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Topic: Faking a Dobro? |
Tony Harris
From:
England
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Posted 18 Jan 2006 6:49 am |
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How well could I fake a dobro (for recording purposes) by using a raised nut on an old acoustic , dobro tuning, the correct picks and strings and some EQ? Any tricks? After all, I reckon you can go some way towards faking a gypsy-jazz Maccaferri-style acoustic by using a stone flatpick and picking hard near the bridge.
Thanks. |
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Mark van Allen
From:
Watkinsville, Ga. USA
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Posted 18 Jan 2006 6:57 am
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Tony, I think you can go a long way toward the resonator sound on an old acoustic... the basic color and vibe anyway. It's just hard to capture the "pong" of that ol' hubcap. There's real sonic magic in those things.
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Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com
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Bill McCloskey
From:
Nanuet, NY
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Posted 18 Jan 2006 7:30 am
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| I fear you will sound more like a weissenborn than a dobro. the resonator has a distinct sound that I don't think can be reproduced any other way. If you are going to this trouble, why not just borrow a dobro? |
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Mike D
From:
Phx, Az
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Posted 18 Jan 2006 7:41 am
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Old, cheesy archtops played with a slide have a fairly 'dobro-ish' tone. So does anything with a sharp attack and fairly rapid decay like ladder braced acoustics.
Howard R. has a squareneck Mac, he'll be along in a while I imagine.
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Half-assed bottleneck and lap slide player. Full-assed Builder of resonator instruments.
[This message was edited by Mike D on 18 January 2006 at 07:42 AM.] |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 18 Jan 2006 9:21 am
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Tony, since you asked, my take on it is if you are going for a "lap-slidey" sound for recording purposes, do the regular guitar thing with the raised nut and don't have the mindset that you are trying to imitate an actual dobro.
Master dobroist Rob Ickes, for many years, would occasionally use an old acoustic with a raised nut that once belonged to his grandfather, if memory serves, it was purchased from Sears Roebuck back in the 1930's. He liked it for a different sound for certain songs and/or recordings. He wasn't trying to give anyone the impression that he was using a dobro-for that he would play his actual Scheerhorn dobro!
A little over a year ago, he picked up from Scheerhorn another dobro, and also had Tim make him a squareneck acoustic "regular" guitar, as he didn't want to risk damaging "Grandfather's guitar" and he wanted to have that sound from a modern, top quality instrument-he used it awhile back on one track on the latest Patty Loveless cd and played his actual dobro on several other tracks.
Acoustic lap slide sounds great in the right hands, just don't try to convince anyone that it's a dobro!
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Mark
[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 18 January 2006 at 09:22 AM.] |
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AJ Azure
From:
Massachusetts, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 18 Jan 2006 9:26 am
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I don't fake it. What would my girlfriend say?! 
Anyway i use flat top as well as resonators and both sound cool. If you want a mellow tone the acoustic works fine and does not sound like Weissenborne but, fuller (depending on the depth of the body). When I hear a Weissenborne I feel like I want a deeper body. I guess it depends on the model. |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 18 Jan 2006 10:13 am
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I agree with Bill on this one. I don't have the experience on the recording end of this topic, but on the playing end, it's the tone of the cone that will be missing if you really want that distinctive dobro sound. Especially the modern dobro sound.
That's not to say that you can't get essence of dobro that will fool the masses. |
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Papa Joe Pollick
From:
Swanton, Ohio
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Posted 18 Jan 2006 11:49 am
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Tell ya what I did some time back..Plugged a lap in-to my crybaby wha and used a plastic bar.Not exactly dobro,but pretty close.
PJ |
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Don Barnhardt
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 18 Jan 2006 5:06 pm
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| There are are some reasonably good low cost resos on the market, why not just get one of them? Who knows you may want to do an encore. |
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basilh
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 19 Jan 2006 3:54 am
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With the right EQ. on the mix, you can get close, as long as you play in the style of "Resonator"
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| Quote: |
| Steel players do it without fretting |
 
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Tony Harris
From:
England
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Posted 19 Jan 2006 7:04 am
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| Thanks guys, I'll pass your comments on to my steel-playing friend, Harry Snoit. |
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