Anybody using the Marrs Cat Can?

Tommy R. Butler · Post by **Tommy R. Butler** » 9 Jan 2006 11:24 pm

I was thinking about going to one of these since I have the luxery of always getting a squeal from my Mcintyre P-up in my reso. Anybody using one? Comments, complaints.

Micky Byrne · Post by **Micky Byrne** » 10 Jan 2006 2:37 am

Hi Tommy, I had a 6 string Cat can for a while, sounded good, and I even called Duane Marrs to check on the string gauges. I eventually got hold of a Match Bro. Same effect, less to carry. Just made sure I used Dobro licks rather than pedal steel licks when switching it on

Micky Byrne, England.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 10 Jan 2006 3:13 am

I have a 7 stringer. the only one ever made as far as I know. I've recorded with it a few tines.

Never took it to a gig though.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 10 Jan 2006 5:09 am

I've fooled a lot of people with my Goodrich Matchbro, including a guitar picker that worked for Bill Monroe in the 70's (Bill Box). For a lick here and a lick there or for one or two songs a night my MatchBro fills the bill. It's obviously not a dobro but another option.

I had a call from a guy Friday night that heard one of my Matchbro "dobro" instrumentals on Mike Gross's Swingin West. He played dobro and wanted to buy my CD with the "dobro" songs on it. Can't get any better than that.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 10 Jan 2006 7:08 am

I use one occasionally. I find There's something about it having only 6 strings that makes me think different than when I'm playing with 10 strings on my pedal steel.

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 10 Jan 2006 8:16 am

I've had one since Duane first
started building them. I believe he has started building them again and the later models may have changes & updates. Also bear in mind I am an average weekend musician with no pro credentials and this is merely my opinion.

Here's what I have found:
[Edit:Current issue has the reso circuit built in, so the following paragraph wouldn't apply to the new instruments:]
The acoustic sound is pretty good. Of course it isn't loud enough and the amplified sound isn't very "dobroish" IMO. I find you still need to set up a patch in your fx processor or use it with the Match Bro in order to get authentic reso sounds in it's amplified mode. I also felt it necessary to install a volume control on mine.

Great idea though. With the string spacing and G tuning, you get the feel of a reso without the odd strings of the pedal steel interfering, so the technique is the same as an acoustic reso. Slants, hammers and pull-offs included. The pickup is powerful and clean and no feedback problems.
It's compact, lightweight and convenient to keep beside you on stage.

I saw Gary Morse use a Cat Can with Dierks Bentley and he sounded terrific. I'm sure he uses a Match Bro with it though.

I used to have a Dobro 60 with an internal mike and a magnetic pup plugged into a Blender using a "Y" cable. It sounded great, but with all the gear, cables, hook-up hassle and feedback potential, it could be a pain esp. using it as a 2nd instrument on a crowded, noisy stage.

I've about concluded the only way to hear the dobro's natural voice without all the feedback and hassle is to join an all acoustic group!

The Cat Can also makes an excellent Blues machine tuned down to open D.
If you can get over to see Duane & Jeff, maybe you can demo one. It just might be the ticket for you. [This message was edited by Jerry Overstreet on 11 January 2006 at 05:05 AM.]

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 10 Jan 2006 9:18 am

The new Marrs/Fluger CatCan has a dobro simulator circuit built right into the instrument now with timbre , tone, and volume controls. It sounds exactly like a reso. Gary Morse uses one. Dierks Bentley also owns one personally. You can see the new models at www.flugerguitars.com
There is one model that Marvin Fluger makes that fits on top of the steel. He makes them to match the color of any guitar. The other model is a standup reso version. No feedback at all. They sound exact. Both Duane and Marvin take orders on them. They are beautiful instruments. His phone number is 716-604-5236. The guy is a genius. Both Paul Franklin and Dan Dugmore play Fluger resos in the studio. [This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 10 January 2006 at 09:21 AM.][This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 10 January 2006 at 09:21 AM.][This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 10 January 2006 at 09:25 AM.][This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 10 January 2006 at 09:26 AM.][This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 10 January 2006 at 09:29 AM.][This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 10 January 2006 at 09:30 AM.][This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 10 January 2006 at 09:33 AM.][This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 10 January 2006 at 09:35 AM.][This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 10 January 2006 at 09:41 AM.][This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 10 January 2006 at 09:46 AM.]

Paddy Long · Post by **Paddy Long** » 10 Jan 2006 11:56 am

If you do a search you might find Jan Johnsen's (SP?) website and he has a couple of sound bites of himself playing his Cat can --- sounds like the real thing to me, and he plays pretty good too! He does a AB comparison with a real Reso on the same tracks and it is real hard to spot the difference, in fact I think the Catcan sounds better (might have been a live thing)

[This message was edited by Paddy Long on 11 January 2006 at 12:33 PM.]

