Mic placement for Dobro

John Rosett · From: Missoula, MT

I'm doing a fill-in gig tonight with an acoustic band, and they want me to play Dobro through a mic. I haven't done this before(It has a pickup), and I'm looking for pointers on how to place the mic. I'll be sitting down, so I'll be relying on dynamics rather than movement for volume changes. Thanks!
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"it's not in bad taste, if it's funny." - john waters

Mark Eaton · Posted 6 Aug 2011 9:27 am

John, "a picture is worth a thousand words" - below is a link to a video of Rob Ickes giving a demo of his signature model Wechter/Scheerhorn (what I like to call the "Ickehorn").

The mic is typically about 12 inches above the guitar. I use a Shure KSM 137. Try different positions as far as where it is pointing above the cover plate in your sound check to get the most pleasing sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApwfP7uc_fU
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Mark

L. Bogue Sandberg · From: Chassell, Michigan, USA

John,

Give us a 'data point' on how it went and what you ended up doing. With a Shure 57 and the heavy metal poisoned sound guys we usually have to deal with, the set up Rob is using in the video would probably give feedback to the max. I have to go a lot closer and aim the mike back more, just to survive. Oh Well

Bogue

Mark Eaton · Posted 6 Aug 2011 1:47 pm

Well, he wrote it's an acoustic gig so I'm going to give the sound guys the benefit of the doubt until John tells us otherwise.
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Mark

Randy Reeves · From: LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA

I recorded my square neck National with an SM 57 and another time with a wide condenser.
my observations:
SM57 2"-3" away aimed between the bridge and center of cone. the result sounded clean and bright; natural sounding.
the wide condenser was above the guitar 5"- 6" aimed toward the center of the cone. the result was a full and rounder tone. less bright, but not muddy.
play around with the placement. it really matters.

Jim Bates · From: Alvin, Texas, USA

I have several resophonics which I have played mainly through mics into the PA. The best balanced sound always happens when I have the mic aboout three or four inches from the cover plate AND have it pointed at the cover plate at the '2 o'clock' position as you look down on the cover plate.

ALSO, you must not be too close or too loud to the monitor speaker! Sometimes I just turn off the monitor on my side of the stage and turn up the volume on the PA until I get beginning feedback, then back off volume a 'little'. Also, stay away from the drums and bass as far as you can.

Thanx,
Jim

I use SM-57 or AKG C1000S mics

Ned McIntosh · From: New South Wales, Australia

This thread is timely because I am faced with a smilar situation. I was thinking of miking my reso with an SM57 a few inches above the top-plate, running this into a Mackie 802-VLZ3 mixer, then coming out at mic level (the Mackie is switchable for output level on the main outs) and going into the low-gain input on my Peavy Nashville 112.

Anyone got any ideas on whether this is overkill, or is there a better way?
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The steel guitar is a hard mistress. She will obsess you, bemuse and bewitch you. She will dash your hopes on what seems to be whim, only to tease you into renewing the relationship once more so she can do it to you all over again...and yet, if you somehow manage to touch her in that certain magic way, she will yield up a sound which has so much soul, raw emotion and heartfelt depth to it that she will pierce you to the very core of your being.

John Rosett · From: Missoula, MT

Thanks for the replies. It was the simplest of PA situations. They are normally a bluegrass band, and the perform around one mic, and don't use monitors. I just got the Dobro two weeks ago, and don't have a strap, I played sitting down. I had an SM-57, and I pointed it at the coverplate on the lower treble side, about six inches away. People said that it sounded good out front, but I have no way of knowing. I guess that if they heard it and liked it, it was a success! I played my steel the second half, and they liked that more.
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"it's not in bad taste, if it's funny." - john waters

Brad Bechtel · From: San Francisco, CA

Ned McIntosh · From: New South Wales, Australia

Many thanks for the suggestions Brad, I'll see how the venues are set up. Sometimes they have a sound guy with his own gear, sometimes they have someone who thinks they know how to use the venue's sound reinforcement system (but usually doesn't), and sometimes we get to use our own gear, which means we get to set up the way we like it.

I did try my SM57 via an Audio Technica AT4462 sound-recordist's mixer into my Nashville 112 and it worked fine. The AT4462 is switchable on the outputs from stereo to mono and from line-level to mic-level - I just ran mic-level mono to the 2nd input on the NV112. All I need now it a lead long enough to get to the PA (if that's how we go on any given night) or a shorter one to get to my steel amp. The SM57 worked really well but I'd like to try the AKG C100S as well, especially as a local player recommended it.

Did discover there is no need for reverb when micing a Dobro!
_________________
The steel guitar is a hard mistress. She will obsess you, bemuse and bewitch you. She will dash your hopes on what seems to be whim, only to tease you into renewing the relationship once more so she can do it to you all over again...and yet, if you somehow manage to touch her in that certain magic way, she will yield up a sound which has so much soul, raw emotion and heartfelt depth to it that she will pierce you to the very core of your being.

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