jimwheel25 - Posted - 02/18/2015:  13:31:02

I consider myself an intermediate level player. I am looking to up grade to a resonator with a very mellow tone. I have heard them played on you tube but have yet to find one that sounds the same or even close. I have tried high end reso's which are supposed to be mellow but the highs are to loud. I guess I need one where the highs are suppressed more. But not to much as to completely flatten them out. I might be asking to much, but I know I have heard the sound I want. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I currently play a Morgan Monroe and looking to up grade. Maybe even a cone that I could purchase that would do the same. Thanks in advance.

Jim 

deuce - Posted - 02/18/2015:  13:55:03

more info please...

what style do you play? dobro or biscuit? wood or metal body?

what sort  of picks do you use - if any?

initially, I'd say a deep wood body, and plastic picks or fingers would help.

or go out and play some...

TT

jimwheel25 - Posted - 02/18/2015:  13:59:20

I play dobro Square neck. I use a plastic thumb and two metal picks.

jimwheel25 - Posted - 02/18/2015:  14:00:31

two metal finger picks

Robin79 - Posted - 02/18/2015:  14:38:22

Can you post a link to the youtube videos you're referring to? Tone is a very difficult thing to describe and a term like 'mellow' is quite broad. I'm no expert on this sort of thing but I reckon a lot of tone comes from how you play. You can get a much more mellow sound picking further from the bridge. Different strings, style of attack etc also come into play. If you've got an example of one of the videos you've seen, that would help. Maybe somebody on here could ID the guitar for you, though personally I think it'll only go someway to giving you the sound you're after. I personally think the sound is down to the player's technique. YMMV.

hlpdobro - Posted - 02/18/2015:  14:42:07

Tone is mostly in the hands.

h

RobA - Posted - 02/18/2015:  16:55:44

I agree with Howard. The simplest way to test this for yourself is to have two different people play the same guitar. I would say 80% of the tone comes from the right-hand technique and approach of the player 

WRM - Posted - 02/19/2015:  02:48:28

quote:

---

Originally posted by hlpdobro

 

Tone is mostly in the hands.

h

---

I agree with this statement, but will have to say that my Guernsey is more mellow sounding than my standard bodied Scheerhorn. At least when I play them.

SamCy - Posted - 02/19/2015:  05:37:10

An easy way to get a more mellow sound is to replace the spider bridge inserts with ones that are softer or less dense. Plain maple or birch inserts might be a good start. If that is still too bright, try a wood that is softer and less dense yet, like mahogany.

deuce - Posted - 02/19/2015:  07:07:25

Plastic finger picks might help too?

I appreciate I am stating the obvious...

TT

Slideman1939 - Posted - 02/19/2015:  09:06:37

Spider/Dobro type CONES get some of their tone from the type of aluminum used. The modern cones are brighter and louder because the aluminum is an aircraft aluminum alloy----example ....replacement cones from  Quarterman, Beard, etc.  The older OMI cones from pre-war, or the OMI 1960's-70's and (early) 1980's frequently have a cone of more pure aluminum content (less alloy).  Many feel this is a sweeter tone---but lacks volume. If you have a chance to experiment with an E Bay purchase of a used cone from that time period, that may yield the sound you want. at a relatively cheap price. A lugged cone from the 1930's will be hard to find and probably cost $90.  A post war STRAIGHT SIDED cone from 1965--1985 O.M.I. era is more available at around $30 (used E-Bay).  Don't waste time on "IMPORT" cones at any price, because typically the cones from Chinese, or Korean instruments are not from the type of aluminum that yield the old time sound. For hearing the tone of a 1935 domestic  lugged cone try the website of Jim Warren (oldtimedobro.com) OR go to You Tube and search the large tunes library listed under "JIM7233"---it's the same instrument--Serial# 6796 on a 1935 Model 27. This cone is very similar to the tone of Brother Oswald's Model 27--serial#7233.  Check it out. If this is the tone you are seeking, then the purchase and retrofitting of the older style cone replacement may be the answer---providing you buy a DOMESTIC cone that was in an O.M.I. or pre-war. By custom order Paul Beard could spin you an old style cone because he has access to the aluminum and because he still has the lathe mandrel for the straight sided old style cone. I believe he switched to the BOWL sided cone and the alloy aluminum (similar to Quarterman's) around 1989 (??) or early 1990's.  But he could do a straight sided cone, as a custom order, by request.

dobrojj - Posted - 02/19/2015:  17:21:11

Howard is right. Stacy Philips can get any tone or volume with Dunlop plastic finger picks to go along with his standard plastic thumb picks. John

oswald - Posted - 02/20/2015:  05:01:21

Move you picking hand towards the finger board. Pick the strings over the finger board for a more mellow sound. Try a few different places over as far as the 15th-ish fret. The farther you pick any instrument from the bridge, the more mellow the tone. Oswald picked a lot over the finger board.

jimwheel25 - Posted - 02/20/2015:  06:34:51

Thanks for all your responses. I do pick up at the beginning of the neck most of the time and it does give me a more mellow tone, but still not the tone I am looking for. I would like to try another cone and agree that probably an older one would produce a more more mellow sound, but don't know how to tell if it is real or not. Also, plastic finger picks would probably help but I have problems with shaping them to my fingers (I guess it's just easier to do it with metal ones.) I use Beard medium strings all the time. Any help anyone can give me with finding a cone would be appreciated.

