Console vs. Pedal Steels....tonal differences?

Joe Alterio · Post by **Joe Alterio** » 6 Sep 2005 9:33 am

A friend of mine lent me his seldom used ToneMaster (made by English Electronics) console steel....I have never played a console steel before, but when I played this, I was floored by the sound.

The console steel is much brighter, much "airier," and much richer than the pedal steel, to my ears. That's not to say my pedal steel has a bad tone (Zum with TT pickups), but in direct comparison, the pedal steel has much more mid-range with a thinner and less breathtaking aural characteristic than the console steel.

What is the largest contributor to this difference? The pedal steel's metal rollers and nuts? The difference in the cabinet thickness? I can't imagine that the pickups are the reason....the difference is too much for the pickups to account for it.

Thoughts?!?

Joe

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 6 Sep 2005 10:14 am

Wider string separation increases the "airiness" of the tone.

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 6 Sep 2005 3:37 pm

My guess is the pickups. Modern pedal steel pickups have more windings and are darker. They emphsize the fundamentals more, and the overtones less. They sound a little better on the low strings of C6 and unis, but don't have the rich sizzle of the old pickups on the high strings.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 6 Sep 2005 4:11 pm

Everything about the tonemaster that's different contributes to the different sound. The string spacing (as Bobby said), the pickup (as David said), the body (as you surmised), as well as the bridge and nut design, material, mass, and mounting technique. Even the tuning keys make a difference! On the T/M, they're light and cheap. On a pedal steel, they're much more massive, and they mount to big aluminum blocks. All the metal in a pedal steel enhances some harmonics, and cancels out others.

In short, everything works together to give a certain sound. Changing just one element (like a pickup) might produce a small difference, but every piece of the puzzle is essential to get a certain sound or timbre. That's why you can't just change a pickup, and make an Emmons sound like a Sho~Bud, or vice-versa.

Joe Alterio · Post by **Joe Alterio** » 6 Sep 2005 5:19 pm

Very interesting, guys.

Since the tone of this ToneMaster (and, I shall assume, other console steels) has a unique brightness and fullness to it, have there been pedal steels in the past that try to match that sound....?

Joe

Ian Finlay · Post by **Ian Finlay** » 7 Sep 2005 2:10 pm

Well, I A/B'd the sound of my Fender 1000 (late model) with my new Deluxe-8 (an S8 Stringmaster basically) and I really can't hear much of a difference.

Ian

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 7 Sep 2005 7:15 pm

I like the tone of my Oahu Diana lapsteel better than my pedal steel, wish it had the same tone. Exactly as Joe said, the lap sounds brighter, airier, sweeter; the psg sounds thinner and harder.

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 8 Sep 2005 7:08 am

I agree with all the above.. throw a big changer w/ springs/fingers/rods etc,into a console steel and you really alter its tone..
Think of the old Fenders .. the consoles and pedal guitar had very different sounds..

I think its the changer and related hardware that alters the tone the most, all other things being equal, .... to my ears,Console steels have a much nicer sound..

I would venture to say, if a builder could design a pedal guitar with the sound of a great console guitar, he'd sell every one he could build, and at any price he wanted to sell them at! bob