Oh Joy, the Emmons Sounds Great...

[Tom Quinn]

I was so disgusted with my most recent Emmons D10 purchase, that it's sat in the case for the last three months. Fortunately, before I packed it, I contacted a great guy in South Carolina who knows Emmons guitars down pat. I explained the problem with the guitar and he gave me some tips. But he said it might take a while for the guitar to settle in -- which it certainly did.

Got it out this morning, did some tuning and it sounds pretty darn good. Sustain, tone and presence are night and day better from three months ago.

I've had nothing but push pulls since 1977 but this has to be the weirdest "fix" I have ever done. Big thanks Mike B.

[Graham Bland]

Tom, would you care to share your tips with the rest of us?....Sounds quite interesting to me!!

[Mike Scaggs]

Let me guess, necks were to tight?

[Tom Quinn]

Give Mike a cigar...

Still needs work but I think I'm on the right path.

[Paul Sutherland]

This thread caused me to check the neck screws on my PP. I loosened them until they are practically falling out, and the improvement in tone is dramatic.

[Graham Bland]

Well guy's I guess Tom is not going to tell us???

[Tom Quinn]

I think Master Mike nailed it. I loosened the screws holding the neck to the body and re-tightened them to a softer torque. Didn't make much difference at the time but after sitting for a few months it sounds way better. Heck, a table saw sounds better than this Emmons sounded.

Next is to dump the crap pickup in it and re-install (I hope it's the stock one) the original pickup.

What I have learned from this mess is that sparkly, shiny "restored"guitars can be total dogs if whoever did the work doesn't know what they are doing. I also learned that some folks will say anything on the phone to move a lousy guitar.

It's all good though, I think it will be a decent guitar in the end.

[Edward Rhea]

Way to go Tom!
Now, can we see it!?

[Tom Quinn]

Sorry Edward, if I did, it could cause a big stink.

[Tommy Detamore]

Heck, a table saw sounds better than this Emmons sounded.

I have heard this guitar on recordings and I thought it sounded quite good.

What I have learned from this mess is that sparkly, shiny "restored" guitars can be total dogs if whoever did the work doesn't know what they are doing.

But this guitar does not fall into that category. Other than being cleaned up some, it was not a "sparkly, shiny "restored" guitar. For example, parts were not removed for polishing, as is typical with a restoration.

I also learned that some folks will say anything on the phone to move a lousy guitar.

You and I talked on the phone about this guitar Tom. Do you feel like I misrepresented what I knew about the guitar in some way?

If not, maybe you are referring to the seller. If so, you seem to have taken the opportunity here to cast aspersions on the two previous owners of this guitar. To suggest that this instrument was somehow substandard and was sold to you under false pretenses is a bit over the top.

Have you stopped to consider that maybe you just purchased something that wasn't right for you? I sometimes buy things that for whatever reason don't turn out to be a good fit for me. That doesn't necessarily make the item "a dog". The only person I ever blame when I do that is myself.

Got it out this morning, did some tuning and it sounds pretty darn good. Sustain, tone and presence are night and day better from three months ago.

So by your own admission the guitar has now been transformed into something acceptable? If that is true it seems to me that apologies are in order.

It's all good though, I think it will be a decent guitar in the end.

In my opinion from everything I could tell it was a decent guitar in the beginning.

[Tom Quinn]

I wasn't talking about this guitar when I mentioned shiny ones. I do indeed have hard feelings about the purchase of this guitar Tommy ad this has absolutely nothing to do with you. It had absolutely no sustain when I got it. It sounded flat and weak and unlike any Emmons I've ever owned, and I've owned a number. Other steel players sat at it and agreed it was a dog when it first showed up.

I mentioned no names when I posted this and I intend to leave it that way. This thread was about how much better it sounded after I got some advice from someone who knows Emmons. It is still the worst Emmons I've owned but it is playable.

[Tommy Detamore]

I wasn't talking about this guitar when I mentioned shiny ones.

Then why even bring it up in this context?

[Rich Upright]

Hey Tom; Dickey here.
I have found that strings make a very big difference with steel. I have put on new strings that were just BAD from the factory, and with the next set, the steel was back to it's own sustaining self. also, it seems to me that time, more than actual playing, makes new strings go dead. Keeping the guitar in it's case also seems to make strings last longer. I have also heard about the neck screw trick that you did; never tried it myself.
Had the same problem when I bought my Mullen D-10 HWP a couple years ago. It sounded weak & thin, with very little sustain. I bought it only because I will only buy local after playing an instrument, and there ain't too many steels for sale here in Florida. After owning it for about a year, I found that the only problem with it was that it was much more sensitive to EQ SETTINGS than my Emmons. My LeGrande D-10 would sound good plugged into a transistor radio, but the Mullen just had to be EQed properly; now it is my "go-to" steel for gigs, and strings seem to last longer than they do on the Emmons.
So, maybe your PP just hasta find it's best EQ. FWIW, I have never heard or played a bad sounding PP.