David Burns
From:
California, USA
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Posted 16 Oct 2022 8:16 pm |
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Melbert TrueTone Lap Steel
I’ve had plenty of joy playing this lap steel purchased during the COVID days. So much so it’s inspired me to try pedal steel. The tone of this guitar is outstanding in my humble opinion. Even unplugged it has a beautiful resonant tone.
I was going to change out the stock volume and tone controls but they have such a smooth taper I decided again it. Very usable controls! I did have to lower the neck pickup a bit. It was actually set higher than the bridge pickup and so close to the strings the volume balance between pickups was skewed and the pickup body interfered with the finger picks. Now the volume balance is much better especially it the in between pickup setting.
Instinctively I’ve been leaning toward playing the True Tone pickup most of the time and no wonder, wow! I’ve never seen so much praise and compliments about a pickup before. Searching thru the forum about the Jerry Wallace True Tone pickups is a real eye-opener. It made me second guess selling this lap steel, maybe I should keep it and be satisfied.... Ugh... If only that E9 tuning wasn't calling my name...
I'd like to get $450.00 and I'll split the shipping
Currently tuned to the following:
Don Helms E6 A C# E G# B C# E G# (Amaj9)
.056 .040 .034 .026 .022 .018 .016 .012
Comes with original gig bag
Allen Melbert provided some additional specifics on this lapsteel
• The scale length is 23-1/4"
• The neck pickup is a Bill Lawrence 705
• The bridge pickup is a Wallace True Tone single coil.
• It sold to the original buyer in May, 2013.
Allen, Melbert Guitars.
If I ever do get to play pedal steel I’m going to have to try to find a Wallace True Tone pickup for it….
--------------------------------------Below are some comments that really impressed me. Of course you guys probably already know this stuff inside out!-----------------------------------------
** What surprises me is with my volume pedal all the way open, I get no hum or any such
thing which "some" get with single coils. I love the "separation" with Jerry's pick-ups
** Jerry's pickups are on most of my guitars. Whenever I order a new guitar, I always request
Jerry's TruTones.
** replaced the 710's, with the True Tones. Boy, what a sound and tone. Haven't had the guitar out of the house but will play out with it this Saturday. So far no hum sounds coming from the pickups. The 710's were a little too bright for my ears. These True Tones, in my own personal opinion have very balanced sound coming from each string.
** I just installed a Truetone in my guitar today and I can't believe the tone and string clarity, I was playing a George L 10-1 but wasn't getting the tone I wanted, Thanks to Jerry I am now happy with my tone.
Great job Jerry!
** About 8 months ago Jerry rewound an old Mullen pickup for me. I was truly amazed at how much that pickup improved the tone of my Mullen U-12. It sounds much better than the stock pickup and I truly think the hum has been decreased since installing it. Jerry, perhaps you should consider changing the name of your pickups to "Amazing Truetone Pickups"
** I had been reading all the raves about Jerry Wallace's Truetone pickups, and although very happy with the tone of the George L's E-66 and 10-1 in my '97 Carter D-10, I knew I'd like to try them out. Rather than just add to the pile of raves, I thought I'd give some details of my experience for those who are thinking of trying some new pickups…
Talking with Jerry about my preferences… He wound me a pair of Truetones, as I asked with the C6 pickup a little darker and fuller. The first thing I noticed when they arrived was the workmanship- Absolutely Beautiful! Very reminiscent of the classic Emmons single coils, but with a smooth and subtle bevel to the upper blk/wht/blk bobbin lamination that is slick and classy. These are massive single coils with a total pro fit and finish. Measuring them on my digital MM, the E9 clocked in at 17.23K, the C6 at 18.32K. I set them to the recommended 3/16" height and was off and running. The new pickups- Amazing! Immediately noticeable was a level increase of 3-5 db. The lows were well defined, the highs very smooth and creamy, glassy and clear, especially up above fret 12. Great sustain and clarity, an overall lovely tone. I think much of that is subtractive, ie: there's magic in the midrange! There seems to be a dip or notch in that problematic 650-800Hz area we all mess with on our amps- the resulting lack of muddiness making for a smooth full sound with good response in the highs and lows.
On to the real world: Thursday session for a grumpy jingle producer- he's heard me many times and commented on the clarity of my tone. Hard to get a compliment out of this guy- Thursday night, rehearsal with a "Modern Country" band- I got to crank my rig up, no noticeable hum- and all the above-mentioned tonal differences were pleasantly noticeable. Positive comments from band members all around… got nothing but raves from the sound crew who have all heard me many times before. Several "steel nuts" who were in the house that night made unsolicited mention that they could hear everything I played much better, that the steel tone was fuller, richer and cleaner than usual. Fine with me! Bottom line, these are extremely well-made, high-quality kick butt tone enhancement monsters. I'll be getting another for my Sierra Lap. Don't even hesitate if you crave single coil JuJu. Thanks, Jerry!
I didn't go to all the trouble Mark did, but his assessment of the pick-up is dead on. I thought I was changing out pick-ups, turned out I was performing tone transplant surgery! I knew there was a better tone hiding behind those humbuckers, I just didn't realize how much. Hum is quite minimal, actually not much more that the humbuckers that came off. Year. I’ll keep these puppies.
Last edited by David Burns on 21 Oct 2022 10:20 am; edited 1 time in total |
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