Pedal Steel W/ Dobro Sound (Blue Grass) Band

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 19 Jul 2014 6:10 am

Probably another reason we seek the SIM..

We all know or we will discover that Dobro's are very hard to mic on a big stage or on a gig.Near impossible in an electric band...but there is an alternative... I play a Gold Tone Beard resonator , it a has a Schatten RG03 under the Spider, it's ok but needs to be used with a DI box such as a LR BAGGS Venue , the phase button is HUGE , but getting a lot of level out of it is not in the cards. When playing with a small ensemble a small condenser mic on a boom stand is what I use. This in my opinion is the best as long as the band levels are not high, such as typical BG... I also carry a Barcus Berry flat HumBucker which can be attached via velcro in a pinch. It's the last ditch effort...

The alternative is another Instrument tuned to GBDGBD, such as the Gold Tone 6 string Lap. Sure it's not a dobro..but on a big stage or with electric Instruments or where volume is needed , that calls for a dramatic change...the licks and phrases are exactly the same, the tone is NOT..it can be gentle and mild but it is not a resonator. In one sense we lose the resonator but in another we add a different element.

I carry both to big stage gigs...we decide which one we will use when we do sound check. More often that not everyone goes for the LAP just because it adds a different dimension with the exact same phrasing...

I suppose I could take the Pedal guitar with a simulator but for me I would lose the proper phrasing...quite frankly If I take the Pedal Steel, it's not for Dobro licks...even in a more acoustic setting.

On BG only shows it's the Resonator, on a mix of BG/American/Country., it's the Lap...tuned GBDGBD.

PS, once you start down this road,its dangerous and contagious..then one day you drop the low G to an E.. then life changes again!

Howard Parker · Post by **Howard Parker** » 19 Jul 2014 6:21 am

The Fishman Aura/Jerry Douglas system will take care of any volume/level issues.

Pricy though.

h

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 19 Jul 2014 6:34 am

Howard Parker wrote:The Fishman Aura/Jerry Douglas system will take care of any volume/level issues.

Pricy though.

h

Howard, yes its a nice system, a good local friend who is on the road in the region uses one but even he has stated that it covers most of his needs but every now and then he runs into a show where the sound system and crew is just not quite up to snuff . Remember, Jerry Douglas is playing at venues with REAL sound crews. I'm not and probably never will ! whatever system we use is really only as good as the system we are feeding it to and the people behind the knobs...

Howard Parker · Post by **Howard Parker** » 19 Jul 2014 6:41 am

Amen to that!

h

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 19 Jul 2014 9:15 am

Tony said:

The alternative is another Instrument tuned to GBDGBD, such as the Gold Tone 6 string Lap. Sure it's not a dobro..but on a big stage or with electric Instruments or where volume is needed , that calls for a dramatic change...the licks and phrases are exactly the same, the tone is NOT..it can be gentle and mild but it is not a resonator. In one sense we lose the resonator but in another we add a different element.

I have been toying with the idea of getting a cheapo lap steel and run it through my "dobro sim". Great tone or sustain wouldn't matter much in that situation. When I do use the sim on pedal steel, I look at it as more of a Peda-Bro. Of course, It's probably been 20 years or so since I have had to play a bluegrass song.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 19 Jul 2014 9:52 am

Richard, Don't get a real cheapo..I went down the $99 route...

You have a $4000 Steel Guitar..get something that is at least playable and recognized to be a quality Instrument. The Gold Tone for me is about as low cost as I would go for a slide, good tone, not killing you with hi end, good pup, volume and treble knobs that actually work !

Once you begin playing Dobro you may be surprised at how your "work" opens up around your area...You are no longer just one of those Pedal Steel Country guys...BG, Americana, duo's, trio's etc..the door opens up pretty dang wide...You may become labeled a Dobro player who also plays Pedal Steel..!

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 19 Jul 2014 11:53 am

I actually do play a little bit of dobro. I just don't have one right now. The reason I wouldn't put a lot of money into a lap steel is, I would barely use it. Bands in this area are usually too loud to use a real dobro on stage. I've had 3 Tut Taylor dobros, with a Fishman pickup installed, and using a Fishman amp. Feed back drove me (and everyone else) crazy. Could not use it live. I would probably only use the slide/dobro a couple of times a night, if that.

Lee Rider · Post by **Lee Rider** » 22 Feb 2015 8:18 pm

How about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0FSjkG ... e=youtu.be

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 23 Feb 2015 12:59 pm

...all 12 seconds of it.

I think we need a bigger sample.
The closest I've experienced in a lap steel sounding like a resonator is Duane Marss's Cat Can steel. I have one, and it's pretty good until you plug it into an amplifier, and then it just sounds like all my other lap steels. I've thought of building a pedal steel with cat cans or a regular resonator, but it would have to have an internal microphone, and, for those using it on stage, some sort of soundproofing to avoid feedback from the amps and other instruments.

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 23 Feb 2015 2:08 pm

Richard Sinkler wrote:I actually do play a little bit of dobro. I just don't have one right now. The reason I wouldn't put a lot of money into a lap steel is, I would barely use it. Bands in this area are usually too loud to use a real dobro on stage. I've had 3 Tut Taylor dobros, with a Fishman pickup installed, and using a Fishman amp. Feed back drove me (and everyone else) crazy. Could not use it live. I would probably only use the slide/dobro a couple of times a night, if that.

Richard, unless you post otherwise, I assume the Fishman dobro pickup to which you are referring is the old "donut" style, which attaches to the screw underneath the cone. Frankly, it's beyond me why they still even offer this thing for sale. I don't want to be overly negative lest they come after me for slander, but the old Fishman donut pickup is to the modern Fishman Nashville resophonic pickup as Two Buck Chuck is to a quality Napa Valley Cabernet. The difference is night and day between these two pickups.

The donut style, or Classic version is in the lower photo - not sure what makes it "classic" - and the newer Nashville-style as used by most of the big dogs when plugging in these days is the upper photo.