Mullen tone

[Bill Howard]

I don't want to start a firestorm I'm curious.
I just saw a Mullen G-2 listed and the person said it sounds like an emmons,yet I have seen several people selling a Mullen because they don't like the tone, to be honest about it I almost bought one a few months ago but found an emmons first,then after I heard a few of them at a show I attended I was glad I didn't, the ones I heard were really metallic sounding cold lots of sustain but none of that warm tone. the pick ups look like the same single coils on emmons why are they that much different tone wise?. Please no personal insults not trying to do anything other than address the tone issue nothing more. Mullen look really nice and I know they are built well. thank You

[Jaclyn Jones]

Don't forget the impact amp settings and effects can have. I have 3 psg including a G2 and you can make them all sound good or bad depending on the amp and effects rack.
Out of the 3 my 1966 Marlen has the best tone. Now if it would stay in tune!

[Joseph Carlson]

What they say about the tone of an Emmons is true. I was on a gig last week where the steeler in the other band had an Emmons. Good Lord, that steel sounded beautiful. Best live steel tone I can ever remember hearing. Got me thinking about selling a bunch of stuff to buy an Emmons!

[Tracy Sheehan]

A few yeaes ago our band was doing a package show with another one. Think i told this before. On our break while the other band was playing i loved the tone thier steel player was getting. He had just come off the road with a well known singer.He had the same brand steel and amp as i did. When they finished thier set i ask him to set my amp like his as my tone sucked compaired to his.

He got behind my steel,fooled with it and checked my amp settings and said i had the exact same settings and tone as he did. He then said he loved my tone and thought his sucked. What it was was getting away from the amp as sitting close to it did not sound the same. Other steel players always sounded better to me as i was far away from thier amp.

Tone is mostly in your head. If you believe your expensive steel will sound better than any one else,it will,long as you believe it. The human ear is very fickle.

Set your amp on thhe floor and you will hear the lows. set it up in a chair and you will hear the highs. I think most pro steel players already know this. Tracy

[Dick Wood]

Many variables definately come into play where tone is concerned.

One fact is that distance from the amp does make a lot of difference. I recently listened to a very good player who was playing a Zum who's tone sounded great as I walked in the club but then as I stood just a few feet away from the stage I thought it didn't sound as good as I had originally thought.

Up close his tone sounded hollow and somewhat thin but got fatter and more rounded further back.

Pickups can certainly affect tone. I had a Carter with an E-66 which I thought sounded horrible until I changed it to an XR-16 giving the guitar a much better overall tone.

I've also played four different Mullen guitars which I didn't care for but then I played Mickey Adams and it sounded as good or better than any guitar I ever played.

Just a few weeks ago,I played a friends Legrand and couldn't get a tone to save my life although most Emmons guitars I've heard sounded great.

Another thing we've all noticed is that you can play some clubs and you just think it couldn't get any better and some places make you want to sell the guitar to the lowest bidder so it is really hard to say this or that guitar sucks versus another brand.

To be honest,I feel I have been able to get the tone I want out of every guitar I've owned.

Tone is a combination of things that can come together one night and be lost the next making you wonder if someone didn't come in and play with the amps settings.

Touch,attack,timing and hand placement are huge contributing factors to tone and some players just never seem to master it to their benefit and they blame their guitar,amp or gadgets for their tonal problems.

[Mike Vallandigham]

I had a Mullen, and I thought it sounded spectacular (TT pick-ups)
I also have a PP, which I still have.

Yeah, the PP sounds better, but c'mon, it's the tone by which all others are judged.

I sold the Mullen because I thought it played too soft, which could have been adjusted to some degree.

It was a great guitar, and I miss it sometimes.

[Herb Steiner]

I can't say I've played them all in 42 years, but I've played many and owned many, including multiple Emmons, Sho-Bud, Mullen, Fessenden, Carter, Star, Fender, etc. The list goes on and on.

I'm not trying to be cutesy or disingenuous, but my opinion is that guitars are a lot like women... they are ALL individuals. Sometimes you love to be in their presence, sometimes you can't stand the sight of them. Sometimes you can't get enough of hearing them, sometimes you wish they'd just STFU and you want to be associated with anyone but them. Sometimes being close to them is great, sometimes being far away makes them much more appealing.

One big difference between guitars and women is this: You can go to as many different guitars as you want and go back to your original at will, and your guitar won't throw your stuff on the front lawn, change the locks on the doors, and have an attorney on speed dial.

[Dale Boutilier]

Well...I will tell you that yesterday I went to my dads place and he has a 1970 double Emmons and the tone is unbelievable to say the least, but I had my Mullen there and the single coil pickup is I would say almost as great, the only problem I have is the noise so I put in a Bill XR16 and it sounds great with no hum!! But I will agree that the amp is as important as the guitar. I have had other guitars not to mention any names and the Mullen stays in tune way better by a mile!!

[Jaclyn Jones]

Herb,
I wrote a song about changing locks and throwing stuff on the lawn. inspired by my x husband, a bass player. Song is called "I didn't try to hard to hold him"

[Pat Comeau]

Dick=said

Tone is a combination of things that can come together one night and be lost the next making you wonder if someone didn't come in and play with the amps settings.

