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Topic: 'FESS UP!!, or, my new Fessenden guitar |
Jeff Lampert
From:
queens, new york city
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Posted 22 Feb 2003 10:09 pm |
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| Beautiful. Use it well Herb, you deserve it. |
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Duane Dunard
From:
Troy, MO. U.S.A.
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Posted 23 Feb 2003 5:13 am
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| Outstanding! If it sounds half as good as it looks, it's a keeper! |
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Tommy Detamore
From:
Floresville, Texas
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Posted 23 Feb 2003 6:13 am
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| Just too nice, H'ster! Glad to see the Jerry Wallace pickups in there too! Single coils are where it's at! |
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Chuck McGill
From:
An hour from Memphis and 2 from Nashville, R.I.P.
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Posted 23 Feb 2003 9:12 am
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Mr. Steiner your taste is only exceeded by
your style.
I want your Fessy. |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Spicewood TX 78669
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Posted 23 Feb 2003 9:25 am
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Thanks everyone for the nice responses. What y'all are saying, complimentary to me though they may be, are really testimonials to the craftsmanship of Mark Giles and Jerry Fessenden.
Barring any unforeseen disasters... it still has to be shipped to me  ..., I'll be playing this horn at the Texas Jamboree in a couple of weeks.
Jerry will have his usual mini-booth there and I understand will have at least one new lacquer guitar among others, and I urge any interested forumites to check out what he's producing lately. I believe his star is rising in the galaxy of the custom steel builders.
I'm ashamed that I haven't posted a link to Jerry's website until now, but here 'tis... Fessenden Guitar Co.
Jerry has built custom steels for me since 1992. This one is my fourth. I think that speaks to his ongoing care for the instrument and his desire to get things right.
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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association
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Jay Ganz
From:
Out Behind The Barn
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Posted 23 Feb 2003 2:39 pm
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Those inlays are about the nicest I've
seen on any steel. They really make it
look sharp!!! What are the specs on those
pickups? |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Spicewood TX 78669
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Posted 23 Feb 2003 4:43 pm
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Jay
You ask a good question. A serious question. One asked by a serious player and lover of the steel guitar. A question requiring a serious answer.
Unfortunately, I don't have one for you.
I knew I wanted a single coil, Sho~Bud type sound. I have a pair of 16.5k Emmons single-coils that I was considering putting in the guitar, then I decided to hang on to them for an Emmons guitar. So I asked around, "who makes the good single coil pickup?"
The majority of guys whose opinion I respect said "Jerry Wallace, the True Tone pickup." Fessenden said that if the Wallaces don't work, we could try a Jim Pittman pickup, perhaps some other one.
I don't know what the impedance of these pickups are, and besides, according to Bill Lawrence, Keith Hilton, and others, ohmage resistance means relatively little when evaluating sound. Better to listen to the pickup and see if you like the sound.
So that's what I'm a-gonna do. It would be the same if I ordered BL 910s, 710s, XR-16s, or any other pickup. Who can describe in quantifiable terms just what a pickup "sounds" like, anyway? You try it... if you like it you keep it and if you hear something else in your head, you keep searching.
That is what I'm fixin' to do.
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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association
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Dave Van Allen
From:
Doylestown, PA , US , Earth
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Posted 23 Feb 2003 6:25 pm
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| I see beauty in all steel guitars that are built well, sound good, and are played proficiently by folks who appreciate what they have. |
That beautiful guitar will be matched to an owner with an equally beautiful soul...
Mr Steiner, I salute you! |
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John Macy
From:
Rockport TX/Denver CO
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Posted 24 Feb 2003 10:04 am
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Hey Herb,
Did you have to pay Jerry $50 for the quote on the axe... |
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Drew Howard
From:
48854
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Al Marcus
From:
Cedar Springs,MI USA (deceased)
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Posted 24 Feb 2003 12:18 pm
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Herb- That is a beautiful guitar.
What is the Copedent? That 5th string drop from G to F, is a keeper, nice Fmaj7 and 7th to P6.
