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Topic: Dekley tone/quality |
Daniel Showalter
From:
Sierra Vista, AZ, USA
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Posted 6 Mar 2012 4:51 pm |
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| What is the consensus of the Dekley brand (understanding) every guitar is different) Are there steel players who are familiar with Dekley's and how they compare in tone and in build quality to other brands. Thinking of bidding on a 12 string as I want to try an expanded E9 and just don't want to end up with something that is not pro level instrument. Thanks |
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Bent Romnes
From:
London,Ontario, Canada
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Posted 6 Mar 2012 5:16 pm
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Daniel,
I have done some work on Dekleys and also observed them after they did many years of work. My opinion of them is that they are a very solid, well built guitar with a good tone.
_________________
BenRom Pedal Steel Guitars
https://www.facebook.com/groups/212050572323614/ |
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Ray Anderson
From:
Jenkins, Kentucky USA
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Posted 6 Mar 2012 6:09 pm
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I've got a D-10 (not a slim line) 8x5. They are built like tanks and the tone of these are second to none that I've heard. Through a Nv 400 they have sustain that to me is unreal. Great Axe.   |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 6 Mar 2012 6:59 pm
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| Ray Anderson wrote: |
| They are built like tanks and the tone of these are second to none that I've heard. |
Second that!
I have a modified S10, an original D10, and an SD12 that awaits some fixing to become a proper extended E9. I find them very easy to work on, and now that I know where to get Dekley parts and the extra service when necessary these 3 Dekley steels will get what they need to go on forever. |
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David Zornes
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 6 Mar 2012 7:12 pm
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| When I began to work the road, I needed a steel that would hold up to the bouncing and chug holes that busses would travel across and endure and still hold their tuning. Dekley sent me a D 10, natural color beautiful steel guitar. The instrument lived up to every aspect of their adverstising. The sustain and tone was unmatchable; and that was before I started using an effects unit. However, the weight of the instrument was a factor-heavy. I later got a slimline. I now own an Emmons Lashley LeGrande, and a Sho-Bud Super pro. I sure wished that I had that first Dekley back! |
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David Zornes
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 6 Mar 2012 7:13 pm
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| P.S. They are by far the easiest steel guitars I have ever worked on! |
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Carson Leighton
From:
N.B. Canada
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Posted 6 Mar 2012 10:20 pm
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| I only had a chance to play one for a little while...I have to say I think it was one of the best sounding steels I ever played...It worked real nice too...Carson |
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Russ Tkac
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Posted 7 Mar 2012 5:41 am
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I've owned two. They were very nice and solid. The slimline later models were better and played and sounded great. Get split cases if you need to move it. I'd get another for sure. Mine were S12s but a D-10 would be nice!
Pretty too!
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Lana Carroll
From:
Brooklyn, NY
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Posted 7 Mar 2012 6:25 am
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I love my Dekley. It's way too heavy to carry around (last week I brought it up a 4 floor walk up and swore I would never do it again!!) but the tone is unbelievable. It's my practice steel and I play it every chance I get.
Also, I'm not sure how to describe the finish on mine but it's gorgeous - kind of a deep red sunburst color to the wood. Here is a low resolution photo from my phone:
_________________
http://music.karenandthesorrows.com/ |
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steve takacs
From:
beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)
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Posted 7 Mar 2012 11:26 pm Wheels
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| Lana, do you have a wheeled case? If not, it might help make it easier totting your Dekley around. Super looking guitar! stevet |
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Ray Minich
From:
Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra
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Posted 8 Mar 2012 7:58 am
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I have three of them. A D-10, two S-10's one being a student model. Easy to work on. Easy to change copedants. The D-10 needs its own road crew.
_________________
Lawyers are done: Emmons SD-10, 3 Dekleys including a D10, NV400, and lots of effects units to cover my clams... |
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Jim Pitman
From:
Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA
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Dallas Cheked
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 12 Jun 2012 5:36 pm
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| Russ Tkac wrote: |
I've owned two. They were very nice and solid. The slimline later models were better and played and sounded great. Get split cases if you need to move it. I'd get another for sure. Mine were S12s but a D-10 would be nice!
Pretty too!
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This guitar looks similar to the one I saw Jeff Newman play in concert in 1983. He had some extra accents added. Probably the best sounding steel I ever heard him play. Wonderful tone and sustain. Simply unforgettable!
_________________
EMCI D-10 Steel 8+6, Peavey Nashville 400, Fender Twin Reverb, Stelling Staghorn Banjo,Vintage Premier Banjo, Dobro D-60 and F60S Squarenecks, Fender Stratocaster, Boss RV-5, DD2,GE7, Goodrich SteelDriver II. |
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Jim Hollingsworth
From:
Way out West
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Posted 12 Jun 2012 5:42 pm
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Rick Schmidt play a Dekley D-12 with something like 9 & 10! It weighs about 14 tons but the sounds he gets out of that guitar are mind boggling! I had one some years ago - they are very solid & well built when one considers the standards of the time.
Jim |
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Thiel Hatt
From:
Utah, USA
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Posted 12 Jun 2012 8:21 pm
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A Dekley is amoung my collection and it is a keeper. It is rather heavy, but well built, dependable, plays nice and has very good tone. I'm a ZumSteel fan and the Dekley hangs right in there. It gets my vote. |
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Kevin Hatton
From:
Buffalo, N.Y.