Touch,attack,timing and hand placement are huge contributing factors to tone and some players just never seem to master it to their benefit and they blame their guitar,amp or gadgets for their tonal problems.

This couldn't be any closer to the truth

Well said dick

[Chris Lang]

Joseph said:

Got me thinking about selling a bunch of stuff to buy an Emmons!

I don't know Joseph. I would not send any money to Emmons et al, until the guitar was ready to ship.

You can do a search on this forum and read the details....................




No wait.......

I take that back.

I would have them ship the guitar first, then I would pay for it.

[Al Miller]

If this is Metallic and Cold than Dang!! just my opinion but i grew up on an Emmons P/P and Legrand 1,11,111 and you couldnt give me another one after getting my Mullen. Brand is a taste and tone is 75% in the Hands ,Heart ,Ear but give this Clip a listen ( 95 Mullen D10 Hilton Vp Nashville 400 DD-3 ) What say You?
Boo Miller
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urbUABoWHxE

Link Fixed Sorry

[Tim Heidner]

where da clip?

[Jerry Overstreet]

If this is Metallic and Cold than Dang!! What say You? <object><param></param><param></param><param></param><embed></embed></object>

Sounds like you got a rod knockin' Boo.

Seriously, I played an Emmons PP early on for several years and also played a mid 90's Mullen with stock pups for about 10 years.

I don't think they sound anything alike. I liked the tone of the Emmons a lot. When I first got the Mullen, I didn't like the sound of it at all. It sounded darker and heavier than the Emmons. After some time in the seat, it became my favorite guitar of all time. I had 2 of them at one time, but economics dictated that I eventually sell both of them. I'm still pining for them. They were very responsive, powerful, rich sounding instruments that let me play the very best I ever have.

Never played a G2 or an RP, so I have nothing to say about those models.

Anyone could sit behind each and hear the difference in tone. I'm not saying one is better, but they definitely have a different tone, no matter whose hands or execution.

[Tomi Graso]

Just a quick note regarding Mullen guitars....

A Friend of mine Nick O'Neal from Sydney bought a new SD10 Mullen G2 and i must say that it plays and sounds like a dream ! It was tested by a few players at the Brisbane steel guitar convention including Michel Rose and Warren Nielsen and they all thought the same !
It does play really smooth and soft , great action on the pedals and kneel levers ! Plays like magic.
Great tone !!!
Might consider getting one too ....one day !!!
Kind Regards from Australia !

Tomi ........steel !

[Al Miller]

Tim, Jerry The link is fixed sorry t'was a long day yesterday.
enjoy
Boo Miller

[Mickey Adams]

Deleted

[Jim Witt]

Mickey, out of all the pickups that you've tried in your G2, can you tell us about the ones you liked the best, and why? Thanks, Jim.

[Tim Heidner]

I don't know what you got in there these days, but it sure is sounding good on that Eagles lesson, Mickey.
Al Miller that is a nice sounding clip, too. I wouldn't mind having a Mullen, but I probably oughta learn how to play first.

[Buck Grantham R.I.P.]

I agree with Mickey all the way. I had 4 Sho Buds over the years then I changed to push-pull emmons and you know I never could get that great sho bud sound out of the Emmons. I played the Emmons 26 years and by then all I could hear was Emmons. But I think Emmons has had it,s say now and we have new toys to play with. There are a lot of great steels out there now. When I got my G2 Mullen i descovered that the problems that I had had with other brands have been solved by Del Mullen and his company. I have 705 pickups in my guitar and I love the tone. The pedal action is the best I ever had and it STAYS IN TUNE. If my guitar dosen,t sound good it is my fault. I loved the old Shobud sound and I liked the old push-pull sound but it was time for me to move on and I,m sure glad I did. Buck

[Jack Goodson]

buck: since we saw you in gulfport i have acquired a d/10 emmons lashley legrand, a d/10 zum, and of course i still have the rosewood d/10 pp. i have set in with the old band that i used to play with 3 different times using a different guitar each time, point being if i did'nt know which guitar i played each time i could not tell you which was which. of course all three guitars were played through my peavey special 112 and using your old profex 2...thanks jack

[J PARKER]

I have got to say my two cents worth guys and have played and owned so many diffrent guitars but i find the mullen the easiest playing guitar on the market but have have stuck with emmons and none of the others gave me the tone i wanted to hear. But dont get me wrong all of anybody that builds guitars have some that sound better than others and thats just MHO
Jim

[Mickey Adams]

deleted

[Bill Howard]

Im a G2 guy...everyone knows that...I have had several Emmons PP's....I have personally tried 9 different pickups in My G2s now, and the 10th is on the way. I feel I have made an honest attempt at really finding out just how big of a role the PU plays. All rooms have different acoustics, all players have different techniques, and all of us probably have SOME hearing loss..SO MANY variables!>...Its mind boggling...I agree with all of you, and especially Dick Wood..I change amps constantly...then I sit 5 feet away and listen to someone play MY guitar...and its sounds completely different...But as far as tone, and quality...Im stickin with the Mullen guys!

Mickey love your videos but the ones where your using an Emmons listen to them.....the Emmons is a lot warmer than your Mullen just my opin-ee-un

[Erv Niehaus]

It is just my opinion but if I had to try 9 different pickups in a guitar it must be because I couln't get a sound I was looking for. The problem might not be the pickup.