How would you baffle a resonator guitar?

[Greg Gefell]

I have a resonator guitar that I have successfully installed a magnetic pickup into the spider. It sounds really good through my amp except there are some lower notes that will howl into feedback quite easily at higher volumes.

I realize that a resonator guitar is designed to do just that - resonate. However since I am going to play this guitar in a loud situation with drums, bass, and other elec guitars, I am thinking that I need to baffle the soundwell somehow. Since the magnetic pickup is doing all the work here I don't expect it to impact the plugged in sound very much. In fact it should make it better without the unwanted sympathetic vibrations.


I have thought that perhaps filling the open cavities with a foam cushion type material might work, or perhaps even putting rubber pads or something similar on the spider legs to decouple it from the cone.

Any thoughts on the most effective approach?

[Bill Hatcher]

You should try some type of a graphic EQ in line so you can tune in the frequencies that are howling and feeding back and tame them. I would not be putting stuff in the guitar.

[Greg Gefell]

Bill - I was hoping to use an acoustic approach to solve this.

When I plug in an EQ and try to zap it that way, I don't like how it thins out the sound of the guitar. The only feedback I am getting is in the 200-400 Hz range which is where most of the body of the low end is.

I think that must be the resonant frequency of the guitar as a whole. Even with all the strings muted, if I crank up the amp to induce feedback, I can stop the feedback by touching my fingers to the bridge and one of the spider legs.

[Bill Hatcher]

Go here. Check out the pickups that attach directly to the cone.

http://www.mcintyrepickups.com/pickups.html

[AJ Azure]

Greg,hate to say it but, everything you've done and are having issues with is pointing to going electric i.e. a lap steel.

[Greg Gefell]

AJ, I've actually been down that road both with pedal steel and then console steel. Since I don't play steel all night long, I really prefer the reso because the big wide acoustic body shape makes it comfortable to play standing up with a strap. When I'm done with that tune, it goes on the guitar stand and its out of my way.

I'm going to experiment with some different things and try to figure this out.

[AJ Azure]

I hear you. I only play acoustic but, I am in an all acoustic band granted with horns but, I manage.

[Peter Jacobs]

Greg - sounds like you're looking for a notch filter -- a parametric e.q. for a single frequnecy. You can set the center frequency, the width (frequencies to either side of center that are affected), and the amount of cut.


There are also automatic feedback reducers (from Sabine and others), but I've never tried one of those.

Peter

[Todd Weger]

Greg -- Peter beat me to it, but this is how I deal with this issue with my tricone:

http://www.zzounds.com/item--LRBFM

What's great about it is that it has an imput gain knob (separate from volume knob), and TWO notch filters. These are incredibly narrow bands that have virtually zero effect on tone, but really help to get rid of the most offending frequencies. As a bonus, it serves double-duty as a pre-amp too, by giving any passive mag p'up a bit of a boost, and thus reducing noise, too.

I have a Lace Sensor Ultra Thin mag reso pickup on my tricone, and the Baggs works great when playing at higher volume.

TJW

[AJ Azure]

or maybe this?
http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHDSP110

[Alan Brookes]

How would you baffle a resonator guitar ?

This must be a set-up for wisecrackers... You've baffled me.

Okay, I'll buy it, how do you baffle a resonator guitar ?

[AJ Azure]

like any regular guitar: put sheet music in front of it

[James Harrison]

Greg, how did you mount a Magnetic Pickup on the Spider? Magnetics should be installed under the strings.
In most installations you will get more feedback using a Piezo Crystal Pickup than you will using a Magnetic Pickup.
Baffels or a Sound Chamber is already installed in most all Resonator Guitars.
A Magnetic Pickup will not give a true acoustic Resonator sound, but in most cases that can be corrected using a Boss GE7 Pedal.

[Dave Boothroyd]

Surely , if you restrict the movement of the cone enough to prevent feedback, you will have destroyed the basic reso sound. The way that the bridge moves as a result of the variation in string tension as the string is pulled away from its centre applies a pitch envelope to every note played. If you stop the cone from moving, all you have is a heavy acoustic guitar with a pickup. There is no way it will sound like a reso, however much you filter it- you can get the tone reasonably close, but you wont get the dip and rise in pitch.
You might as well put a nut raiser on a Tele.
Cheers
Dave

[Greg Gefell]

I actually traced the main problem to a compressor effects pedal I had in my pedalboard. Turning this off cleaned up the feedback issue. I had it on out of habit because it always sounded great with a solidbody electric steel, but it doesnt cooperate with the reso at all.

In addition to that I raised the pole pieces on the pickup to get a beefier signal.

Anyway - everything is working great now. It does not sound like a resonator through the amp, it sounds like an electric lap steel. With a little distortion on it it sings as well as my solidbody elec steel.

James - I can post some pictures of the spider mount process if you'd like. I've never seen anyone else attempt this on a spider bridge guitar before so it might be a one of a kind.

[Michael Maddex]

...
James - I can post some pictures of the spider mount process if you'd like. I've never seen anyone else attempt this on a spider bridge guitar before so it might be a one of a kind.

I thought that someone would jump in here by now. I'm not James and I don't know where he went, but I for one would like to see a photo or three of the spider mount. I'd also like a brief description of what you did, if appropriate. I think that this is a very interesting project and thank you for posting what you have so far.

[Greg Gefell]

Michael, when I get into work on Monday I can post some photos.

[Greg Gefell]

Michael - here's the process I used to add a humbucker to my McKenna 10 string.

1st I cut the front leg off of the offset spider.




Next I figured out where the pickup mounting holes would line up with the spider legs and be centered with the bridge saddle.




The pickup is attached to the spider legs.





A small hole is drilled above the cone for the pickup wire.




I made up this board to secure the coverplate while milling the pickup slot opening.






I strung up two strings to test it out and make and last minute alignment changes.




Finally, I put it all back together, string it up, plugged it in, and balanced out the string response with the adjustable pole pieces. (Kudos to Bob Hoffnar and the tonealigner pickup for this!)

I can now have the convenience of plugging into my electric guitar amp, and the light weight portability and wearability of an acoustic reso.

[Michael Maddex]

Thanks for the photos and story. The installation is a lot simpler than I had imagined, but I know that sometimes the solutions that look simple come after a lot of work. Anyway, FWIW, I think that it's a real tasty installation.