The Steel Guitar Forum

I finally got to hear the Fishman dobro setup by Beard. This is the bridge replacement pickup through the Aura mic emulator pedal. I was shocked to hear a dobro ringing out clear from a band with a hammond b, an electric bass and full drum kit being played hard. I have been skeptical of this cause everything else I tried either was to quiet or made the dobro sound like a lap steel. I am really impressed by the tone and volume of this. It sounded like a nice clean dobro! none of the throaty growl was lost and the hammer licks sounded acoustic. I talkd to him after the how and he said he just bought the dobro pre setup from Beard. I am very impressed. This was a loud(ish) band with a lot going on at once and I cannot imagine hearing the dobro with any of the other amp techniques that I know of.


Nice work Fishman and Beard!

Glad to hear that. I just purchased one. (should be here by Thursday or Friday) I'm having trouble with volumn and tone. So I hope this is the ticket.

I hope you got the Aura pedal as well. It's really the best combination for amplifying a resonator guitar that I've heard.

Yes you definitely need the Aura pedal along with the JD pickup ...great combo and by far the best way to amplify a reso !

I was dumbfounded by the quality of the sound, when I can afford it Im getting the setup. Im thinking about running it into this

http://whirlwindusa.com/catalog/black-b ... commander2

then one channel into a monitor and one into the house mix. Just starting a new piggy bank for this....

I've had the Fishman spider bridge pickup for about a year. (I think its called the Nashville). It sounds ok but I haven't been able to get enough volumn out of it to compete with the band. I tried running it through an Art Pre-Amp, it boosts the signal, but not enough and keep a clean tone at the same time. I just orderd the Arua pedal and am hoping that it gives the signal a boost.

Mack - The Aura pedal will certainly give your pickup a better dobro tone, but I doubt that it will help you with the "loud band" problem. I play in a loud band and finally gave up with the dobro/Aura system and went with a Marrs "cat can". For me, it was the best solution for slaying the feed-back dragon. When I play in a less-loud band, I find the Fishman Nashville bridge pickup combined with the Aura really, really nice. I guess it's hard to get around the fact that the dobro cone is sort of like a large diaphram microphone, so feedback comes easy for it.

I've been using it with a blues band I play with that uses stage amps. Guitar player uses a 64 Vibro Verb, bass player has a 6-10 SWR cab, and they have a full drum kit. I first tried it in my Twin and I had issues. Since then I just run it into my keyboard system which consists of 2 12" PA type speakers with tweeters. That is working very well. Stage volume is much louder than I like it, but it still cuts thru w/o feedback unless it is very tight and I am on top of the speakers.

I also use it in a band that runs everything thru the PA and relies on stage monitors and it works superbly there. You have to have the preamp, and you should experiment with different mic models as some work better in some rooms than others. In all, I love it.

Just to clarify, the Aura pedal is not a pre-amp. It is filled with the "images"- the digital reproduction of several miked acoustic dobro sounds but it does not boost the signal. you should run guitar> aura pedal> preamp> amp or DI to sound system. It sounds great and I've used it in loud band situations and works well.

you have to make sure your gain structure is good-output from Aura > output from preamp > into amp or system. If you have too much output from the Aura you'll end up with feedback. Also, if you do have feedback problems try the blend control on the Aura to give a little less Aura and a little more pickup.

you do have to futz around with it a bit but when you get it dialed in it works great.

Interestingly I recently got a new Telonics Pre1000 preamp which has 2 channels ... so I use the 2nd channel for my Aura/JD pickup equipped Reso and it is really really good - even in loud volume setups.... The Pre also has balanced stereo outputs so I can run out to the DI's and also still use my 2 speakers at the same time.
The 2nd channel on this Pre has a separate volume control and also seperate EQ - perfect!

Well, I finaly got to plug in the Aura pedal. (Without the band). Really nice tone and variations, but no volumn increase. So... guess I'll start my quest for a different pre-amp, or mess around some more with the Art pre-amp. I see a +20dB gain, probably start there and see if I can cut the input/output back so as not to get a fuzzy tone.

The quest continues.....

Make sure the trim pot on the side is wide open. I've never heard where a properly installed pickup failed to peel paint of the walls. I'f seen Jerry D go head to head with a tele...No problemo. I was wearing hearing protection that evening.

Call if you need assistance.

h

Orville Johnson wrote:Just to clarify, the Aura pedal is not a pre-amp.

