Is thin in ?

Willis Vanderberg · From: Petoskey Mi

Maybe my ear had gone sharp or something. It seems to me that the pedal steel is progressing from a nice fat sound to a very thin sound. I really noticed this on two new Carter guitars, being played by pretty fair pickers. Both said they really loved the sound.I have also noticed this on some Zum guitars. Is it the amps ?, or the guitars or me ?
I have an MCI that has a high thin sound, compared to my Emmons guitars. I think this is in part due to the Lawrence 705 pickups.
To my ears it makes the first five strings kind of run together.Especialy above the 12th fret. Does anyone else hear this ?

Daryl Stogner · From: San Diego, CA * R.I.P.

Whew! I thought you were talking about my wasteline.

But I like the more bass, fat tones of steel. although there are sure some purdy sounds that come from the 1st 5. I just haven't found them yet.

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Daryl Stogner
ShoBud Pro I, Peavey stereo power amp with Black Widows, ProFex II,
Corona warm or cold.

My Website: Click to Visit

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

To me, it's more "mid-rangey" now. Back in the '60, thin was in! Emmons, Brumley, Myrick, Mooney, they all had pretty "thin" sounds. In the '70's, things changed. The "edge" that was the trademark of steel was gone, and for a while a "fatter" sound was evident with most players. In the '90s, it went mid-range, and it's been there ever since. Some players, most notably Jernigan, Reece, and Chalker always had a "fat and full" sound.

Recording today has something to do with the homogenous sounds, and things are not nearly as homogenous at the steel shows. There, you're more likely to hear the players' true sounds.

Chris Lasher · From: Blacksburg, VA

I think guys like Robby Turner, Steve Hinson, and Gary Morse are keeping the steel guitar sound fattened up. And then it seems Lloyd's back to "sweeten" it up. That said, even the session pros known for their thinner tones (Paul Franklin, Mike Johnson) can vary quite a bit tonally from recording artist to recording artist.

I'm guessing that's a combination of factors including what the producer wants and the final mix-down. One has to take into account that there are a lot more instruments competing for sonic space than there used to be. I've seen liner notes for songs coming out today that have steel, fiddle, piano, bass, tic-tac bass, banjo, mandolin, dobro, electric guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, Hammond B-3, horns, lead vocals, background vocals, drums, and heck, even a bouzouki, all in one song! Good grief! Now artists like Alan Jackson and Brad Paisley keep it fairly sparse on most songs, and the instruments participate in a round-robin style of playing over nothing but drums and bass, and maybe an acoustic guitar being strummed, but a lot of the tunes nowadays have no fewer than five instruments competing for sonic space at any one moment. In those cases, the steel is often a flavor instrument, and so is fit in with what remaining room there might be, and you can bet that's probably not going to be in the lower-mid range.

One thing I noticed happening in many music genres nowadays is an increasing in-your-faceness, for lack of a thinking mind at this time. To my ears, there's definitely a very conservative use of reverb and delay, even natural room reverb, than music from even just five years ago. Sometimes I think things are getting too dry, and it's a relief to hear "classic" New Country artists like Alan Jackson still put out albums that have the mix wet enough to go down easy. But that's just my opinion; maybe a pro can can comment.

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"It's gettin' hard to find a place to play my guitar,
And they're tryin' to put an end to guys like me"

The Georgia Steel Guitar Association: we steel got them Georgia Peaches

[This message was edited by Chris Lasher on 02 April 2005 at 09:57 PM.]

Al Carmichael · From: Sylvan Lake, Michigan, USA

Chris and Donny--You both make great points. And, I agree, there's more midrange in the steel tone than ever before. Guys like Gary Morse and Paul Franklin always sound "right" to me on their recordings.

Personally, I think a variety of steel tones is quite desirable. I like fat and warm just as much as bright and thin--it just depends on the track. Steel is such an expressive and unique instrument. I'd hate to see one model sound being the one holy grail of steel tone. Sometimes I like it wiry and sometimes I like it fat and jazzy--or in between. There's already enough formula in todays music. I welcome the musicians who throw something different into the mix just to be different.

I too would love to hear a pro respond to this. I bet that they could shed some light on what producers are asking them for. Maybe even enlighten us as to how their fat sound became much thinner in the final mix, etc.

jim milewski · From: stowe, vermont

seems to me when playing alone at home "warming" up the sound is nice, but in a band setting the "mid boost" seems to find it's place and gets the steel heard better without cranking it up too much, there is a fine line where too much mid honks at you, but the right amount brings out the steel nice

Ernest Cawby · From: Lake City, Florida, USA, R.I.P.

Bud good thred, I have been giving thought to going stereo, with a Walker, they seem to sound good.Jack just bought one and so did James Price, they will be at the next club meet at Johhny's.
What do you think of the twin speakers, allowing for the extra boxes. I think John is using a Stewart and JBLs. His sound is very much like Jimmy Powels with a Vegas 400, he made it sound so good in Bluntstown I bought one. Also a tubefex using Loyd Green settings, and a Korg DRt 1 pro, love that tuner.
Before that I was using a Boss dd3 and just a about 5 reverb and like that very much.
I have sold my National D8 and Nashville 400' and the Oahu 6.

ernie
Also I have found

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

I've lost some high frequency response in my left ear (the one facing my amp) so my tone is probably thinner than I think it is. I adjust my amp to suit my own imperfect ears. I'm rarely happy with the recorded sound of my guitar - maybe because I hear it with both ears. It usually sounds thin to me.

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Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra SD-12 (Ext E9), Williams D-12 Crossover, Sierra S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, C6, A6)

Willis Vanderberg · From: Petoskey Mi

Hey Ernest:
I say yes to the Stero Steel. My good friend Jerry Hendrix has played through a Walker system for years.The only drawback is more stuff to lug around and set up. I am presently using a Nashville 112 and really like it.I am anxious to hear a Steel King. My Evans SE-200 is still my favorite.
I will be at the next jam and will bring something a little different along. Have a good un..Bud

Mark Metdker · From: North Central Texas, USA

That's weird. I play a Zum with a True Tone through a N112. I have my treble and presence almost all the way up to maximum to get more highs out of it. I have to really watch the bass settings or it will overpower my sound.

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Zum U-12 w/True Tone pickup thru a Nashville 112

Strats thru a tweed Bassman

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