I play my 72ish proII through a Nash 400.A lot of folks suggested I try useing the 3 chord hook up a lot of others use.I gave it a try.Not bad....but I find to my ear that I much prefer the sound of my steel when hooked up:steel> steeldriver II>Sho~Bud volume pedal> Nash 400.I know its a "season
to taste"type of thing,but dose anyone else prefer it this way?It just seems to sound more"Sho~Buddy" this way.
edited to say: oops,I think this should have been put in electronics!
<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Larry Robbins on 15 February 2004 at 05:02 AM.]</p></FONT>
If I'm not mistaken (big if), both of you are already using impedance matching devices (Steel Driver, Hilton pedal) that make the 3 cord rig redundant and unnecessary.
You are NOT mistaken Jon!
My question was more to see how many others found this hook-up more pleasing to the ear!
I found quite a lot of difference between the two hook-ups inspite of the fact that they are both impedence matching devices.
Thanks.
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Sho-Bud ProII
"there's been an awful murder, down on music row!"
The soul purpose for the three cord set up is to allow the full signal from the PU to reach the amp without the mismatch of the voulume pedal, or other devices.
This insures that NO attenuation, or distortion, or roll of certain frequencies, is introduced from the PU to the amp.
The anamoly here; and why some prefer it one way versus another was explained a while back when a question was asked,
"Why do the old 8" inch tube amps sound better than the new powerful transistor amps?"
The answer is quite simple. IF one takes the raw sound from a steel guitar and amplifies it flat, IE, NO change (save level) to the sound, MOST will not like it.
Without us realizing it, our ears become accustomed to hearing sound amplification fraught with built in problems. We get used to it. When those problems are remedied with ever higher fidelity equipment, like matching devices, many will say "I like the old better". What is happening is, the new equipment uncovers ALL the sounds the guitar is putting out. The older equipment masked it more or less.
This is why some do not like to use 3 cables. Putting a NON matching type volume pedal between the PU and the amp causes highs (and some mids) to roll off; meaning they are not heard in the speaker or are greatly attenuated. This is particularly true when it comes to overtones.
When you use a 3 cord setup on the other hand, you will hear these highs, certain mids and a slew of overtones that the guitar is actually putting out, and as is witnessed here, some do not care for them. And this is fine. To each his own.
However, IF you want to amplify the total sound coming off the guitar's PU, you MUST use either a 3 cord setup; OR a matching device of some kind between the PU and the amp.
In the 1980's when I first bought a Sesssion 500 I used the recommended three-cord hook-up for awhile.....but eventually reverted back to two cords because I was unable to "hear" enough difference at bandstand volume to bother with hooking up the extra cord.
However, those three cords sure did look cool and because of that I think they may have been perceived by some players as being more of an improvement than they actually were!
