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Topic: tone on pedal versus non pedal |
Brad Malone
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 17 May 2018 5:13 pm |
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is it true that most pedal steels have inferior tone compared to non pedal steels because their strings do not have body contact on the finger end? A lot of pedal steels have lousy tone..IMHO.
Last edited by Brad Malone on 18 May 2018 2:44 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 17 May 2018 5:26 pm
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| I don't agree that it's an inferior tone, but I would agree that it's different. I don't know enough to say what characteristics make it so. |
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Dom Franco
From:
Beaverton, OR, 97007
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 18 May 2018 1:44 am
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I'd say the tone is very different (not better or worse).
For example, if someone plays some C6 on a pedal steel without engaging any pedals it will sound tonally very different to someone playing the same thing on a non-pedal instrument.
On my pedal steel, I can get my 6 string A6 tuning that I use for Hank Williams type stuff but tonally it doesn't sound quite right to me even though I'm playing the same notes as on my Stringmaster. |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 18 May 2018 11:21 am Re: tone on pedal versus non pedal
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| Brad Malone wrote: |
| is it true that most pedal steels have inferior tone compared to non pedal steels because their strings do not have body contact on the finger end. A lot of pedal steels have lousy tone..IMHO. |
That is a highly opinionated comment. Maybe it was your intention to invite equally opinionated reaction, I don’t know.
I think everyone will agree there are tonal differences, although in the hands of skilled players it can sometimes be difficult to tell. Forum member Doug Beaumier’s single-note lap steel playing is extraordinary, right up there with Junior Brown, and his tone and sustain just don’t sound much different from what a skilled psg player on the C6 neck would sound like.
I’m not sure what you mean by the psg strings having no body contact on the finger end. The changer sits right there on the deck of the console, just like the bridge of a lap steel. |
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Rick Abbott
From:
Indiana, USA
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Posted 18 May 2018 11:43 am Re: tone on pedal versus non pedal
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| Brad Malone wrote: |
| is it true |
I see a question, not a highly opinionated comment.
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Wakarusa 5e3 clone
1953 Stromberg-Carlson AU-35 |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 18 May 2018 12:15 pm Re: tone on pedal versus non pedal
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Rick—
| Brad Malone wrote: |
| is it true that most pedal steels have inferior tone compared to non pedal steels because their strings do not have body contact on the finger end. A lot of pedal steels have lousy tone..IMHO. |
The question in question (preceding the bold comment) has no question mark. But, assuming it is a question and not just a qualifier, then it is a question based on a highly opinionated assertion. |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 18 May 2018 1:38 pm
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Not a fair comparison. There are many more differences than the one given in the OP. Part of the tone of the pedal instrument comes from the pedal movement.
Apples and oranges.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Brad Malone
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 18 May 2018 2:42 pm Chimes are louder?
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| Jeff M., I think the harmonics ring louder on a NPS than on a PS but that is JMO.. also, there is a difference between the PP and AP pedal steels.. Mike J. has the best sounding PS I ever heard....its the Emmons PP. |
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Mick Hearn
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 18 May 2018 3:31 pm
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As always when talking about tone it is down to the listener or player to decide which is best for them. One lap steel can sound totally different to another. Similarly one PSG can sound different to another. Look at all the topics concerning Rickenbacker, Clinesmith, Gibson, Fender and everyone has a favourite. Same with PSG. Now look at the difference between the tone of PSG and Lap steel - a favourite will crop up somewhere.
I have several lap steels and from those I would chose my National. I also have a stripped PSG tuned to C6 and played lap style. It is different but I would not say better or worse. The tone is also down to picking and use of the volume pedal as well as the brand or type and amp used.
_________________
ShoBud 6139, Remington Steelmaster D8, National D8 Console x 2, George Boards Lap Steel, National New Yorker. |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 19 May 2018 8:22 am
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There's just too much variability in guitars, I don't think a pedal mechanism has as much impact on the tone...ie., if you built a pedal steel and fixed bridge version of the same instrument, same woods, same electronics, etc., the difference between the two would likely be noticeable but much more subtle than the huge variability within non-pedal steels, for example. Just from my handful of guitars, I have a Fender 400 pedal and a Stringmaster T-8. They have similar pickups, although not identical. The Stringmaster has a surprisingly punchy acoustic tone and overall I prefer its tone...but there are so many reasons why that could be, pickup differences, the steel/alloy frame deadening things a bit, single neck vs triple neck, etc etc. The pedal mechanism is one of many factors and I don't really think its the most significant factor to the tone...
Here's basilh playing Sand on a Fender 1000, not using pedals but using the far neck as essentially a nonpedal steel. Would be hard to compare the tone to another nonpedal steel, as there isn't a Fender non-pedal that is set up quite exactly that way...sounds great to me, anyway...
https://youtu.be/hj93ZxtRyTQ?t=74
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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