Brett Day · Post by **Brett Day** » 10 Jan 2006 12:46 pm

Gary Morse played a Cat-Can back when he was playing steel and dobro for Dierks Bentley. Brett, Emmons S-10, Morrell lapsteel, GFI Ultra D-10

Rich Gibson · Post by **Rich Gibson** » 10 Jan 2006 3:48 pm

I have the lastest model that Kevin speaks of.It still has the cat food can under the bridge but also a built in processor.I'm not a Dobro expert by any means but I think it sounds great.As good as a 3 grand custom job-probably not,but we are talking amplified here and from what I gather that is an issue with acoustic dobros.There are a number of other advantages.
-as Kevin mentioned-no feed back
-it sounds good though a guitar or steel amp
(no 2nd amp!)
-It looks like a Dobro.People are so visually oriented and Dobros are hot these days.If I'm playing a Stringmaster or even pedal steel someone will invariably remark "Look" he's playing Hawaiian Music when the current selection does not in anyway involve trade winds,hula girls or vacations.Drives me insane.
Marv Fluger is a great guy to deal with and will not rest until you are a happy customer.
Once again I'm not a Dobro expert and have not as yet tested it in the wild but it's a keeper for me.

Nick Reed · Post by **Nick Reed** » 10 Jan 2006 4:07 pm

I think this thread needs to be moved to the NO PEDDLERS section.

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 10 Jan 2006 5:24 pm

I see I'm behind the times as usual. Good to know the reso circuit has been installed in the new model. I guess Gary has made a recent acquisition as he stated in an earlier post a few months back that he was using a Match-Bro with his. Great that there is no need for that with the latest update.

Hard to believe that mine is going on 20 yrs. old now. I see from the website, the lap steel design looks much the same as the one I have, with some upgrades and nicer appointments. A couple pics of 00147:

[This message was edited by Jerry Overstreet on 10 January 2006 at 05:28 PM.]

Wayne Carver · Post by **Wayne Carver** » 10 Jan 2006 6:59 pm

I guess when switching to the reso mode the regular pickup is taken out of service and a acoustic pickup of some sort mounted in the "cat can resonator" comes into play? I wonder if you can blend the two?
I researched something like this where the regular pickup went to a steel guitar amp and the resonator cone pickup went to an acoustic guitar amp giving the best of both worlds although somewhat cumbersome to hook-up.

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 10 Jan 2006 8:01 pm

Wayne, there's no acoustic pickup. Only a magnetic through the reso simulator circuit. It sounds absolutely real. The cat can under the bridge in combination with the reso circuit does it. The reso circuit can be switched off to play swamp blues.[This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 10 January 2006 at 08:51 PM.][This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 11 January 2006 at 07:44 AM.]

Vic Chaney · Post by **Vic Chaney** » 10 Jan 2006 11:51 pm

I was inspired by it to make plans for a simple cat can dobro for Boy Scouts to make for the Music Merit Badge. One of the requirements of the badge can be satisfied by making a musical instrument. The kids have fun making this, and go home with an instrument that can be played. And, what do you know, that instrument also happens to be a form of steel guitar.
You can see the plans for this instrument on my website at http://www.chaneyproductions.com/catcan_dobro.htm

Vic

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 11 Jan 2006 12:32 am

I have one I bought from Bobbe a few years back.The best use I got out of it was playing in a blues band with a 60's fuzz tone stomp box.Worked great on blues and southern rock.

Jan Jonsson · Post by **Jan Jonsson** » 11 Jan 2006 4:08 am

I bought an 8-string Marrs/Flueger 'Cat-Can' Lapsteel earlier this summer and have used it extensively on-stage with the country band I play with. I has an authentic enough dobro-ish sound to fool quite a few dobro players in the audience. I like the way it plays with the wider string spacing (Stringmaster-like) and the resonance of the body and 'can'.

When I received the Cat-Can I spontaneously did some recordings with it. Below are two clips illustrating how it sounds. The first clip is the Cat-Can played alone thru my tube amp. In the second clip, the guitar has been added on top of a song from the country band's CD (the first solo is the Cat-Can while the second solo is a real acoustic Dobro). Pardon the semi-sloppy playing ...

Cat-Can played alone

Cat-Can playing with backing track

-- Jan

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Sho-Bud Pro II Custom 8+6, Fulawka D-10 8+8, Fender Deluxe 8, Marrs/Fluger Cat-Can, Fender CS Nocaster

Tony Palmer · Post by **Tony Palmer** » 21 Jan 2006 5:00 pm

Jan, that is awesome playing.
Thank you for sharing.
It makes me want to get one of those contraptions right away!

Danny Hullihen · Post by **Danny Hullihen** » 24 Jan 2006 10:06 am

Marv built one of these for me to match my Blue Birdseye Maple ZumSteel, and I played it last year on two of my shows at Scotty's Convention in St. Louis. These are one of the best sounding Dobro simulators I've ever had, and I really love this thing. The first time I tried one of these out was back stage at a show Gary Morse was playing at with Dierks, and I fell in love with it immediately! Great tone, both as a lap steel and as a Dobro simulator, and it sounds just as good with an "E" tuning as it does with a "G". I truly believe this is the best-of-the-best on these type of guitars. Nice string spacing, and very comfortable to play sitting right on top of your pedal steel. [This message was edited by Danny Hullihen on 24 January 2006 at 10:07 AM.]

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 24 Jan 2006 10:24 am

I remember when these first came out, there was even a stand that you could attach to your pedal steel (on front) so it was very available to you.
Erv

Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 24 Jan 2006 10:46 am

I've had five or six of these over the years, playing one of the original ones right now, and it really does the job. Even closer with a Bo-Bro simulator in the chain. I'd love one of the new ones- maybe if I donate some more plasma...