| Author |
Topic: Lap Steel Pickup Question (your opinion) |
John D. Carter
From:
Canton, Ohio, USA
|
Posted 7 Jan 2024 5:56 pm |
|
| I particularly enjoy the sound of the Fender Deluxe (and Jedson clones) guitars that have dual single coil pickups. Is that unique sound coming from the placement of the pickups, the way in which they are wired together, or a particular type of single coil? I'm wondering if I could build a guitar with dual single coils and reproduce that unique sound. Can anyone identify the concept that I am trying to get across and give me a knowledgeable answer? Thanks. |
|
|
 |
Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
|
Posted 7 Jan 2024 8:37 pm
|
|
I think you're talking about the Stringmaster/Deluxe humbucking setup... the two single-coils are reverse-wound and reverse-polarity (RWRP), so humbucking. They're wired in series with a 'blend' pot that is capable of shorting out the neck pickup, giving a tinnier single-coil sound.
Not sure if you're talking about 6 or 8 strings, but Fender made both, and both are available today from many different makers. If you want to duplicate the tone you'll need them in the exact same places on the guitar... you'll want to duplicate the controls too. Make sure to buy the RWRP pair.
_________________
New FB Page: Lap Steel Licks And Stuff: https://www.facebook.com/groups/195394851800329 |
|
|
|
Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
|
Posted 8 Jan 2024 6:59 am
|
|
The early Stringmasters didn't have a blend pot.
Erv |
|
|
|
John D. Carter
From:
Canton, Ohio, USA
|
Posted 8 Jan 2024 9:16 am
|
|
| Thank you, Stephen. So what manufacturer is producing guitars with this pickup set-up? |
|
|
|
Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
|
Posted 8 Jan 2024 10:51 am
|
|
Several years back I picked up a basketcase 7-string Ultratone that had been badly abused. Since it had been hacked-up pretty badly and was not a viable candidate for restoration, I took the liberty of routing a pickup cavity for a pair of custom-made RWRP Stringmaster-style 7-string pickups from Jerry Sentell. I wired it following the Seymour Duncan Stringmaster wiring diagram, changing the three stock Gibson controls (volume, treble cut, and treble bypass) to the Fender-style volume, tone, and blend. Doesn't look like much, but plays great and sounds like a million bucks, albeit more like a Gibson than a Fender. Which ain't necessarily a bad thing (in my opinion).
 |
|
|
|
Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
|
Posted 8 Jan 2024 11:13 am
|
|
| Erv Niehaus wrote: |
The early Stringmasters didn't have a blend pot.
Erv |
That's right...I don't have any direct knowledge of the MkIs but I believe Basil had a video explainer up of the MkI Stringmaster wiring...here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxnyVAlTu2w
As I understand how he explains it, you get a single coil bridge with the tone control on, but as you back it off, it adds in the neck pickup, as well as adding the tone capacitor off as well.
I always viewed a MkII Stringmaster as essentially a one-pickup guitar, at least how I played it...two coils wired in series as a humbucker, although they were spaced a bit apart, with the option to basically "coil split" with the blend knob.
Few manufacturers are doing this these days...I know you can get a Stringmaster type kit to build one from Jimmy Hudson, and there are several aftermarket pickup options. But I think any guitars out there being built with this configuration are going to be custom or rare items...most factory made lap steels (such as exist, anyway!) tend to have more convetional modern layouts borrowing from pickup designs used on standard guitars.
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
|
|
|
Dan Campbell
From:
Florida, USA
|
Posted 11 Jan 2024 6:19 am pickups
|
|
| If you want to get that sound there is only two pickups I would recommend: (1) Lollar stringmaster (2) Seymour Duncan Stringmaster Antiquity series. You can hear what they sound like on the websites of these two manufacturers. Note, however, that pickups are only one ingredient of the sound. The bridge/bridge plate is second and the wood (swamp ash) is third. The bridge plate is very hard to come by. Hope this helps. Dan |
|
|
|
Daniel Flanigan
From:
Oregon, USA
|
Posted 18 Jan 2024 11:56 pm
|
|
| I second what Mr. Campbell said. I've heard both the Duncan Antiquity and Jason Lollar Stringmaster Pickups, and they both sound very good. However, adding reproduction Stringmaster pickups to a modern lap steel won't make it sound like a Stringmaster. There's just too many variables on old guitars that effect the sound; the wood, the finish, the bridge, the nut, the pots, the capacitors, the wiring, and how the pickups are mounted all affect the tone. Not to mention the effect that age has on the electronics. If I really wanted the sound of an old Stringmaster, I would just buy an old Stringmaster with all the original electronics. |
|
|
|
Dan Campbell
From:
Florida, USA
|
Posted 19 Jan 2024 6:23 am sound
|
|
Daniel is correct in that everything about a guitar (electronics, wood, wiring, etc.) affects the sound and not just the pickup. The amp and how it is set also affects the sound dramatically. Preferred sound is completely subjective and there is no "right" or "wrong" sound. That said, the old wiring is easy to duplicate. Primarily the neck pickup is adjustable, while the bridge pickup is on all the time. That is why the "balance" knob is not a traditional balance knob that selects how much each pickup is activated.
I know some people think the old electronics sound better, but I have owned and played lots of old Fender Stringmasters and have experimented with old and new electronics and I cannot tell any difference. Essentially, they either work or they don't work--how they are wired is the only thing that makes any significant difference in my opinion.
You can get a reproduction guitar made with swamp ash to simulate the sound of the older stringmasters. You can also use stainless steel instead of brass on the nut and bridge in a reproduction guitar. However, every plus is also a minus. For example, poplar wood will resonate better than swamp ash, but it will not be as sharp a sound. Brass will also have a bell-like quality, while stainless will be sharper. So, it comes down to what you prefer, and with a reproduction guitar, you have a choice. |
|
|
|
John D. Carter
From:
Canton, Ohio, USA
|
Posted 19 Jan 2024 11:29 am Mike Holland's Red Jedson Guitar
|
|
| The more I think about this, the more I think that the electronics in their total configuration, (i.e., not only the pickup(s) but more so the amplification and their added effects, particularly reverb effects) may be the most important contributors to obtaining a particular desired non-pedal sound. When I started this post, I was particularly impressed with Mike Holland's Red Jedson guitar. I now think that the sound that I like so well is probably a result of the amplifier he is using. |
|
|
|
Tony Oresteen
From:
Georgia, USA
|
Posted 20 Jan 2024 3:56 pm
|
|
The Stringmasters have ONE pickup that is RWRP. The other one is normal wound. Together they make a humbucker. IIRC the Stringmaster neck pickup is RWRP and is the one that in Mk2 Stringmasters is controlled by the blend knob.
You can take a regular humbucker that has 4 conductor wiring like a Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, Epiphone, Gibson etc 6 string humbucker and wire it like a Stringmaster with a blend control. It won't sound exactly like a Stringmaster, it will just sound different. You might like it.
Jerry Sentell and Nick Fryer make Stringmaster pickup sets with one pickup that is RWRP.
_________________
Tony
Newnan, GA
Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster Quad black
PedalMaster D8 |
|
|
|
