Any pickup options yet for 8 string Dobro/resonator guitars?
Moderator: Brad Bechtel
- Greg Gefell
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Any pickup options yet for 8 string Dobro/resonator guitars?
Seems like we're stuck with the old donut pickup as the only choice for 8 stringers.
I'm looking for some kind of piezo pickup option and hoping to use it with this:
https://audiosprockets.com/
To create my own "Aura" image of sorts and get decent plugged in amplified tone.
I'm looking for some kind of piezo pickup option and hoping to use it with this:
https://audiosprockets.com/
To create my own "Aura" image of sorts and get decent plugged in amplified tone.
- Howard Parker
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Hi Greg,
You might want to have a look at this post on the Vguitarforums...
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index ... ic=21621.0
Cycfi have also been marketing individual pickups (per string) and more about their ranges of products can be gleaned from the appropriate sub-forum.
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=246.0
Cheers,
Peter
You might want to have a look at this post on the Vguitarforums...
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index ... ic=21621.0
Cycfi have also been marketing individual pickups (per string) and more about their ranges of products can be gleaned from the appropriate sub-forum.
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=246.0
Cheers,
Peter
If my wife is reading this, I don't have much stuff....really!
- Greg Gefell
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That’s really not the kind of pickup we are talking, l think. Modula is an electric pickup. I use an old Melobar pickup (because it is microphonic) blended with an old school Fishman “mini-bagel†under the cone. It is pretty good but not as good as the Nashville. The market isn’t big enough for them to make 8 string bridge pickups,unfortunately. I’ve heard that right from the horse’s mouth, no disrespect intended to Beard or Fishman. They’ve done wonderful work.
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The thing about dobro resonators is if you put the pick up directly on the bridge is very very hard not to pick up the sounds of the bar on the strings. A lot of scraping and squeaking sounds. I don’t know how Fishman and Beard figured out how to keep that from happening but that’s the main feature of their Nashville pick up, especially when you run it through the Aura system for imaging. It’s really really close to a microphone sound and yet can be cranked up quite a bit before feedback. Just don’t stand next to the bass player. Ha ha.
Kevin Maul: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Decophonic, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Webb, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing.
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Paul Beard installed an 8 string nashville pick up in my 8 string MA. He basically put two 6 string pickups together.
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- Howard Parker
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Yep..A slice & dice job. Paul's told me he doesn't want to do another like that. Way too painful and costly. Required butchering 2 pickups very...very carefully.Bill McCloskey wrote:Paul Beard installed an 8 string nashville pick up in my 8 string MA. He basically put two 6 string pickups together.
h
- Greg Gefell
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If I could see how it was done it might be worth the price of 2 pickups since the alternative is to not use an 8 string! (if you play on a loud stage with a band that is.)
Nothing can touch my Nashville + Aura combo for ease of use and sound quality... just really looking for viable 8 string options though. A magnetic pickup might be the only current option - but at that point I might as well just put a strap on one of the lap steels and embrace the electric tone instead.
Nothing can touch my Nashville + Aura combo for ease of use and sound quality... just really looking for viable 8 string options though. A magnetic pickup might be the only current option - but at that point I might as well just put a strap on one of the lap steels and embrace the electric tone instead.
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I've still got a McIntyre pickup on one of my dobros (mounted on the cone) and it is a respectable tone coming out of the Aura box.
Michael Brebes
Instrument/amp/ pickup repair
MSA D10 Classic/Rickenbacher B6/
Dickerson MOTS/Dobro D32 Hawaiian/
Goldtone Paul Beard Reso
Mesa Boogie Studio Pre/Hafler 3000
RP1/MPX100
Instrument/amp/ pickup repair
MSA D10 Classic/Rickenbacher B6/
Dickerson MOTS/Dobro D32 Hawaiian/
Goldtone Paul Beard Reso
Mesa Boogie Studio Pre/Hafler 3000
RP1/MPX100
- Howard Parker
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I have the prototype install. I'll try to upload a pic tomorrow.
h
edit - I found it. Note that Paul had to use this config because a single element was not sturdy enough to support a single string so that meant that the pickup elements were "sliced" to accommodate pairs. Two pairs on either side of the tension screw.