The 6th string drop from E to D is a good one to complete the full F6. And gives the D7 with Pedal 5. I use the same thing to go
from E to A on my E6 tuning.
I don't know how you can get a better tone than you got playing "On the Alamo" at St. Louis. I heard your set on the radio. Great.
....al |
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John Borchard
From:
Athens, OH 45701
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Posted 24 Feb 2003 1:18 pm
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Yowzer, Herb! That is one BEAUTIFUL instrument. Very nice. I'm green with envy. Let us know how it sounds and plays (I'm sure it will be great). I'm especially interested in your evaluation of those True Tone pickups.
By the way, I've really enjoyed those CDs of yours. They've also moved to the top of my wife's playlist after listening to them on our way back from Cleveland. Good job and thanks!
John Borchard |
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 24 Feb 2003 2:11 pm
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Une tres joli Fesse, n'est pas Crowbear!  |
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 24 Feb 2003 2:38 pm
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side topic; Herb I just checked your collection... incredible.
The Bigsbys are supurb. But my absolute FAV is the Sho-Bud Fingertip in Purple heart wood.
I had Vinnie Fodera in NYC build me a 28fret six string bass and when I saw the purple heart I fell in love. Now I Sooooo want this steel to go with my bass. I would love to hear it on a track.
Man, you got great taste in instruments. |
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Paul Warnik
From:
Illinois,USA
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Posted 25 Feb 2003 10:38 am
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The inlay from my first Sho-Bud!-Enjoy the new Horn Herb BTW-Reece has put me in line for the MSA Millenium  |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Spicewood TX 78669
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Posted 2 Mar 2003 8:52 am
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Well, I played my new horn with Johnny Bush and Cornell Hurd this weekend, and I must say it performed flawlessly, with great intonation, super tone, and (tested on a digital tuner) zero to negligible cabinet drop. Pedal action is smooth and light, with a hint of "snap" on the return, so it's a pretty "quick" guitar.
Friday I played the guitar through a Hilton volume pedal into a Webb GP amp with no effects anywhere in the system except for amp reverb. Saturday night I played through an Evans SE200 with the same setup and results, except that the Evans sounded like an Evans, and the Webb like a Webb, of course.
This was also my maiden voyage with the Hilton pedal, and I've not compared the tone yet with a standard pot pedal, like a Goodrich or an Emmons pedal. I've also not yet compared the Hilton pedal with the pot pedal on any Emmons guitars either.
The sound of the guitar with Wallace True-Tones to me is excellent, on both amps. Highs that sing but don't slice cheese, and nothing lost in the bass response at all that I could tell. Good string separation on wide-grip chords, and good balance on the chord solos I took on C6, which had Howard Kalish yelling "yeah!!!" at me, which I assumed was a compliment.
Does it sound like an Emmons? Does it sound like a Sho~Bud? Hell, I don't know... I guess it sounds like a wood neck Fessy with single coil pickups, which right now is a sound I'm quickly becoming quite fond of.
There's still a couple of tweeks I want Jerry to do, and they'll probably take place in Dallas this week. I'll be playing the guitar on my show Friday evening.
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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association
[This message was edited by Herb Steiner on 02 March 2003 at 08:55 AM.] |
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Chris Caruso
From:
Merrimack, NH USA
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Posted 2 Mar 2003 9:13 am
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| Hi Herb. Congrats on the new guitar. I wish I was going to Dallas to hear it. I should have taken a ride to Jerry's house to see it while it was still in New England. It will be hard to beat the sound you had in St Louis in "02". If this one sounds as good as it looks, Jerry better get out the order pad in Dallas. I have a feeling he will be pretty busy. |
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Howard Kalish
From:
Austin, Tx USA
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Posted 3 Mar 2003 9:32 am
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I had the honor of standing next to this lovely steel on Saturday when I played fiddle with the Cornell Hurd Band at the Broken Spoke. Herb sounded terrific and man is that a nice axe. The two-tone wood looks mighty pretty and the inlays are topnotch. Had a blast as always.
HK
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