Online Guitarist: Instruments: The resonator guitar (Dobro): Resonator guitar pickups

Resonator guitar pickups



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This particular page was created 06/04/2004 and last updated 23/04/2005
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 Sometimes even a resonator guitar needs amplification. There are lots of different pickups available, so what's the best choice for you? This is a general list of some of the alternatives. I'll try to add a more detailed Buyer's Guide later.

Standard microphone

A good microphone in front of the guitar is by far the alternative that provides the most realistic sound. The disadvantages are that it's very prone to feedback, and you have to sit very still and not move the instrument away from the microphone.

Conclusion
The perfect solution for studio work, but perhaps not very practical on stage.

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Microphone mounted on the guitar

You can eliminate some of the problems with the microphone if you mount it onto the guitar. You still have the feedback to deal with though.

Conclusion
Works well in studio, and on stage as well provided the sound level isn't too high.

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Internal microphone

Next step is to mount the microphone inside the guitar. This reduces the feedback problem a lot. Disadvantages? Well, there's still some feedback to deal with, and you'll get a slightly hollow sound compared to a microphone outside the instrument. (Then again that may actually be an advantage when we're talking resonator guitars.)

Conclusion
Well worth trying.

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Bridge transducer

The idea is to build a piezo transducer into the bridge of a guitar, picking up the sound directly from the strings. All so-called "electro-acoustic" (standard) guitars today use this system. There are lots of advantages: Easy to set up, a strong reliable signal, very little feedback...

... But for a resonator guitar it's completely pointless. Since the system gets the signal directly from the strings, the resonator doesn't really make any difference at all, and you might as well leave your dobro at home and bring a "normal" guitar instead. The sound is more or less the same. Yes, you can get something resembling the resonator "honk" by fiddling with the tone controls, but you can do that with a "normal" guitar too - just set the midrange to max and reduce the treble and perhaps bass a little.

Conclusion
Very practical, but when it comes to sound you might as well leave your dobro at home and bring a cheap standard guitar instead.

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Resonator transducer

But what if we place the piezo transducer on the resonator instead? This is the solution used by serious resonator guitar pickup systems (K&K Sounds, McIntyre, Higlander etc.) You can get a very realistic resonator sound that way, and with very little feedback problems.
  It seems most if not all pickups specially designed for resonators are meant to be placed in the center of the cone. With general purpose transducers you may want to expereminet a bit with the positioning - if it's a dual transducer you might even try to put one sensor on the cone and one on the guitar top!

Also, the transducer does add some weight to the resonator, dampening the acoustic sound to some degree. That's not a real problem with the transducers specially made for resonator guitars, but some of the general purpose piezos on the market are way too heavy.

Conclusion
Probably the best solution for most stage work, and the one most specialized resonator pickups today use.

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Magnetic pickup

A common electric guitar pickup for an acoustic intrument may seem silly at first, but on a resonator guitar it sounds much better than you'll probably expect. And the feedback problem is all but eliminated. Since you don't want to cut holes in the top of your guitar, you need one of these "jazz guitar" pickups you mount on the end of the fretboard.

On its own a magnetic pickup sounds a bit too electric, but combined with an internal microphone and/or a transducer on the resonator, you might manage to mix the perfect amplified sound.

Conclusion
Very practical, and you might like the sound. But don't expect realistic dobro sound unless you mix it with some other pickup.

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Combinations

Of course there's no law that says you have to use just one pickup system. By combining a transducer and microphone (an internal one seems most likely here) you can get all the advantages and less of the disadvantages. A magnetic pickup can also be a valuable addition to a combination system.

Conclusion
If you have the time and the money to try different combinations you should.

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