Brad Bechtel - Posted - 02/20/2015:  07:52:27

You say you've seen videos that have the mellow tone you seek.  What guitars are being played on those videos?

I'd agree that it's probably more the way you're playing than the guitar when it comes to playing with a mellow tone.

Shifty - Posted - 02/20/2015:  08:33:28

If you are depending on what you hear from Youtube or other sources on the computer, and you are depending on the speakers in the computer to reproduce accurately the sound of the Reso, real life and the "mellow tone" will probably never sound the same.

No tiny set of speakers in a lap top, nor a little less tiny in a desktop, nor a teeny set of cheap earphones will ever reproduce the sound accurately.

That mellow sound you seek might well be an illusion born of inadequate speakers, maybe running it through a quality set of headphones or jacking it into an amp with good speakers would show more of  the real tone. but still probably not all.

jimwheel25 - Posted - 02/20/2015:  09:54:48

I can't tell what brand of guitar they are playing because they always cut of the picture at the end of the neck where the make of guitar is. Also, I use headphones, a good quality, and they are the same for all the different dobros I hear, so that is not factor; I can't think of any videos right off hand where the type of cone I am looking for is being played. I will try to find out more.

wlgiii - Posted - 02/20/2015:  11:21:03

For a really mellow tone, you may want to try a non-resophonic squareneck.  Does Gold Tone still make that one model? Old Oahus are out there, too.

Dave Falk - Posted - 02/20/2015:  11:33:05

I wished one of my dobro hero's 'Ivan Rosenberg' saw this thread.

I saw Ivan and Chris Coole in Detroit a few months ago. Ivan mentioned that he had Todd Clinesmith make his dobro quieter than the typical dobro because he backed up a lot of acoustic guitar player singer songwriters.

Jim Bates - Posted - 12/31/2015:  11:43:31

The most mellow' resophonic I own is a 'Guernsey - Mike Auldridge model. I had this built by Ivan Guernsey exactly like Mike's that he was playing with Seldom Scene in the 90's. Nice full sound with not too bright treble - uses birch bridges (no ebony caps)..

Also, try brass finger picks and plastic thumb pick (and also try a red Raja bullet bar or even a Clayton black glass bullet bar.

Thanx,
Jim Bates

little ray - Posted - 12/31/2015:  20:02:37

Go so somewhere that has dobros and play them. There were a lot of dobros that sounded like what you are describing in the 80s but now the cones are updated. You might try a lug cone.

Oboe Cadobro - Posted - 01/04/2016:  11:58:04

Last year, I played a Beard Vintage R and thought that it had a very mellow sound.

When I think of players who have a mellow sound, I always think of Josh Swift and his Meredith reso. Here's one from Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver that illustrates:

youtube.com/watch?v=dS6ivMIZebI

Doctor Proctor - Posted - 01/06/2016:  03:23:27

  Deciding what kind of guitar you want by  listening to world class musicians playing  em on the internet is only gonna get you so far.

Because you don't know exactly how much of what you are hearing is the player, the guitar or the MIX. 

There are videos of GREAT players playing GREAT  instruments and they sound GREAT. 

There is a video of Jimmy H and Mike Auldridge playing the same  GOLDTONE guitar  and is one of the best examples of how the TONE is in the players hands

little ray - Posted - 01/06/2016:  21:11:35

A live recording might be where you can find the dobro sound you are looking for. When a album is produced and mixed it might sound very different than the original. The final recording can sound very different from the raw recording.

hlpdobro - Posted - 01/07/2016:  07:45:35

Might I suggest that the OP tells us what make model he/she is playing now? Problem is that describing tone/sound is like herding cats,  Specifying a guitar would at least give me a baseline of understanding.



Case in point. OboeC described the Vintage R as being mellow. I'm intimately familiar with the V-R. It was my main ax 2001-2013. With my right hand I would describe the guitar as "aggressive". I could make it "mellow" for sure though. Move the right hand and there it is.

