Need a special pick up built

J D Sauser · Post by **J D Sauser** » 16 Jun 2006 9:37 am

I am soon to get a new non-pedal steel with 12 strings. I am looking for a pick up builder who can build a pick up with either 4 separate coils and outputs for strings 1 thru 3, 4 thru 6, 7 thru 9 and 10 thru 12 or simply 12 individual coils and outputs for each string. The pu has to be of stadard size.
The whole thing should also be made well and sound good.
The idea is to have active tone controls for each above mentioned string groups in the guitar and then bundle the so pre-equalized signal into one output to a regular guitar amp. I have tried to discuss these on here on several ocasions and now I've decided to just do it instead.

So far I have tried to contact Jerry Wallace at jerrywallacemusic@ hotmail.com but to no avail... maybe somebody on here knows how to contact him in a more effective manner or may suggest somebody else.

Thanks in advance for your help! ... J-D.
[This message was edited by J D Sauser on 16 June 2006 at 10:38 AM.]

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 16 Jun 2006 10:21 am

Jerry does not return my phone calls either. I do not know why. I've heard several other people also who can't contact him either.[This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 16 June 2006 at 11:22 AM.]

basilh · Post by **basilh** » 16 Jun 2006 10:34 am

Any configuration any impedance. Whatever you need.

Bennett Guitars
85 Derwent Road
Babington, Wirral CH63 2LD,
United Kingdom
Fax +44 (0) 151 609 0464
Voice +44 (0) 151 608 4562..
E-Mail :- bennettsteels@btinternet.com

J D Sauser · Post by **J D Sauser** » 17 Jun 2006 10:54 am

You know Basilh, I've secretly come to like you

.
Is that somebody you know?
What Impedance do you recomend for a warm sound (since you brought it up)?

Thanks! I will contact them.
... J-D.

basilh · Post by **basilh** » 17 Jun 2006 11:55 am

The impedance is not important if as you say you plan to use 'Active' electronics. A realistic figure for each group of strings would be about 3.75kohms it may be harder to get more out of a pick-up the size of just three strings, but, I'm NO expert, Ron is. Ask him I know he can do it and I know that he will take pride in his work. He is the premier steel guitar builder in the UK and has been for 25 + Years.

I don't subscribe to the theories bandied about regarding better tone + Higher impedances of 15 - 20k, just measure the pick-ups on pre-war lap steels, some of them are hardly 3k, YET they sound 'Warm' .. the number of Windings - wire gauge - type of magnets and positioning of the pick-up are all variables that have more or less affect on the tone.

Have you hard of 'John Birch' Electric Guitars ?
well I pushed John into pick-up manufacturing that eventually led to him setting up his guitar company.
When he was a service technician for Ampex VTR's he and I used to experiment with pick-ups and we modified the Fender 1000 that I recorded at Abbey Road Studios with. we also put a Pick-up on my Hofner Golden. I've been messing with pick-ups a long time.

The ones I made for this guitar were 'Liberated from Public Telephone boxes in the early 50's and I used the coil and magnet assembly that drove the 'phone's diaphragm. Each pair of strings had a 'phone magnet assembly and they were wired to balance pots and then through a low to high mike transformer in the guitar.
So I Do know what you're trying to do.

[This message was edited by basilh on 17 June 2006 at 12:58 PM.]

J D Sauser · Post by **J D Sauser** » 17 Jun 2006 1:07 pm

Thank you Basilh for your post, I apreciate your time.
The thing I am trying to achieve is a many year long idea:
I feel that it is not possible to effectively EQ a guitar with more than 6 strings as a whole so that all sound good. Strings on a 10 or 12 string steel are way too diferent in diameter and even more so in cross section and thus thimbre. Eg: If one cuts the high frequencies to cut the shrillness of over strung and/or too thin top string, it also cuts all or most livelyness off the bottom strings at the same time, creating a muddy sound... and so forth.
My idea is to pre-equalize individual strings or string groups with idividual tone controls for each group before the signal is bundled to one output. Passive or active is not really the issue here.
I have long discussed this here and never been able to have some of my questions answered... like what will happen if those pre-eq'ed signals are bundled together? Will the EQ'ing of a particular string or string group also change the thimbre of other strings or string groups?... and so forth. So, I've now come to the point where I am ready to jump in the cold water of non-cientific investigation... just do it and see what happens.

About impedance: I don't understand electronics. I visited Mr. Lawrence (pu builder) years ago and he took much of his time to try to explain to me why he had not only advocated low impedance input amps so many years ago but most of all, that the resitance measured between the two lead wires of a pu has nothing to say (which colaborates what you mentioned about older pu's)... he then went on to explain how impedance on pu's really had to be measured and why... but by then he had me long lost. Really not my field.

Btw... I hate to needle you with that but, how is that "Carefree" rhythm track coming along?

Thanks... J-D.