"There's just something about an Emmons" What Is It ???

[Bob Poole]

I'm trying to figure out what that "something" is.I just got a LeGrande a couple of weeks ago & yes,there IS something special about this guitar.I immediately noticed things like the feel(pedal/knee lever action,it's a very comfortable guitar to play)& then the tone of course-very rich,well balanced all the way across.Highs,mids & low end just seem to blend so beautifully...Just wondering what "IT" is to some of the other Emmons pickers out there???

[Mike Archer]

for me its that awesome bell tone above the 12th fret most noticeable on PP guitars plus they have bite and sustan for ever tone monsters
not every emmons sounds that way but so far I have not heard any that sound bad NO not one!!
Mike

[Bob Poole]

Mike,i'm also usin a Cube 80xl & found that I like both the "jc clean"& the "black panel"...had to add a little on the highs for "black panel" over what I was using on the "jc" but with the tone control on the LeGrande,i found just what I was after & then hit the tone defeat switch when I go to "black panel"REALLY love this guitar...by far,the best I've ever owned.i could not be happier.

[Norbert Dengler]

emmons are the coolest looking guitars i m o

[Bud Angelotti]

Hi Bob, IMHOP, to answer your question about emmons, what IT is, it's called a gestalt, which suggests the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
It's about the way the different parts of the guitar work together to create THAT sound.
Cheers,
Bud

[Jack Strayhorn]

Science.

[chris ivey]

it's interesting. consider that emmons, fessenden, ritteberry, rains, zum, derby, justice,franklin, rus-ler, infinity, etc. and on and on...all have similar size and shape maple bodies...
you could take the nameplates off of them and people might never know the difference. don't they all actually have similar tone characteristics?

[Bob Hoffnar]

I'm back to Emmons guitars myself. One unique quality to my ear is in the midrange. It reminds me of a good viola in a string quartet. Alone the lower notes have a subtle quacky sort of tone and blended with the other notes in a chord or ensemble they hold there own while not conflicting with the other sounds and notes.

Another way to describe an Emmons sound is that it is like an old tractor that will always pull you out of the mud.

I had a gig not to long ago with a microtonal drone composer and I played a pile of steels (both lap and pedal) for her in person so she could decide what would work best for her extremely precise piece and she picked the 67 Emmons without having ever really heard a pedalsteel before.

[john buffington]

Just MHO, of all the guitars I have owned, and there have been a bunch, (more than I care to own up too,) when it comes to tone, an Emmons is first and foremost in my head as to what I am wanting to hear from anything I have played. So, I went back to what I was looking for, an Emmons. I have both p/p's and a LGIII. They all have their own sound and all are awesome. What it boils down to for me is, which one do I want to sit behind for the next 3-4 jobs. Also, it seems when comparisons are being made, in the back of everyones mind, Emmons is the benchmark everyone uses as far as seeking "that sound" and appearance for the most part. After all, look who designed it and made it what is! If a p/p is properly set up they need little, if any "tweeking" and play as good as an all pull. I have had less tuning issues with my p/p's than other all pull's I have owned in the past. Again, IMHO only.
JB

[Bill L. Wilson]

I played a Push-Pull S10, until I traded it off. I have been playing a '95 LeGrande II for the last 8yrs. I personally think the PP has more of that TONE, but I'm used to the LeGrande, and it has IT, but not as much IT, as the P-P. But to me a good Emmons is hard to beat.
A lesson I learned yrs ago while listening to a guy named Jerry Hall, record his Emmons PP, and then listening to my plywood MSA SEMI-CLASSIC, on records in the same studio. The IT sound was nowhere to be found on the MSA recordings. But Jerry's tone and mastery of his instrument has inspired my journey all these years, and still does.

[Jim Hollingsworth]

I remember standing next to JayDee Maness while he was warming up one day at Jim Palenscar' shop & having an epiphany:
JayDee's old (67?) push pull is exactly like a "57 Stratocaster! The sound is visceral - there is a punch & presence that is palpable. Like a strat, the sound can cut through the mix or be warmed up enough to do jazzier stuff. But the punch & response to your pick attack is immediate. Most modern steels are more akin to a Gibson 335 - warm & full & sweet. But the immediacy & kick of the push pull is all it's own. I can get very close on my Rittenberry's but the "IT" is there quite easily on the push pull. That day led to my purchase of an amazing sounding p/p D-10 Emmons. That said, have I sold my Ritts? Never! But like my strat's & 335's- I choose steels based upon my needs & wants (on any given day). But there is just something unique about the Emmons sound that makes me accept the mechanical limitations of that old guitar.

Jim

[Jerry Roller]

I know it makes little if any sense but it just feels like there is some Buddy Emmons heart built into any Emmons guitar. It is a ridiculous thing to say but in a nut shell that is what IT seems to be to me. Buddy was very instrumental in designing the early Emmons guitars and though the mechanics have changed a lot there has been a lot that has remained the same.
Jerry

[Mike Archer]

I understand what you are saying Jerry
about a little Emmons in the guitars
I think its more of a little emmons in a players heart and it comes through the emmons guitars
that way yeah we all love Buddy for sure!!

Jack so right!! science for sure
Ron made sure of that

[chris ivey]

jerry..just before i read your post i felt the same thing...that the emmons spirit somehow still runs through the line.
it may just be the melancholy wishful thinking of the human brain but seems real none the less.

