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Topic: 50's Oahu Tonemaster issues... |
Todd Weger
From:
Safety Harbor, FLAUSA
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Posted 23 May 2015 8:32 am |
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OK - so I have this 50's (early, I think) era Oahu Tonemaster. When I bought it from a guy, it had been in a closet he said for at about 50 years (that was 10 years ago). It had a frozen stiff tone knob, bad tuners and just two rusty strings on it. I plugged it in, and it did fire up though, so I bought it, took it all apart, cleaned it up, and it sounds GREAT. I've used it many times since, but...
It is TERRIBLE for Hawaiian. Even with tone all the way to it's brightest setting, it's still has a very dark tone. Now, for overdriven rock tone? It's amazing! But there's another "but..." The pickup is really microphonic (part of it's great tone, I reckon), and howls like a banchee when turned up to the sweet spot on the amp. Beautiful rock tone at lower volumes.
So, what I'm wondering is: would replacing the tone pot give me more brightness? Or, is it strickly a pickup issue? And if it's a pickup issue, should I send to someone like Jason Lollar, et al, to to rewind? I guess I need to do that anyway if I want to have him re-pot it to reduce the microphonics? I imagine that wouldn't resolve the 'dark' tone issue, though.
I'd love to be able to play Hawaiian with it, too, but I'm OK with having it just remain a rock tone instrument, if need be (I have plenty of other great lap steels for that). The overdrive tone of it is great; just can't get too loud with it before squealing feedback.
Anyone else encounter this issue? I definitely don't want to sell it. I just want to get it to fully usable shape.
Thanks for any advice! |
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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Posted 23 May 2015 9:48 am
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You have two issues... dark sound, and microphonic pickup.
Potting will probably help the microphonics... you may have other issues affecting the tone, though. I'd connect the pickup straight to the amp, no volume or tone in circuit, and see if anything improves. If it doesn't, then you need to think about rewind or different pickup, potting it is not going to help that.
Have you measured the resistance of the pickup? It could have shorted or open windings... normally open gives you a tinnier, trebly-er tone, since effectively it's like having a series capacitor in place.
Make sure all variables are accounted for before making a choice... or, of course, you can always just pull the pickup out and replace it with something that sounds how you like... and have it to put back in case you need to return the guitar to vintage. Potting is not guaranteed to result in a good pickup, sometimes the windings are destroyed if the enamel melts. There are treble booster pedals that can help also.
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New FB Page: Lap Steel Licks And Stuff: https://www.facebook.com/groups/195394851800329 |
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Frank James Pracher
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 23 May 2015 12:08 pm
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I have two of these. They are a darker sounding steel. Lots of mids, similar to a P90.
Both mine are somewhat microphonic, but it's never been a problem for me. I play out with a Blues Jr. which isn't exactly a big/high gain amp.
You might try making sure the metal plate, and the screws that hold the magnets (they're next to the pickup) are secure.
They do the rock thing really well, but I find I can get a nice old school Hawaiian sound as well.
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"Don't be mad honey, but I bought another one" |
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Todd Weger
From:
Safety Harbor, FLAUSA
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Posted 24 May 2015 9:45 am 500K pot?
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| Thanks! |
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