Therein lies the challenge.

h

 

Oboe Cadobro - Posted - 01/08/2016:  08:25:20

quote:

---

Originally posted by hlpdobro

OboeC described the Vintage R as being mellow. I'm intimately familiar with the V-R. It was my main ax 2001-2013. With my right hand I would describe the guitar as "aggressive"

---

That's certainly interesting...the V-R I played 2-3 years ago had a beautiful tone but was not what I consider loud or bright at all, compared to the Nati-Horns I played next to it...probably the mellowest guitar I have ever played except for a Gretsch...

hlpdobro - Posted - 01/08/2016:  12:02:15

Just think of your playing ability 2-3 years ago.

Very little variation between V-R individual guitars due to the laminate materials.

FWIW, Fred Travers of the Scene made the switch to the V-R last year.

h

AllyC - Posted - 05/14/2016:  22:14:14

What about going the vintage route? My Fiddle Edge Dobro M32 is very mellow and warm (perhaps surprising for a metal bodied instrument) which little of the percussive attack that characterises modern Dobros. You will sacrifice a tonne of volume, though.

tomkatb - Posted - 05/15/2016:  11:38:46

When i picked out my guitar Frank Harlow had one of most everything. The solid mahogany was the most mellow.

However the Weissenborns always seem so mellow to me.

Steely Pete - Posted - 03/21/2017:  07:47:11

Hey Gang, First Post....  'Been playin' Pedal Steel for 35+ years, 'been checking out Dobro's lately, and one that stands out to me with mellow tone compared to others is the Whecter/Scheerhorn.    This is based on side by side comparison to other more and less expensive instruments.  This was true for both their round sound-hole and F-hole models.  Anyone else tried these side by side???  What did you think?  

Steely Pete - Posted - 03/22/2017:  10:22:05

Oh Yeah I forgot to mention the three Instruments I have here are S/W 6510R, S/W 6524-FE (I have played one gig so far with this one), amd a Blue-Sparkle Regal RD-40 that was under someones bed for many years and tuned up on CL.  I set it up and after 5 tries it really sounds great.  This Regal is both loutder and more Treble-ee than the S/W's.  It also has a great feeling connection between bar/strings/picks when being played... like there's a resonant frequency that ocuurs between my hands and the Dobro when you play it that makes it play easier, or something.  The strings appear to be way lower that the S/W's.  ...and it's the same blue-sparkle color as my mini-bike helmet :)

I also played two different Gold Tone models,  a Beard, and some Rayco's (at Wintergrass).

These are the three I have up and running (trying to post a pic).  The W/S's have a real big soft bass, that makes them seem more mellower to me, I think.  I also think the overall volume is a little less, which is OK with my right ear  :)

Edited by - Steely Pete on 03/22/2017 10:33:16

gzerninplatz - Posted - 03/24/2017:  13:27:49

Steely-
One way to think about this is the often-discussed current divide between instruments with a "modern" sound - i.e, full range, big bass, lots of harmonic content, and "traditional" sound - less bass, more compressed and focused...you have clear examples of both there. My Blackbeard is a modern sound instrument, my Goldtone PBS-M is much more a traditional one, although in mahogany it sort of is in between (you have played both). The Beard Vintage R or gold tone PBS-D would be more clearly traditional.

So if you want to sound like (we wished!) JD with Allison Krauss, the W-S 6524 is it...for flat-out bluegrass, the Regal....

IMHO, of course....

BrianMac - Posted - 04/09/2017:  10:47:06

Hey Pete, you may want to post your questions in a new post. I think a lot of forum members start on the "home" page and look for the newest posts. It seems browsing habits don't often dig up old threads too often here. I'm certain other players here have opinions on your questions.

It does seem in general that the community embraces two schools of thought: Old school rattle with focused banjo-cutting tone and new school warm, big and rich.

UncleDave - Posted - 04/09/2017:  15:15:33

Hey Jim, 

You've received quite a bit good advice, but I need to add one bit that has worked in my quest for a more mellow tone.  I moved to nickel wound strings. I made a huge difference and I'm now 100% satisfied with my tone. I had also switched from steel to brass finger picks. That had helped some but not nearly as much as the nickel strings. 

Best of luck to you.

Here's a link to my current source....

amazon.com/Martin-M980-Resonat...gs+martin

resotom - Posted - 04/11/2017:  07:52:15

Certain resos like certain strings. So many factors come into play here. If you find that bronze strings work best for your particular instrument, then by all means use those. I have found that over the six decades that I have been playing, your ear will be the determining factor in what you want to hear from your reso... 

Lounge Primate - Posted - 04/11/2017:  10:43:00

I've got a maple dobro that, to my ear, sounds really trebley in G-tuning.  But in D tuning, it sounds spectacular--strings have less tension, and a deeper voice.  I've never tried, but I wonder if in G-tuning, if you went up a thousandth or two (from .016, to 017 for example on 1st string like Rob Ickes does), but did it on all strings, ie: a custom set, would that make it mellower for you? don't know. . . somebody here will.