Hope this helps.
h
edit - I found it. Note that Paul had to use this config because a single element was not sturdy enough to support a single string so that meant that the pickup elements were "sliced" to accommodate pairs. Two pairs on either side of the tension screw.
Hope this helps.
The system I used which is an electric pick up plus a transducer somewhere on the spider bridge or underneath the cone was something that I used for many years on six string. I got the idea from Jerry Douglas who used a Lawrence sound hole pick up and small microphone. I got a really natural sound out of it by blending and EQ on each channel. The old Fishman blenders work really great for that, in fact I still have two of them. Mike Auldridge and Chet Atkins both told me they really liked the sound. I’m not name dropping. Really, ha ha. I’m just saying that those guys had really good ears and they liked the sound.
Kevin Maul: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Decophonic, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Webb, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing.
- Greg Gefell
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Howard, thanks for posting that. Good to finally see how that was done even if it is not a recommended or available standard procedure. Where there’s a will there’s a way!
One question I still have though is the string spacing. Those Nashville pick ups are pre-slotted. Was the normal 6 string spacing maintained on that install or was that narrowed up?
I’m thinking that short of copying this type of install I may opt to get an 8 string square neck acoustic (Adams) or a Weissenborn style guitar. (Lazy river) Both of those will have a standard acoustic guitar bridge where a normal (albiet a bit longer) piezo can be installed.
One question I still have though is the string spacing. Those Nashville pick ups are pre-slotted. Was the normal 6 string spacing maintained on that install or was that narrowed up?
I’m thinking that short of copying this type of install I may opt to get an 8 string square neck acoustic (Adams) or a Weissenborn style guitar. (Lazy river) Both of those will have a standard acoustic guitar bridge where a normal (albiet a bit longer) piezo can be installed.
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Coincidentally I have the same, an Adams 8-string and a Lazy River Weissenborn.
In the Adams a have a Schertler Basik Reso pickup, which is a contact Microphone. I'm pretty satisfied with that.
The Lazy River has a fret instead of the bridge inlay. Don't know why he did that. So I could not use an under bridge piezo and therefore installed a magnetic soundhole pickup. Sounds ok on the Weissenborn.
In the Adams a have a Schertler Basik Reso pickup, which is a contact Microphone. I'm pretty satisfied with that.
The Lazy River has a fret instead of the bridge inlay. Don't know why he did that. So I could not use an under bridge piezo and therefore installed a magnetic soundhole pickup. Sounds ok on the Weissenborn.
- Howard Parker
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The pickups do not come preslotted, as far as I know.The Beard site specifically says "unslotted".Greg Gefell wrote: One question I still have though is the string spacing. Those Nashville pick ups are pre-slotted. Was the normal 6 string spacing maintained on that install or was that narrowed up?
h
- Greg Gefell
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Interesting on the Lazy River using fret wire. I'll have to ask Rance about that as we've been emailing back and forth about a build. He mentioned installing a piezo so it must not be an issue.
Do you have an Adams 8 string Reso or one of his square neck acoustics as shown below? I believe the square neck is just a standard acoustic guitar saddle so any long under saddle element should work there no problem.
Edit: oops - just reread your post and you mentioned reso pickup.
Do you have an Adams 8 string Reso or one of his square neck acoustics as shown below? I believe the square neck is just a standard acoustic guitar saddle so any long under saddle element should work there no problem.
Edit: oops - just reread your post and you mentioned reso pickup.
Last edited by Greg Gefell on 25 Oct 2018 6:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Greg Gefell
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- Joined: 16 Jan 2007 12:37 pm
- Location: Upstate NY