Alan Jackson Telecaster Twang

[Carl C]

I am looking to get information on changing my tele pickups and strings to acheive that Alan Jackson country twang. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Carl C

[CountryShawn]

Carl;

You'll find that most of that sound is achieved by a strong hybrid picking attack coupled with a "snappy" compressor, such as a Boss CS-3 and perhaps a single slap analog delay.

Don't get too carried away with effects here, since a compressor and delay is about all you need in that department.

Right hand picking finesse and attack is super-important and responsible for much of that sound.

Cheers,

Shawn

[shot8un]

Hi,

In addition to what countryshawn said about right hand tecnique, to get that sound (which is really a trademark Brent Mason sound) Brent uses 2 parts of the finger to get those sounds, firstly, for the fast picking he uses the finger nails with a thumb pick. If you have ever studied Brent Mason's tecnique closely you may have noticed him using false finger nails (just like your wife uses).
The second part of the finger is the “meat” of the index finger to really get that TWANG. It takes practice but once you can do it you're away... well sort off

Best of luck

Shot8

[benbo]

Originally Posted by Carl C

I am looking to get information on changing my tele pickups and strings to acheive that Alan Jackson country twang. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Carl C

Well, it's very easy to do, if you are gahndi. Just transform yourself into Brent and you have it.

[bradpdx]

I seem to recall an interview with Brent Mason from several years ago where he described his Tele setup - he has a Strat middle pickup with a passive "blender" pot that he uses to create a bridge/middle blend of about 70/30.

Listening to him, that sounds about right. Oh, and the other posts are correct - you must use an aggressive pick and fingers technique (all the good pops and twangs are done with fingers, not the pick) and a compressor with a loose attack like the Boss CS-3, followed by some slap-back echo. I used that setup when I used to play commericial country gigs, and it works as advertised.

[Jerrod]

do you guys move a little bit more towards the bridge saddles with your pick/fingers to get more of that tight sound?

[ToneFan]

Although it's been discussed ad infinitum on the forum before... Last I heard Brent's bridge pickup is a Seymour Duncan Vintage Tele Stack (STK-3TB), which gives you a classic Tele sound without the hum... His middle pickup is a Seymour Duncan Hot Strat Stack (STK-S2)... He actually has a separate volume control for the middle pickup, so that he can bleed the middle pickup into the mix when either the Bridge or Neck pickup is selected... For strings, he uses 9.5's with a slightly heavier low A and E strings (34 & 44)...

For the Country Honkin' Twang stuff, probably a Compressor, Equalizer, Delay... through a '67 Deluxe Reverb...

All that having been said, Brent's sound is unique to the way he picks with a thumbpick and fingers... I've never really seen anyone else do the thumbpick and fingers thing with the facility he has... He's an amazing player, and I believe his hands create most of that twangy popin' tone...

Cheers,
JM

[Darrell]

Love talkin the Brent stuff.

I have spent the better part of the last year doing some levels of emulation. The more I practice some of his licks, (Point A) the more I realize that it is about his incredible attack (both hands) / timing combination and his vast knowledge of the classic players who formed this industry. All combined into one person.

(Point B) Although the tone is a 10, it is obtainable. Getting your hands to do the same, is a whole nother story.

Back to point A, and why Brent is bad to the bone.

[Geo]

FWIW, Brent and company, "The Players", are scheduled to play at 3rd and
Lindsley in Nashville tonight at 9:30 pm.

Not a big deal I guess but remember reading his middle pickup was
placed closer to the bridge than say a Nashville Tele to tame
the bridge one a bit. He did use a 5/2 Tele bridge and an
older "red" colored higher output middle pickup. Think the red
one was just what was around at the time but turned out
to work well with the bridge one.

[raz]

Been coaching a student on some Alan Jackson tunes. Seems several of them are detuned, which in my experience helps the twang factor as well.

Raz

[bradpdx]

Originally Posted by Jerrod

do you guys move a little bit more towards the bridge saddles with your pick/fingers to get more of that tight sound?

Absolutely. One of the big problems I have with Strats is that due to the upper bout "horn" being over the 12th fret (approximately) the body is effectively moved to the right compared with a Tele with its shorter upper bout.

This means that on Strats my "natural" right hand position falls near the neck PU, while on a Tele it falls just in front of the bridge plate. Despite popular consensus to the contrary, this makes me much more comfortable with the Tele body style. Strats are just harder to play and enjoy for me.

Keeping the pick nearer the bridge creates and much tighter and more focused sound. BTW, the same applies on acoustic guitar - if you want big flatpicking power, you must pick between the soundhole and the bridge.

[Darrell]

brad...that is the perfect analysis of what happened to me with a strat, and why it only played a temporary role in my arsenal. I have never looked back.

But it doesn't negate the fact that a third pu in a tele can have some utility.

[bradpdx]

Originally Posted by Darrell

brad...that is the perfect analysis of what happened to me with a strat, and why it only played a temporary role in my arsenal. I have never looked back.

But it doesn't negate the fact that a third pu in a tele can have some utility.

When it comes to middle pickup tones I am conflicted.

I like the bridge/middle combo sometimes, though I personally feel that it is overused and therefore can sound a bit "generic" if you are not careful. Brent Mason's partial solution via blender pot is not a bad idea.

However, this gets back to hand position - with my right hand in its most natural position on the Tele (just in front of the bridge plate) I get great tone - but I am perfectly positioned to hit a middle pickup from time to time and feel that it gets in the way of the whole "pick and fingers" thing. That just won't do, my whole style has been based upon that method for 26 years.

For several years I used 2 metal fingerpicks in addition to my flatpick on Tele. It gave me a great "steel" tone and double stops like you wouldn't believe, but it completely eliminated any use of a middle PU - click, click, click!

Perhaps a hidden middle PU is the solution, but I just use the classic 2-PU Tele setup. It is pretty much a part of my DNA by now.

[Mike Fleming]

Just screw that middle pickup right down to the level of the pickguard and then it will be out of the way for picking. I think the combo position still sounds mostly the same that way, but then again I don't like the combo sound too much so I may be a bad judge.

Mike

[GraemeT]

Originally Posted by CountryShawn

You'll find that most of that sound is achieved by a strong hybrid picking attack coupled with a "snappy" compressor, such as a Boss CS-3 and perhaps a single slap analog delay.

Hi All,

Compressors are often mentioned in getting that twang sound. Does anyone have some generic settings advice for a newbie/wannabe?

(I DO have a CS-3, must count for something... talent through association perhaps?)

Cheers,
Graeme.