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Franklin
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Posted 13 Jun 2012 7:13 am Re: Dekley tone/quality
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| Daniel Showalter wrote: |
| What is the consensus of the Dekley brand (understanding) every guitar is different) Are there steel players who are familiar with Dekley's and how they compare in tone and in build quality to other brands. Thinking of bidding on a 12 string as I want to try an expanded E9 and just don't want to end up with something that is not pro level instrument. Thanks |
To my ears Deckley's remind me more of the older MSA than any other brand.... Are you searching for specific tone characteristics? Like the tones heard on 60's and 70's country and rock sessions? Those recording tones were accomplished primarily on Emmon's, and Sho-Bud guitars with the exceptions of Sneaky Pete using a Fender, Brumley and Rusty using a ZB, and Mooney using both Fender and the Sho-Bud?
My opinion is the Deckley offers a real departure from that eras tone. Whether that's good or bad depends on your viewpoint.
Paul |
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Mike Wheeler
From:
Delaware, Ohio, USA
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Posted 13 Jun 2012 12:29 pm
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I've owned 2 Slimline U-12s. I sold the first one (in a fit of stupidity) and quickly bought another one which I'll never let go of. They have great sustain, excellent mechanics, easy to adjust and work on, and have very smooth pedal and knee action. Both of mine had a characteristic that I can only describe as resonant. I can feel the guitar's string vibrations in my hands more than any of my other steels. I think the tone is wonderful and versatile, making it a real pleasure to play...and they also have great string separation.
They are a heavy guitar, but I think that's why they are so durable. But, as Mr. Hatton said, split cases solves that easily.
Oh, and they are definitely a pro level guitar...no doubt.
_________________
Best regards,
Mike |
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Rick Schmidt
From:
Prescott AZ, USA
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Posted 14 Jun 2012 5:46 am
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One thing I've noticed about my Dekley is that "cabinet drop" is almost non-existent due to it's "tank like" build.(Although my lower lumbar region has dropped plenty from lifting it.  ) Also, IMHO I think the Pac a Wood necks give it a little better sustain than some other wood neck guitars of that era.
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Jim Hollingsworth
From:
Way out West
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Posted 14 Jun 2012 8:51 am
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Hey Rick! What is the metal stand on your guitar for? As soon as I saw the Dekley thread I immediately thought of you. Hope all is well in North County!
Jim |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 14 Jun 2012 1:57 pm Re: Dekley tone/quality
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| Franklin wrote: |
| Daniel Showalter wrote: |
| What is the consensus of the Dekley brand (understanding) every guitar is different) Are there steel players who are familiar with Dekley's and how they compare in tone and in build quality to other brands. Thinking of bidding on a 12 string as I want to try an expanded E9 and just don't want to end up with something that is not pro level instrument. Thanks |
To my ears Deckley's remind me more of the older MSA than any other brand.... Are you searching for specific tone characteristics? Like the tones heard on 60's and 70's country and rock sessions? Those recording tones were accomplished primarily on Emmon's, and Sho-Bud guitars with the exceptions of Sneaky Pete using a Fender, Brumley and Rusty using a ZB, and Mooney using both Fender and the Sho-Bud?
My opinion is the Deckley offers a real departure from that eras tone. Whether that's good or bad depends on your viewpoint.
Paul |
Paul.. I recently played a Dekley S-10.. It sounded nothing like an MSA to my ears... Perhaps the pickup had been rewound or replaced, I can't say. That guitar sounded wonderful.. Bright and strong, yet full mids with a lovely "glassy" vibe.. Sounded more like a great old Bud than anything else.. It had none of the tonal characteristics of the 5 MSA guitars I have owned, which sounded good but were really quite dark sounding with the stock pickups.. the Dekley I played last month was just a great sounding steel that had that "old' single coil sound.. I was really impressed... Again, could have been the pickup, not sure...
_________________
I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 14 Jun 2012 4:04 pm Re: Dekley tone/quality
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| Bob Carlucci wrote: |
5 MSA guitars I have owned, which sounded good but were really quite dark sounding with the stock pickups.. |
Speaking personally, I never liked the stock MSA pickups, and replaced them on both of my former Classics. I put a George L 5 position in the green one, and had the white one retrofitted with the the Sierra modular system and used either a George L humbucker (I forget which one) or a True Tone.
I felt both guitars sounded better with the new pickups.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Tommy Minniear
From:
Logansport, Indiana
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Posted 15 Jun 2012 4:57 am
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| Smiley Roberts has played an S10 Dekley for years and to my ears has always got a nice clear/bright, yet full bodied tone. Not really all that different from the tone he gets when he plays his Sho~Bud Pro 1. I'd be hard pressed to chose one over the other, as they both sound good. |
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Franklin
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Posted 15 Jun 2012 7:31 am
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Tommy and Bob,
Guys its all good. We are all after specific tone elements. I doubt if any two players hear the same. I should mention that the Deckley I tried was at the Sho-Bud factory and someone had put Sho-Bud single coil pickups on it.
The older MSA I owned was bright enough yet it had a softer initial attack. No matter how I picked it or amplified it, it was slightly more transparent than the attack of the permanent Bud or the Emmons guitars I sat behind. For me a pickup is kind of an EQ element. It can brighten and darken but I have never heard one that adds or subtracts a tonal characteristic derived from the design of an instrument. For example A brass roller always sounds like a brass roller and metal necks always sound like metal necks through any pickup etc.
I was just saying I heard the same transparent response of that MSA coming from the Deckley in the 70's. When I hear a big difference in the initial attack from what I expect to hear there is nothing I can do about that aspect of what I hear while I am playing. That's the part of my tone the guitar creates..... From that point forward with my hands and amplification I will sound close on every guitar I play.
Paul |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 15 Jun 2012 8:27 am
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I wonder if the sheer mass of those guitars has that effect on the attack?
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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