Dobro Pick-up

[Ken Metcalf]

I have searched this and know it is a difficult thing.
Has any one tried the Lace reso pickup?
I see Stew Mac has 3 around the same price $109.
Lace, Fishman and the Feather.
The guitar tech tells me I need a Piezo and humbucker.
Do any of these cheaper ones work or do I need a separate pre-amp.
I would like to plug into my 112 to adjust speaker placement.
Thank You
Ken Metcalf

[Steve Ahola]

Ken:

I have looked into this myself but haven't taken the plunge yet. The Lace pickup is very thin and fits between the resonator cone and the neck. My impression is that it is a very clean pickup that will capture the sound of the strings faithfully. But unless it has some sort of microphone element it will not capture the sound of the cone itself.

I believe it is the Fishman one that mounts on the bottom of the resonator cone. Very promising and reportedly captures the full sound of a resonator faithfully. You do need a preamp and I would love to get the one for $20 more that has its own preamp. But the catch is that I am not sure where I would mount the 9 volt battery. I really do not want to have to remove the cone to change the battery so one option would be to get one of those plastic battery holders that flip out and mount it on either side or the back. But I'm not sure I want to cut into my Dobro that I bought used in 1977.

One other option I have heard about is an external battery box that supplies 9 volts on a TRS "stereo" guitar cable.

Actually I think I could wire that up myself with only a small modification to the circuit mounted internally. Most internal circuits use a TRS jack to turn on the 9v when a normal mono TS guitar is plugged in. For this application the R(ing) contact on the jack would be connected to the Red wire on the internal battery connector while the Black wire would be hard-wired to ground. In the external battery a TRS jack would be used with the +9vdc connected to the R(ing) terminal and the ground connected to the S(sleeve) terminal. It could be used with a 9 volt adaptor as well. One caveat: if someone accidentally plugs a mono cable into the TRS jack on the external battery it will create a dead short which will either drain the battery very quickly or short out the 9 volt adaptor.

As I return from "inner space" there is a third option I have seen: it is a Gibson style mini-humbucker mounted between the cone and the neck. You would need to rout out a hole for the pickup but you would not have to deal with a powerful. Like the Lace pickup it would capture the sound from the strings but not the cone. But unlike the Lace it very well could have "a lot of dirt" making it most suitable for blues or rock. The effect of the resonator cone could be heard in the increased sustain, but not directly.

Let us know what you decide to do! I am still on the fence but since I just now figured out how to wire up a battery box I will probably go with the Fishman transducer w/ preamp. (I will write up a more complete explanation and post it later.)

Steve Ahola

[Alexa Gomez]

Hi Ken,

I've used the little single-coil Lace Sensor with the black plastic case with the output jack attached. On a metal-bodied resonator, it just seemed to lack something. I replaced it with a Barcus-Berry humbucker, which was quite the improvement. Don't recall the model number, but Barcus-Berry has re-issued it as the Hi-Tek. You can buy them at National's site...

http://store.nationalguitars.com/nation ... ickup.aspx


I currently use the Lace Sensor Slim Acoustic which is humbucking and has a jack attached. I'm using it on a wood-bodied resonator and it sounds pretty good. It's a good quarter-inch from the strings, which lends this acoustic vibe. I like it.

None of these pickups captured the cone sound, although a light wash of the sound exists, enough to distinguish it from a flat top. To get the cone with a pickup, you'd need one of those old Gold-Foil Teisco pickups. You can find them on ebay. They're microphonic, so they capture both the magnetic and acoustic. This pickup has a flat bottom with a couple protrusions, which I've just covered with duct tape (use #1002?)and had a lead with a quarter-inch output jack attached with shrink-tubing at the junction. This set-up works rather well to get a nice sound, yet is prone to feedback.

Anyhoo, hope this helps.

[David Knutson]

I just dug out my very first Barcus Berry Dobro pickup from the 80s and gave it a shot on my 7 string reso. I never liked the sound of it on my Dobro, but it gives the 7 string a real sweet lap-steely sound, which is good for me 'cause that's sort of how I play it anyway. Surprisingly it picks up all seven strings evenly. Check the bottom of that drawer full of old parts. You may still have one.

[Tom Wolverton]

Yes, don't discount the old stuff. I figure if it works and sounds good, you're golden. I have yet to find anything that I like for getting my dobro loud that still retains good dobro tone. Nothing works well in a loud situation for me - even the Fishman/Aura. Good luck to you all. For dobro, I've just about given up and now limit my playing only to less loud situations and still prefer a good old SM57.

[Mark Eaton]

What is Jerry Douglas doing in his signal chain that makes the Fishman Aura work so well in a loud band situation? His band does get loud.

I have the older Fishman "donut" pickup on my Clinesmith, and it is not very good overall, though I have gotten it to sound tolerable with different preamps and a Carvin acoustic amp.

It seems to me that every pickup that is mounted on top of the guitar between the end of the neck and the cover plate, regardless of brand, makes a dobro sound more or less like a lap steel.

[Jay Yuskaitis]

I always was led to believe the Dobro was an acoustical guitar. Why don't you just play it into a mike as all the previous players have done "Since before all the come lately Experts with their Opinions poisoned you to that method" only because you may sound better than they???? I'm not trying to sell anything but common sense, do what satisfies you! My humble opinion of the Dobro is, "you can't beat the tone and sound of the "Pre War" Dobro or National. Pre war Gibson and Martin players have proven this for over 50 years. Look beyond the end of your nose and all others opinions and decide for yourself!!! Jay

[Mark Eaton]

Jay, it's the same reason that people use acoustic/electric guitars. Sometimes people play dobros in bands that have drummers, electric bass, etc., and the instrument doesn't easily cut it in that situation just played into a mike.

