s11141827 - Posted - 09/04/2022:  08:52:26

I thought of emulating the sound of a Hollow Body Lap Steel Guitar by putting a Magnetic Pickup on a Square Neck Dobro & plugging it into an amplifier.

Edited by - s11141827 on 09/04/2022 08:54:09

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 09/04/2022:  10:43:52

That'll do it for sure, especially if plugged into an electric guitar amp. 

Most players are trying to go the other direction. If they don't want to spend the dough on the whole Fishman Nashville setup combined with the Jerry Douglas Aura pedal. they're trying to figure out how to shape the sound so that it still sounds dobro-like while using something a lot less expensive like a magnetic pickup. 



Years ago I was at a Bay Area steel guitar jam which included pedal steel, lap steel, and a few dobros. A guy had written on another forum that his dobro sounded good plugged in, and  he happened to be one of the attendees at the jam.

His guitar had a magnetic pickup and it did sound pretty good - if he were going for a lap steel sound. And he was a good player. At the end of the event when we were packing up I complimented him on his playing, but I added that the guitar sounded more like a lap steel than a dobro.  

wlgiii - Posted - 09/04/2022:  15:23:56

Bob Dunn with Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies is who I think of for an electrified acoustic lap steelish sound. Didn't he make his own pickup?

And now you have me thinking- lap steel sound & tone but without the sustain.....

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 09/04/2022:  16:13:42

quote:

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Originally posted by wlgiii

Bob Dunn with Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies is who I think of for an electrified acoustic lap steelish sound. Didn't he make his own pickup?



And now you have me thinking- lap steel sound & tone but without the sustain.....

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If you were a radio DJ, and what Bob Dunn used for a pickup were an album track - it would definitely qualify as a very "deep cut." 

gzerninplatz - Posted - 09/09/2022:  16:50:53

Well..."guitar pickup"->guitar sound. "dobro pickup (Fishman)->dobro sound. you can get a somewhat modified sound that can persuade most audiences with whatever pickup...but it isn't the real deal.

I wanted an option to be a real dobro or a real lap steel, on one instrument, and did a parlor-size custom with a switchable Lollar string-through lap pickup for lap sound and a Fishman for dobro....so I really do get both. (Custom CooderNator from Ben Bonham (bonhamdesign.com, ben@bonhamdesign.com).  Called it a CooderNator because Ry Cooder pioneered putting a string-through onto a regular guiitar for an really thick tone...and it also is a resonator...

Edited by - gzerninplatz on 09/09/2022 16:54:15

CooderNator

 

s11141827 - Posted - 03/15/2023:  16:32:08

These Magnetic Pickups that you see on most Square Neck Resonator Lap Steel Guitars are slightly microphonic so you do get a bit of Acoustic Vibe coming out through the amp too which is the good thing.

s11141827 - Posted - 03/15/2023:  16:35:08

BTW after I added the Magnetic Pickup to my 8 string lap steel resonator Guitar, I've tuned that Guitar (which has the same scale length as a Standard Lap Steel Guitar so I could play in the same pitch) down a whole step from C6 so it's Bb6, because it's a little easier for me to sing the high notes w/o straining my voice.