After using mine at a recording session and ending up using an external preamp with it, I contacted Fishman on this issue, and here is the response:

Frank Padellaro wrote:The item does not require a preamp. It is a preamp. There is a trim control on the side of the pedal. If you're not getting enough signal from the pedal it may be because you're not getting enough signal into the pedal. Try adjusting the trim on the side of the preamp until you get strong signal and clip very infrequently when playing the instrument at your absolute hardest.

Best Regards,

Frank Padellaro | Customer Support Manager
Fishman Acoustic Amplification

Hmmm...I stand corrected Lynn. It seems to me to get a much better and usable sound with an external pre amp, but if that's what they say, its their box.

FWIW and my .02..

I think a lot of players (including myself) add another pre/DI/eq not so much for extra gain. We add additional capability to shape tone for a particular room, route signals and have a safety valve against feedback. It's a useful tool if we are rolling our own on stage.

A few popular boxes for this application:

Baggs Paracoustic DI
Fishman Pro EQ Platinum DI (I use this one)
Radial ToneBone PZ Pre Acoustic Preamp (Used by JD)

I admit to carrying a Sabine Solo feedback eliminator as a last resort. I've never had to use it though.

fwiw and based on my personal experiences.

h

Ok, call me stupid. Yep the trim knob on the side did the trick, and WOW, I mean WOW. (pays to read the instructions)

This thing is so cool. I can hear it, and the tone is so much better than straigh in, or mic'ed. If you are trying to amp a Dobro, then this it.

I appreciate all the help from the forum. Got my money's worth today. Thanks for all the help!

Now I just gotta learn how to play the darn thing....after second though...this thing probably isn't good.....people can hear me now.. ha ha!

Mack

ahh...another satisfied customer..
i wish i could afford the whole system...and a new dobro...and band....and..

I'm resurrecting this thread to report out after a few uses. The Aura pedal and the Nashville Spider Bridge pickup is the real deal. Fishman done good on this one!

I've played twice out with a full band and I can actually hear it clearly. Good string separation and nice tone. I have to EQ the bass down some, but that is more likely my Dobro than the pick up.

I really likely this pedal and pick-up. It's one of the better purchases I've made lately!

Great unit, #3 or #12 with phase left works for me. I just wish the Baggs DI would accept an external power supply.

baggs takes phantom power through the xlr, but yeah that would be cool if an adapter for the baggs existed.

When I first got mine, I was disappointed in how it sounded through my re-built 64 Twin Reverb w/Altecs. Didn't bother me because I just ran it through my keyboard rig and it sounded phenomenal.

But, I've been doing a lot of gigs lately with just the reso, and I didn't want to drag the keyboard rig out, and wasn't satisfied with not having control over the volume in the stage monitor. So, I started experimenting with the Twin again. I discovered that if I turn the pickup volume way down(left knob on the Douglas/Aura pedal), but leave the right knob cranked all the way up, it sounds amazing through the Twin. It can easily compete with guitar amps and loud drummers with no problem. With me KB rig, it seems to work better with both left and right pedal knobs cranked wide open. So, you will have to experiment with your own rig to really get it dialed in.

One thing important to note, however, is that different rooms can have a profound effect on which mic simulator works best. You really need to have enough time before a gig to dial in the best one. But, it certainly has answered all my problems associated using a Dobro live and it simply sounds just like a fine acoustic reso only louder. Amazing product.

I just got mine, it's amazing!

Recently I've been gigging with my pedal steel and Aura equipped dobro. I play my steel through a Session 500 and it sounds great, but the dobro sounds best through an acoustic amp like the Fishman Loudbox or direct into the PA. Guitar and steel amps are eq'd to compliment electric guitars. If you've ever plugged a mic into a guitar amp you get the idea, lots of mids.

I bought an Ultrasound DS4 acoustic amp for mine and I can't make it feed back. I tuned up, set my reso on the stand in front of the amp, forgot to turn the preamp off and walked off the stage until the show and it never fed back. I thought the Ultrasound's notch filter system was a big plus when I bought it and I don't even need it. Can't believe how loud and clean that little amp is. I play with in-ears most of the time, but that amp is an incredible match for the Fishman/JD Aura system. I can't imagine it getting any better than that.

For purely boost purposes, has anyone tried one of
these?

http://www.creationaudiolabs.com/mk423/