Most all players that are playing strictly in a full acoustic bluegrass situation do in fact use only microphones.

I love my circa 1930 Dobro, but it is a very different instrument from the larger bodied, more "powerful" modern Clinesmith resonator I own.

Whereas a 1935 Martin D-28 and a 2010 D-28 are pretty similar in overall construction, but naturally, anyone that has a mid 30's Martin that has been reasonably well taken care of knows how great they are.

[Mark Dershaw]

Ken, I bought a lace sensor reso pickup a couple of years ago. It has it's good points and bad. You can turn the thing up as loud as you want and no feedback. You could even overdrive this thing. This is a benefit for me because I play in bars. It does not have a beautiful acoustic sound. You may be able to EQ it out to acheive a better sound, but I plug it directly into my amp. I like to keep it simple. When we play anywhere outside of the bar room setting, we use mics.

[chris ivey]

i've had a lace pickup on my 75 dobro for many years. for very occassional dobro on a steel gig applications i just pull the chord that goes from my steel to volume pedal out and into the dobro. that way i still have my effects and vp in line. it's ok for a quick tune or two, but not beautiful dobro sound. on the other hand...plugged directly into a decent PA system at open mic dynamic level, it sounds quite nice.

[Bob Hoffnar]

I use a cheap little bud thingy mounted on the cone. The key is my LR Baggs Paracoustic DI. That thing works wonders.

[Twayn Williams]

It may be heresy, but I'm of the opinion that you shouldn't try playing acoustic instruments with loud electric instruments. Right tool for the right task and all that.

Having said that, a combo of a lace pickup and an external mic ought to get you most of the way there. Run the pickup through an eq/feedback eliminator of some sort and then into an amp for self monitoring purposes. Use the mic for FOH only. You could use a clip-on mic of some sort if you want to use a strap and have a bit of mobility on-stage. Do NOT put the mic signal through the monitors! Mic the amp if you need a monitor signal for the rest of the band. Experimentation will lead you to the best combo for your situation.

[Sasha Kostadinov]

Here's a YouTube video of a resonator guitar with a lace pickup that I just came across:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-FEFDwvLL4

I think it sounds pretty good, but I'm no expert. I don't even have a resonator.

[Twayn Williams]

Here's a YouTube video of a resonator guitar with a lace pickup that I just came across:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-FEFDwvLL4

I think it sounds pretty good, but I'm no expert. I don't even have a resonator.

IMO what you're hearing is probably 90% the mics in the room.

[Ken Metcalf]

I am leaning towards the LR Baggs and this stick on lace ultra slim humbucker. Thanks Bob
Use a mic combo and turn up for leads with the humbucker.

Any one compared the Lace reso to this ultra slim?

Here' a Lace ultra slim comparison to a microphone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K44nBWlNd0

[Mark Eaton]

It sounded pretty decent to me combined with the microphone, but I've gotta say that I didn't care at all for the portions featuring pickup only.

[Larry Robbins]

Here is another choice...I have used one of these for a few years now... works pretty good without many feed back issues as long as you watch the placement of your monitors....an issue with ALL acoustic seTups!!
http://www.schattendesign.com/resonator.htm
all this aside ...I am still "old school"...
ie: I like the pickup sound far more than any other....but I live in this world!!

[Alexa Gomez]

I am leaning towards the LR Baggs and this stick on lace ultra slim humbucker. Thanks Bob
Use a mic combo and turn up for leads with the humbucker.

Any one compared the Lace reso to this ultra slim?

Here' a Lace ultra slim comparison to a microphone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K44nBWlNd0

Hi Ken,

I used the Lace single-coil reso pickup with the black plastic cover and cable attached with a 1/4-inch jack, and I currently use their Slim Acoustic. The former I used on a metal-bodied resonator and didn't like the sound since it just lacked so much. My new Lace pickup is much better and sounds very well balanced with nice bottom and a bright top end. It's about a good 1/4-inch from the strings so it has an acoustic vibe going on, too. I like it a lot.

Hope this helps,

Alexa

[Roy Thomson]

Interesting thread.

I have a student who would like me
to record his Dobro playing. It has
no jack and I do not want to use an
open mike.

Has anyone ever tried clipping a
"fiddle" pickup to the cover plate?
I was wondering if that might work?

The fiddle players that I have worked
with always clipped them to the bridge
but I doubt if there is enough space to
do that on a Dobro..thus my suggestion
to clip it to the cover plate.

I plan on trying it soon but wondered
if anyone has already "been there"?

Roy

[Ken Metcalf]

Roy
I would use a mic if possible to record.
Some of the little hand held reorders are impressive if you get the placement in the room figured out.
Not sure what level quality recording you are trying to make.

My conclusion is that the Ultra Slim stick on Lace Humbucker is the superior pick-up.
A pre-amp is necessary and handy.
I will try a Microphone to the PA and the pick up to an amp which I would turn up for leads.
After getting the Pick up I will try my Goodrich matchbox and Hilton pedal before ordering the L.R Baggs.