How to get the Tom Morrell tone out of my D10?

Jeff Harbour · Post by **Jeff Harbour** » 19 Oct 2017 6:14 am

Mitch Drumm wrote: ...What brand guitar is that?

A "G.E.S." maybe?

Mickey Adams · Post by **Mickey Adams** » 19 Oct 2017 6:40 am

When i first read this...It sounded like Tom Morells tone was stuck, inside this guitar, and he wanted to get it out..
Man this concussion has me all turned around...

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 19 Oct 2017 6:41 am

Mickey Adams wrote:When i first read this...It sounded like Tom Morells tone was stuck, inside this guitar, and he wanted to get it out..
Man this concussion has me all turned around...

Mickey, that was my first reaction too; that's why I asked instead how to get Tom's tone into my guitar!

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 19 Oct 2017 7:51 am

Nothing wrong with wanting to emulate your heroes. Some good tips here that will hopefully help you toward your goal.

I think your idea concerning the alternate pickup and placement may help. Well, maybe that and his tuning. Good luck and let us know how that works out.

I too am a huge Tom Morrell fan. His single note stuff ala I Can't Give You Anything but Love just blows me away. Sitting there in front of him at the ISGC midnight performance with that big band several years ago was one of the most thrilling musical experiences of my life.

Ken Campbell · Post by **Ken Campbell** » 19 Oct 2017 8:14 am

I play Tom's E13 on an Alkire E-harp. Not very well, but I enjoy myself. I gave up the pedals, and moved this way specifically after listening to Doug Beaumier, Mike Neer, and Tom Morrell. There's a real magic to it and I feel honored to be part of it, however minuscule that part may be.

Glenn Demichele · Post by **Glenn Demichele** » 11 Mar 2018 6:12 pm

I found the tone! I ordered a NC18 single coil 10 string pickup from Sentell, and hot-glued it with a jack onto a 10-string C6 "practice board" I made using oak from Home Depot and tuners from Stew-Mac. I put the tuners on the right so I could play it in my car on my lap stuck in Chicago traffic. It sounds great - very acoustic-ish. Today I added some overdrive and it has promise with the Sacred-Steel (Randolph) sound too. I'm not psychologically prepared to change my tuning from C6 yet, but I used velcro and a camera tripod, put it on a stand, and started working on that genre for a Dec 15th 2018(far future!!) gig with a blues player here in Chicago.
Before I decided to electrify the practice board, I did try the pickup near the base of the neck on my Franklin C6. It was closer to the sound, but it kind of interfered with my picking. I even bought a 3 position switch to put in the Franklin, but I decided to leave the Franklin stock because it didn't sound as cool as the simple piece of wood.
Thanks for all your advice, the forum is unique and awesome.
Glenn

Stefan Robertson · Post by **Stefan Robertson** » 13 Mar 2018 2:22 am

Jeff Harbour wrote:
Jussi Huhtakangas wrote:It's hard to see from that pic I posted but yes, he's using three finger picks.
Not much surprise there if you've heard the "Sextet Sessions" album. Tom uses a lot of the same wide-voiced chords as Maurice. Those specific chords aren't possible with two fingers and a thumb.

Wide voiced Chords aren't what he would've use them on E13 for.

Wide voiced aka Spread Voicings are definitely there and can be achieved easily with a thumb and 2 fingerpicks.

E13 is known for its close voicings. Which is what he used them for but can still be achieved with a thumb and 2 fingerpicks. Rosetta is a perfect example or I can't Give you Anything but Love.

E13 has a huge number of complex harmonies and close voicings with minimal string skipping. The patterns repeat one set down and 3/4 frets up and either flattens or sharpens one or more notes that are voiced.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 13 Mar 2018 9:06 am

Glenn Demichele wrote:.. I put the tuners on the right so I could play it in my car on my lap stuck in Chicago traffic. ..

Good. That will keep you from endangering other drivers by texting.

Glenn Demichele · Post by **Glenn Demichele** » 13 Mar 2018 9:42 am

...Why don't steel players keep their picks in their pocket? Because if they are in an accident, the paramedics would think they are banjo players.

Dean Parks · Post by **Dean Parks** » 13 Mar 2018 3:42 pm

When I heard Tom in Dallas in his last year, he was playing his 10-string through a Walter Woods bass amp, into 2 2x10 cabinets. Not sure what brand speakers were in there.

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 13 Mar 2018 4:34 pm

I just added a Tech 21 Q\Strip to my pedalboard. My guitar has a modern, full-bodied Telonics tone. The Q\Strip can totally change the character of the instrument to sound more like a vintage Sho-Bud or Fender, or even a dobro if you use a dead tone bar. It's nice to have an alternate tone available with the push of a button.

I highly recommend this effect box. www.tech21nyc.com/products/effects/qstrip.html

Dean Parks · Post by **Dean Parks** » 19 Mar 2018 5:52 am

I also recall Tom was using a smaller diameter bar, and darker, maybe made of brass? Does anyone know about this?