Bob Sykes
From:
North Carolina
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Posted 7 Jun 2024 3:14 pm |
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This will primarily benefit those who play loud. If you don't play loud and/or you like the sound of your RLS1, you might want to stop reading here. If you are in search of better (subjective) tone and more volume without feedback, get rid of that .06" thick steel plate pickguard. It's pretty to look at but it interacts with the pickup in bad ways. I think there's a good reason no one is making steel pickguards for electric guitars.
This factory RLS pickguard acts like a microphone diaphram producing high frequency feedback when playing at significant volume/gain settings, much like the old Telecaster bridge "ash tray" did. It also interacts with the pickup causing distortion of the magnetic field. On stage, I usually sit where I can reach the knobs on my amp. NoCanDo with that pickguard. At first I assumed the feedback problem was just a cheap pickup but we know what "assume" gets you.
My discovery process is in this thread: https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=365511
The easy fix is a non-ferrous pickguard. I got mine from wdmusic.com which has a good selection of colors/designs for the RLS1 (I have NFI). This is the biggest bang/buck change you can do to improve the sound of these things.
Not satisfied to just fix the problem, I had to investigate. I love science experiments. techno-babble follows:
I put the factory pickup on my basic one-string stick steel guitar and measured the output voltage with and without the steel pickguard. I used an E-bow to achieve consistent uniform excitation of the string.
No pickguard = almost pure sine wave.
With pickguard = harmonic distortion (aka Timbre/tone if you like it 
When the pickguard is struck, it "rings" like a chime. This also happens if the pickguard is excited by the guitar amplifier (i.e. feedback). Note: All of these measurements were "acoustic". No amplifier was used, so no feedback possible. Scope setting 2mS/Div - 5mV/Div
I took the RLS out to a local blues jam last night and it sounds great. It's going on the gig tomorrow and beyond. Granted, it now has a Seymour Duncan humbucker which is mo-better. I don't plan on doing anything else with the original pickup but I would assume  it's just fine.
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Carters Starter, D10 8+7, SD10, Chandler RH-2, Rogue RLS-1
ISO Sustainus Ad Infinitum |
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