rig. It's fun to get away and see your rig in action, and hear it from a distance, with accomplished players. So, it does not hurt to have a capable guitar pilot, too.
That day I learned what I already knew--I got a long ways to go!! But I'm proud of the tone everyone else gets out of my guitar!! (THAT sounds messed up!!  ) |
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