Previous discussion.   For reference.

Welcome Patrick, I saw on Chat GPT that a recommendation was made to use the K & K or Schatten reso pickups, along with the Fishman Nashville pickup in conjunction with the ToneDexter.

The ToneDexter has been a success with with the Nashville pickup - and the Nashville has been for quite a few years now the state of the art spider bridge resonator pickup. But the whole setup gets pretty expensive, don't know how much money you're willing to pour into amplifying a Recording King Reso. 

The players I know, or at least know of who run their dobro pickup through a ToneDexter instead of the Fishman Jerry Douglas Aura pedal, or the Fishman Aura Spectrum unit are using the Nashville pickup insert. 

When I have heard the K & K and Schatten reso pickups on their own I have not been impressed. K & K makes excellent pickups for acoustic flattops, and you might think right off that the resonator pickup would follow suit - but amplifying a spider bridge reso guitar is a very different beast than a flattop, with "beast" being the keyword. 

Perhaps someone who uses the K & K or Schatten with a ToneDexter will chime in, but I'm not gonna hold my breath waiting for it. 

I see the ToneDexter II goes for $649 in 2026 - yikes!  If I'm going to spend that kind of dough on the interface between the guitar and the soundboard or amplifier,  I'm going for the state of the art Fishman Nashville pickup.  

I have a 1932 Style O National and have K&K's on the biscuit and play that through a Tonedexter Vs. 1 and it works great. I have K&K's on my acoustic guitars and use the Tonedexter for those too, so the cost is sort of spread around. For what it's worth, I didn't pop for the Vs. 2 Tonedexter because the original one was working fine for me. And used Vs. 1's are available. I just saw one for $250 or so. I use a Meyers Grip on my Clinesmith, and it works great. This is a little pre-amp with a gooseneck mic on it that you attach to the guitar either with the enclosed suction cup (which for me failed to suck) so I am using a 3m tape product, kind of like a plastic velcro. The Meyers is basically a mic, so it doesn't need an outboard pre-amp.

Thanks, Robert. I'm going to go ahead and install the K&K, and based on what you and others have said I sure I'll be happy with it. The ToneDexter II, like the original, does a great job with my other K&K- and JJB-equipped acoustics, so after your comment, and the comment of a friend I'm sure it will do a great job here as well.

quote:

---

Originally posted by MarkinSonoma

Welcome Patrick, I saw on Chat GPT that a recommendation was made to use the K & K or Schatten reso pickups, along with the Fishman Nashville pickup in conjunction with the ToneDexter.

The ToneDexter has been a success with with the Nashville pickup - and the Nashville has been for quite a few years now the state of the art spider bridge resonator pickup. But the whole setup gets pretty expensive, don't know how much money you're willing to pour into amplifying a Recording King Reso. 

The players I know, or at least know of who run their dobro pickup through a ToneDexter instead of the Fishman Jerry Douglas Aura pedal, or the Fishman Aura Spectrum unit are using the Nashville pickup insert. 

When I have heard the K & K and Schatten reso pickups on their own I have not been impressed. K & K makes excellent pickups for acoustic flattops, and you might think right off that the resonator pickup would follow suit - but amplifying a spider bridge reso guitar is a very different beast than a flattop, with "beast" being the keyword. 

Perhaps someone who uses the K & K or Schatten with a ToneDexter will chime in, but I'm not gonna hold my breath waiting for it. 

I see the ToneDexter II goes for $649 in 2026 - yikes!  If I'm going to spend that kind of dough on the interface between the guitar and the soundboard or amplifier,  I'm going for the state of the art Fishman Nashville pickup.  

Thanks, Mark.

$650 is a lot, but I was able to sell my original ToneDexter for a decent price, and bought the TD II when it was still $600, which eased the burden a bit. That said, it's not for everyone. I think the K&K will work just fine with it, and because of how the ToneDexter works I think the Nashville will be overkill.

BTW, I grew up in Sonoma County and lived in Sonoma Valley (Glen Ellen) for a few years!

Patrick