[chris ivey]

which reminds us just what a powerful entity buddy has been here on earth....whether he likes it or not.

[Mark Hershey]

We have similar tastes in steels, for me that black and chrome just looks incredible. Its so basic.

Where did you score your steel at? If you see any other similar ones turn up shoot me a pm. Thanks!

[David Cubbedge]

Since I've owned nothing but Emmons since 2000 (and struggled with a Fender 400 before that), I am biased, but my '77 fatback bolt-on with wood necks and original BL 705's sounds absolutely beautiful when played through my '72 Twin reverb. Crystal clear tone and incredible sustain, like nothing I've ever experienced before.

[Ray Montee (RIP)]

Is there any possibility that "the EMMONS SPIRIT" that you refer to..........

is an extension of "the EMMONS Spirit"...of the player?

Those who play Emmons guitars.........are somewhat special musicians, are they not?

[Stuart Legg]

Three classes: Those that are special, those that are not special and then the Emmons folks who are "somewhat special". I think you nailed it Ray.

[GaryL]

I have a SKH D-10 LeGrande that I treasure. (I also own a GFI Ultra D-10 keyless and a GFI Ultra U-12, and an old Sho-Bud LDG.)The Emmons is simply the most well-built heavy-duty guitar that I own and has stood up well to years of abuse, playing and road trips. It is heavy, but has a lot of features. Don't get me wrong: I love my GFI's! Currently I'm playing through a Hilton pedal and a pair of Nashville 112's. The others sound great, but the Emmons is in a class of its own.

[Bob Poole]

Thanks folks,i've really enjoyed reading the different thoughts on what "IT" is about the Emmons...I know I grow more fond of mine each day.There are a lot of things that make this a special guitar to me,the feel,the tone,the people involved in my acquiring this particular one & the way it came about,the trip to pick it up was pretty special to me(great time spent with my sister)My Pastor as well as other Church members have all commented on the tone & the fact that I look more @ ease sitting @ this one & that everything seems to flow more,music-wise.One comment was that "the Emmons just seems to be more a part of you"& has brought a lot out of me. Thanks again.

[Eric Philippsen]

Truth be told, I kind of hesitated before responding to this thread. I'm a big believer that there are a whole lot of great brands of pedal steels and I've heard a whole lot of great players who don't play an Emmons.

But I did sit in front of this screen and ask myself a basic question. That was, "Well, why do you drag a push-pull to almost all of your gigs, year after year?" I mean, I've got other models that aren't Emmons guitars. And even though my push-pulls are adjusted extremely well by a guru they still don't, and never will, play silky smooth like some other models. The p/p Emmons pedals and knee levers always seem kind of clunky-like. A few of them are kinda' beat up and have been around the block a time or two. Still pretty cool lookin', though.

I guess I play a push-pull because sitting down to one is kinda like putting on an old pair of shoes. It just fits perfectly. To continue the analogy, the leather's scuffed and the right heel is worn but I don't care. It doesn't get any better than this no matter how updated, stylish or shiny a new pair might be. And, well, if the shoes are black, all the better.

Yeah, there are new pickups and new technology and better mechanical designs, but the D10 push-pull fits me best. And that includes its hard-to-beat tone. Last, I have to say I love those original single-coils. Dang-it if those don't always cut-thru at any volume and in any environment.

So, put it all in terms of the "Emmons mystique" or whatever. Whatever best describes it for a player. As for me, I'll put that "old pair-of-shoes" on once again this coming Saturday night and, for at least a few times during the gig, I'll be walking on air with a little grin on my face.

[Tab Tabscott]

Yeah, there's just nothing like the feel of the pedals and knees, and the sound...well, to my ears there is no tone like that. It's just stunningly beautiful. Classic.

I've had this '75 pp for almost 2 years now, and (knock on wood) it's never broken a string. I tweaked a couple of changes when I first got it, but other than that, it has required zero adjustment.

Well, other than all those springs Larry Behm and I pulled out, but losing those only made it easier to play.

I'm pretty well sold on playing PP's for life-I don't care if they ARE heavy.
Tab

[Henry Matthews]

Tab, I assume you are talking about the pedal return springs. I have two P/P's and I did take the springs off E9th pedals on both my steels and if set up right with right amount of slack will work just fine and make the pedals much easier in my book. C6th doesn't really bother me.
Neither one of my P/P's are clunky or loose feeling and play just as good as most all pulls with just a little more pedal pressure but still smooth as silk.
I do miss the split capabilities that an all pull has but that's all I miss. I don't miss the constant tuning and tweaking that almost every all pull I have owned needs.
Also to me, the tone of a P/P just sorta growls at you which I like. I've owned several Legrands and none had the growl that my P/P's do even though they were great sounding guitars.
There are some beautiful guitars out there but I don't think any look as good as a black Emmons D-10 or the glossy Rosewood too. I have never cared for fancy finishes and art and stuff on front of guitars. Just like them plain and one color please.

[Tab Tabscott]

I'm with you....I get a lot of guys saying that they don't like it that there's no VKL to drop the B's 1/2...I say "why?" as most don't know that A&B and a VKL set that way won't do a darn thing. I've gotten to be a decent 1/2 pedaler, especially going down for some reason. They can have their splits and that other stuff. Black or Rosewood PP's are the ultimate guitar at my house.