The Steel Guitar Forum

Looking for simulated dobro effect,without altering my guitar with a pickup,and will hook up between the pedal and guitar or the pedal and the rackmounts.Any ideas on a good sounding effect(if thats possible)The best I have heard was in my profex,which I had gotten from Gary Hogue a few years ago,I no longer have the profex but no room in my rack for it anyway. Anybody Know of any such gadgetry?
Thanks, Roger Russell

What you want is the MatchBro by Goodrich. They come up for sale once in a while on Buy and Sell.

You will like the Match Bro even better !!

Good Luck !!

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Jim Watkins

Emmons LaGrande, Profex II, Nashville 400

Possible . . . not necessarily cheap
The two best I've heard include the Goodrich MatchBro (which, after a few modifications, is now called the SuperBro) and the Marrs Cat-Can.

MatchBro/SuperBro is a device that meets your requirements. Clips on the leg of your axe, creates tone similar to dobro. Comes with a hard plastic bar that reduces sustain. If you use that bar, don't use pedals, and play within the pitch range of a dobro, you'll come pretty close . . . for something around $500. Scotty's Music, Carter Steel Guitars, and other steel accessory vendors carry them. I have one and it works great for live performance. No feedback or micing problems one would experience when trying to mic or pick up an acoustic resonator guitar sound.

The Marrs Cat-Can is a six string lap steel that actually has a cat food can for a resonator and sounds very good. I don't believe that Duane Marrs makes these any longer. You might find one used -- I believe I've seen them for sale at $300 or less.

The SuperBro will give you both acoustic dobro and PedABro sounds (like Paul Franklin's work on "Forever and Ever Amen" by R Travis).
Here's a link to some pictures of Jeff Surratt's Marrs Guitar which has a Cat-Can built into a double neck steel, as the back neck.
I've heard that folks have acceptable patches for Fx devices like ProFex, but I've never heard one that comes close to the two described above.

Hope this helps some.

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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro

I tried one of the older ones and although it had a good Dobro type tone, I had to turn the bass way up and the treble down on my amps. This makes it inconvenient for me and impossible if I'm using a Profex II. I can't speak for the newer models but you should be able to just turn it on and use it without having to readjust everything. I would only use it for a solo or just a part and would go back to the steel guitar sound in the same song.

With the Super-Bro I alternate between the dobro effect and the steel during the same song when appropriate and I never change my steel settings or use the special bar that came with it.......I retired my Regal Dobro when I found the SuperBro as it sounds better and fits in my pack-seat. www.genejones.com

I have one of the original MatchBro's with the extra tone control in the bypass mode.

I don't change EQ on my Nashville 400 when I use it. I do turn off the DD-5 delay but that's the only change when using the dobro simulator. I get very good comments about the sound of the "dobro".

When I use my rack system with a Transtube Fex, I have one program for use with the MatchBro but it is basically my regular program with no delay and less reverb.

Thanks for the help guys, I'll do some checking,I still have the settings for dobro for the profex2 if some one wants to try it,and if I could find a way to post it, fax is easier.
Thanks Again, Roger Russell