Truetones

David Cook · Post by **David Cook** » 19 Feb 2008 10:32 am

Hi, I have a 70's Shobud Professional doubleneck. Would it be a mistake to get Jerry's Truetone pickups? Are they significantly better sounding making it worthwhile to change them out? I want that single coil sound. Thanks

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 19 Feb 2008 11:09 am

What pickups are on the Steel now ?

My D10 Professional and my PRO III both had Stock Single Coils.

t

David Cook · Post by **David Cook** » 19 Feb 2008 11:10 am

I still have the original ones on there. Thanks

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 19 Feb 2008 11:23 am

Send them to him to have them rewound. New top plates, in White if you want them.

You might not like the 1/4" Emmons style magnets.

Also, you might want to consider going down a couple Ks.

I had him do mine in his standard size wire to 16K each. They work GREAT.
They seem to be overwound stock. Maybe because of the loss from pot pedals in 'the old days'.

JMO.

EJL

James Morehead · Post by **James Morehead** » 19 Feb 2008 1:58 pm

It would be a mistake to NOT get Jerry's Truetones, if you love that vintage Shobud tone. Jerry is the closest I've heard to the original shobud pickups, that you'll ever find. And Eric is right, he will custom wind whatever you want. He will even wind in the coil tap for you. I to have a '70 Professional, and I LOVE my Truetones. Jerry will make you happy, whether he rewinds your originals or builds a new set for you.

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 19 Feb 2008 2:19 pm

I have True Tones on my Pro 111 ShoBud. I am very happy with them, and also the fact that they are not that noisy for single coils.

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 19 Feb 2008 2:58 pm

Get in touch with Jerry Wallace and tell him the tone you are looking for , and see what he reccomends....Whether he rewinds them, or you get new pickups from Jerry, you will find no better a person to do the work , and you will find no better single coil pickups PERIOD, END OF REPORT !!!...Jim

Tim Bridges · Post by **Tim Bridges** » 19 Feb 2008 3:11 pm

Unless you have a good reference as to what you want to hear, picking the impedance might not give you the sound you want. I play a Rains and use TT. E9th wound to 20.5 kohms and C6th wound to 21.5 kohms. I heard Randy Beavers has his TT's wound even higher. Call Jerry and talk to him. Great guy, great pickups and wonderful TONE.

I love single coils and have lost enough hearing to where the hum never bothers me (if there is one). Seriously, I seldom have that hum everybody talks about, except on my Tele; then I have to face the Aurora Borialis (sp?) to get it to stop, HA!

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 19 Feb 2008 5:13 pm

Although Truetones are very good pickups, one of these did not sound better than the stock single-coil pickup in an '80s Emmons p/p I have. So don't necessarily expect a miracle. However, considering the costs of pedal steel guitars, amps, and volume pedals, pickups are fairly inexpensive. So why not try different ones?

Al Terhune · Post by **Al Terhune** » 19 Feb 2008 8:43 pm

My GFI has a Truetone -- beautiful, quiet as a mouse. However, I think you should call Jerry (his number is on his website -- google "Jerry Wallace TrueTone")and talk to him about rewinding your originals versus getting one of his TrueTones. I think he'll be able to guide you to where you want to go. He's not only out to sell TrueTones -- he's out to get you the sound you want and would just as soon rewind if that's the answer to your solution.

mike nolan · Post by **mike nolan** » 19 Feb 2008 10:32 pm

I have one Sho~Bud with the original pickups.. the other three have Truetones. I replaced the pickups in 3 of the guitars because they had issues like too much hum, or were microphonic. All of them are wound differently because all of the guitars have slightly different sonic characteristics. My favorite is a 74/75 S-10 with a 16.5 K Trutone in it. If the originals are doing it for you, then keep it stock. If not, save the originals and get a TT.
I have found that when a stock 'Bud pickup is really good, there is nothing better.

Glyn Bone · Post by **Glyn Bone** » 20 Feb 2008 4:14 am

What is the difference in sound, or `tone`, between a 16.5 K ohm and an 18K ohm, or 20.5K ohm..???

TIA.

Bill Miller · Post by **Bill Miller** » 20 Feb 2008 4:20 am

Glyn, the lower resistance value will sound thinner and more treble, and the higher value will sound fuller with more emphasis on the bass end. At least that's my understanding of it.

mike nolan · Post by **mike nolan** » 20 Feb 2008 9:19 am

I find that the hotter pickups have more power in the upper midrange.... which gives a bigger sound, but is more prone to shrillness. Let me qualify that..... by saying that this shrillness seems to be accentuated when you use tube amps. I always use Fender tube amps.... I do own a couple of SS amps, and the hotter pickups sound much better through those. I have a Lamar with Lamar's hand wound pickups on it. The E9 side is Wound to 14K with a tap at 7K, the guitar sounds full, with a big bass response. It is great with any of my Fenders..... in the SS amps it has a beautiful papery, glassy sound.... kind of old school.
The short story here is that there are a number of factors that should be considered when choosing pickups. Play the guitar through the amp or amp type that you will be using, then talk to the pickup maker to tell them what you are hearing, and how you want it to be different.

Mike Shefrin · Post by **Mike Shefrin** » 20 Feb 2008 9:38 am

David, what's wrong with the original Sho-Bud pickups?
Just curious.

David Cook · Post by **David Cook** » 20 Feb 2008 11:40 am

Nothing is really wrong with the pickups. Not much hum, they both work OK and I swear they sound better today than yesterday. Part of the "problem" is that I have been playing my Sierra lap steel with a Truetone in it and I want the pedal steel to sound similar. My pickups have a more honky mid range sound I guess.

Eugene Cole · Post by **Eugene Cole** » 20 Feb 2008 11:57 am

Pickups are not particularly expensive to have made. So they are a comparitively inexpensive way to increase your tonal options; and by tonal options I mean the intrinsic EQ/harmonic response curve(s) of your pickup(s).

I am a big fan of coil-tapping pickups. Having multiple coil-taps allows me to go from deep-warm-and-ultra mellow to other sounds which are closer to thin/shrill/bright simply by adjusting a switch. My point is that if you are going to have a pickup made; think about the tonal options you desire and order the pickup with several coil taps which will give you a variety of options.

Both of my Sierra PSG's came from the factory with "triple-range" coil tapped pickups as standard equipment. When I do not have coil-tapped pickups on a PSG I miss them.

Wallace has a good reputation so ordering one of his pickups is probably a pretty safe option. But their are others like Jason Lollar, and..., and..., the list goes on. But I believe that Jerry is the PSG pickup specialist, while the others are focused on a wider variety of guitar pickups.

Jim Eaton · Post by **Jim Eaton** » 20 Feb 2008 5:57 pm

When I ordered my MSA SD-12 Legend, I picked a Geo-L 12-1 humbucking pick-up. It sounds really good, just about the best tone and sustain I have ever had with a humbucking pick-up.
My only complaint was that it was very hard to get good clear strong harmonics off of the normal 5th, 7th and 12th fret locations.
I ordered a TrueTone for the guitar and it just came alive under my hands! I have not put the Geo-L back on the guitar and unless I find myself in a bad hum situation, it's going to be the TrueTone for me.
JE:-)>

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 20 Feb 2008 6:13 pm

IMHO, nothing you can put on a Sho~Bud pedal steel will make it sound like a Sierra lap steel.

Dave Biller · Post by **Dave Biller** » 21 Feb 2008 9:26 am

just call Jerry and talk to him. i recently did business with him and he's a super nice guy, very knowledgeable and helpful.

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