Steel Guitar Buyer's Guide

Guideline #10

Check Tone and Sustain.

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"Compare several several steel guitars. Play each string open, and listen for sustain. Feel for vibration."

Good tone means different things to different people. Everyone's ears are uniquely shaped and have a unique frequency response. Therefore, each person hears the same sounds slightly differently. Listen to the tone and see if it pleases you.

Check for clarity, balance, separation, and sustain across the strings, as well as above and below the 12th fret.

Sustain on a steel guitar is affected by many factors, some of which are:

• Materials used in construction of the steel guitar.
• Methods used to mount different components to the cabinet.
• Grain and density of the wood used in the cabinet.
• Type of strings used.

Sustain can be adversely affected by pickup magnets not being centered under the strings or mounting the pickups too close to the strings.

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