Me Playing My 1948 National Dynamic...

J. Wilson · From: Manitoba, Canada

I've been away from the forum for over a year, as we had a baby boy and I've been pretty busy, however, I was delighted to return to find a prominent discussion on the topic of the National Dynamics. I am a huge fan.

I (literally) just finished recording myself playing my 1948 (just like Lindley's). I submitted it for a contest and I would love to hear what you guys think.

The guitar has a fabulous sound... blistering and face melting rock tones that would blast white off of rice. Not exactly traditional (which the old fellows will likely give me some heat for) but it is also the first recording of me playing lap steel that I have shared on the forum after being a member for quite a few years now. Hope you enjoy it! Smile

Peace,
John Wilson (aka 'Jack')

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzDuShh5nuU&feature=youtu.be
_________________
If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On. -Shakespeare
___________________________________________
1941 Ric B6 / 1948 National Dynamic / 1951 Bronson Supro / Custom teak wood Allen Melbert / Tut Taylor Dobro / Gold Tone Dojo / Martin D15S / Eastman P10

Jonathan Scherer · From: Stehekin, Washington

Nice!
Are you using anything besides the tone control on the guitar?
My '48 has no difference in tone when I move the tone knob.
I've got plenty of volume though.

I'm working on Peter Green's "Albatross" and the tone I have is great for that but I think there should be some different tone capabilities with the tone pot.

Thanks for posting your recording, Jack.

James Kerr · From: Scotland, UK

Johnathan,
The tone control on your Guitar (any Guitar) will just roll of some of the higher frequencies from the sound output, the example sounds produced on the recordings you have listened to do not come from the Guitar itself, they come from overdriving the Amp either by using distortion pedals or using the built in overdrive Amp controls.

I read often people saying this Guitar or that Pickup has a great "Blues Growl", I would suggest this is nonsense, the Guitar or Pickup has no Growl, the Amp it is playing through does.

James.

J. Wilson · From: Manitoba, Canada

My tone knob works but the change is minimal -- I can't really use it for a wah effect at all like I can with some of my other lap steels. It is good for rolling off any painful high tones sometimes.

My opinion is that the National Dynamic pup is unique and has a throaty growl to it. Before I recorded my leads for the Bachman song I tried my three other steels that all have different pups and the Dynamic had the growl (to my ears).
_________________
If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On. -Shakespeare
___________________________________________
1941 Ric B6 / 1948 National Dynamic / 1951 Bronson Supro / Custom teak wood Allen Melbert / Tut Taylor Dobro / Gold Tone Dojo / Martin D15S / Eastman P10

James Kerr · From: Scotland, UK

J. Wilson · From: Manitoba, Canada

Yeah, I tried them all -- both on clean settings and then on overdrive, before I made my decision. Clean, I liked the Supro pup better than the Dynamic (but my Dynamic pup is pretty old and likely a little weak) but on overdrive the Dynamic had vicious teeth and a throatier sound. Not as throaty as my '41 Ric B6 though... I liked the B6 as a close second but it wasn't as toothy or gutteral on overdrive as the Dynamic was.

I should mention that the Dynamic has flatwounds and the others are wound.
_________________
If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On. -Shakespeare
___________________________________________
1941 Ric B6 / 1948 National Dynamic / 1951 Bronson Supro / Custom teak wood Allen Melbert / Tut Taylor Dobro / Gold Tone Dojo / Martin D15S / Eastman P10

James Kerr · From: Scotland, UK

Mr, Wilson,
That reply might be more helpful to Mr. Scherer who seems to be under the impression he can get your sound, plus many others simply by turning the Tone pot up or down, if he can just get it working.

James.

J. Wilson · From: Manitoba, Canada

Well the tone pot was wide open in that particular recording so the sound was not affected by my tone pot. It was a combo of the pup, flatwound strings and my choice of amp. In this case it was two Vox AC30's to give some width. I maintain that the pup did make some difference though.

I also think that wood makes a difference to tone. Others think I am crazy. Maybe I am. I just know I had a killer sound with that particular recipe.
_________________
If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On. -Shakespeare
___________________________________________
1941 Ric B6 / 1948 National Dynamic / 1951 Bronson Supro / Custom teak wood Allen Melbert / Tut Taylor Dobro / Gold Tone Dojo / Martin D15S / Eastman P10

Jonathan Scherer · From: Stehekin, Washington

Thank you-Jack and James,

My only experience is with an early 50's Oahu Tonemaster and the '48 National Dynamic.

I can hear a fair amount of difference in the tone of the Oahu when moving the tone knob. No difference at all on the Dynamic when moving the tone knob to any position.

I use a Carvin X-60 amplifier and can adjust that
for plenty of different styles of overdriven distortion.

Agree with Jack that the wood and density of the wood
makes a difference.
Thanks again for posting your recording Jack.

J

James Hartman · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Bill Sinclair · From: Waynesboro, PA, USA

By the way, nice job John, Jack, Jay (which one do you want to be called?) Your video conveyed how much fun it is to wail away on a lap steel and it sounded great too. Was this for a radio station competition? How'd you do?

Deirdre Higgins · From: Connecticut, USA

Paul Honeycutt · From: Colorado, USA

That rocked!

Welcome back to the forum.

J. Wilson · From: Manitoba, Canada

Thanks to you all! It's good to have the time to come back to the forum again. I'm glad you liked the performance and vid. It was challenging but fun. Recording it was way more fun than making the video portion though. That was a bit of a pain. The positive feedback makes it worthwhile though.

Truth be told, I have been waiting three years for a good enough excuse to really stretch the legs on that '48 Dynamic and this opportunity was perfect. I couldn't be happier with the results. I see why Lindley really championed the Dynamic and the B6.

I tried the B6 first, but to really get that extra bite and gnash, the Dynamic was the ticket.

Thanks Dierdre! My boy shows a bit more interest in my guitars but I hope he comes around LOL!

Thanks, James Hartman. My name is John but people generally call me Jay. The "Jack" logo was just something I came up with as a logo for my custom Allen Melbert lap steel.

Yes electric lap is a lot of fun and in my estimate gives a heavier blues sound than any conventional electric guitar would. No word on the outcome for the radio contest. It really was more of an excuse to jam with my Dynamic but my buddy pressed me to video the session and submit it. It turned out better than I thought it would.

I should take your advice and replace my tone pot. It does work, but it's not a very broad sweep. Could be it's drifted over the years.

Like I said I suspect my pup has weakened over the years also. It sounds so good through some tube dirt, however, that I am kind of apprehensive to recharge it.
_________________
If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On. -Shakespeare
___________________________________________
1941 Ric B6 / 1948 National Dynamic / 1951 Bronson Supro / Custom teak wood Allen Melbert / Tut Taylor Dobro / Gold Tone Dojo / Martin D15S / Eastman P10

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