Suggestions on Creating a Patch for my Dobro?

[ericroyals]

I have a Dobro Resonator (Hound Dog Deluxe Roundneck, if it interests you). It came with the Fishman resonator pickup already in it. It's the type that connects underneath the cone, rather than under the bridge saddle. I love how this pickup sounds--it really recreates the sound of the resonator very well. To my ears, it almost sounds like it's been mic'd up. (The only challenge I encounter when I plug it in is--it's totally passive with no onboard preamp or controls. So when you plug it in, you have to put it through some kind of preamp to boost the signal to proper levels if it's going to be amplified well.) That said, I'm beginning to tinker around with running it through my POD HD. The POD would be a perfect "preamp" unit before running it through a PA. I've not spent much time with it yet, but plan to soon.

 

I was wondering if any of you out there have done this, and if you have any particular suggestions on what models to start with when I'm creating tones. I would like to create a tone in the POD that recreates the sound of the pure Dobro as closely as possible, so I kind of doubt that I'd run it through one of the amp models. But I'm open to ideas. Would I have the best luck sticking to the "Studio Preamp" model on the POD? If that's the case, do you have any particular suggestions on how to set up those parameters for the right sound? I mean, I still want it to sound like a true resonator, so no "grit" or "drive" (although I might add that later for fun). And I might add some verb to it in order to add some dimension to the sound. But what tone-building blocks should I consider? Maybe the studio EQ as well?

 

Any suggestions would be very helpful--particularly from someone who has played their own resonator through the POD and achieved good results. I'm sure I can figure out what will sound good eventually with my own ears, but it doesn't hurt to get a leg up with advice from someone who's already been down that road.

 

Thanks in advance!

[rumrill1]

I've been playing a lot of dobro for 50 years. I've tried everything. Now using a Fishman Jerry Douglas Aura pickup & preamp. It sounds awesome - JD uses it! - but I never had satisfactory results running it thru Pod (bean, XT,X3, HD500, or HD500x). I would always end up bypassing the Pod & running from my Aura preamp into the PA. UNTIL NOW! The new Acoustic model that came with the recent firmware upgrade, running thru a Line 6 Soundstage L2m full-range powered speaker, gives me as good a sound as I get running straight into the board.

My suggestion? Get the Aura system. It's expensive & must be installed by someone who knows reso guitars, but it's the best that's currently available. I have a Dobro Hound Dog round neck that has the same pup as yours. Not in the same league as the Aura system. I intend to get an Aura system for it, same as I have in my other 2 (square neck) dobros. With the Aura you will get great sound straight into the PA, or, alternatively, into the Pod - use the Pod's new Acoustic model to tweak the Aura's EQ - and then into a full-range (this is crucial!) amp/speaker.

[rumrill1]

Having said all that, I just tried running my Hound Dog thru the Acoustic model and didn't get much that was usable. I suppose if you really know EQ frequencies & what & how much to cut & boost, you could get a satisfactory sound. I didn't pursue it that far. My Fishman-equipped Guild flattop, OTOH, sounded super thru the Ac model with no tweaking except a bit of bass cut.

The HD Fisman is very low-volume. I put a Tube Preamp in front of the amp model, Threshold at 100% (no comp), Level to suit, just to boost the volume.

Let me know if you find a good dobro sound with Pod. . .