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Topic: How do you get a louder sound for a 1983 Dobro, dobro? |
Sandra Dobbins
From:
Alabama, USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2014 8:41 am |
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| I have a 1983 Dobro, dobro. The tone is teriffic. What I am having problems with (without an amp) is volume. Just sitting around playing with a small group, you can't hear my dobro. Do I need a different cone, bridge or what? I have dobro strings on it. Thanks |
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Michael Kienhofer
From:
Goulais River,Ontario,Canada
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Posted 14 Mar 2014 12:42 pm
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I have a 1980 OMI Dobro stamped cone and have no Trouble being heard.
You may need a simple setup?
You may be picking very lightly?
Do the the guys you jam with lower there volume when someone solo,s?
A couple of points to ponder! |
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Bill Mollenhauer
From:
New Jersey, USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2014 1:25 pm
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| Not that I am an expert but maybe your cone screw is tightened down too much. Try backing it out then tightening till you feel a slight resistance then go 1/2 turn. If you hear a buzz tighten a little more but not over 1 1/2 turn. If you want to spend the $80 put a Beard Legend cone in it. |
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Greg Booth
From:
Anchorage, AK, USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2014 2:58 pm
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Have you changed the strings lately? If not that will make a big difference. Try a set of phosphor bronze dobro strings such as Dunlop, GHS, Black Diamond, D'Addario etc. Many things contribute to volume: a good cone and spider properly installed, bone nut, 7/16"+ string height and properly cut slots in the bridge and nut, along with a firm picking attack.
_________________
Greg
Kathy Kallick Band
www.youtube.com/user/aksliderdobro |
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Dave Thier
From:
Fairhope, Alabama, USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2014 3:01 pm
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| Many times, dobro players just do not pick hard enough. If that does not help, a component upgrade and good set up should help. |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 14 Mar 2014 3:26 pm
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All of the above - but on the other hand, some of the OMI Dobros and pre-war Dobros just aren't very loud. A good setup can help considerably, but I've been around some over the years that just seem a little on the quiet side even with a good setup.
_________________
Mark |
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Greg Booth
From:
Anchorage, AK, USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2014 3:45 pm
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I started out with a free Johnson dobro given to me. It was quiet, had bad tone and I hardly ever touched it. When I decided to get serious a friend lent me a decent guitar, a sandblasted 70's Dobro like this one:
It was also pretty quiet, until I finally got wise and took off the 10 yr old flat wound nickel strings! A new set of PB dobro strings gave it a strong new voice.
_________________
Greg
Kathy Kallick Band
www.youtube.com/user/aksliderdobro |
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Sam White R.I.P.
From:
Coventry, RI 02816
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Posted 14 Mar 2014 4:40 pm
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I put a set of Sid Hudson's Steel strings on My Dobro and lap Steel and they are stainless strings and they are loud and sound great.They are heat treated and I have no breakage with them.
Sam White
_________________
Dynalap lap 8 String Lap Steel Fender frontman 25B speaker changed Boss TU-12H Tuner.Founder and supporter of the Rhode Island Steel Guitar Association Founder of the New England Steel Guitar Association and the Greeneville TN Steel Jams and now founder of the North Carolina Steel Guitar Jams. Honorary member of the Rhode Island Steel Guitar Association,Member of The New England Steel Guitar Association.
Member of the Florida Steel Guitar Club,and member of Mid Atlantic Steel Guitar Association |
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Don Barnhardt
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2014 6:50 pm
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| All these suggestions are good. A Dobro brand resonator that is reasonably well set up and has fresh strings should have good volume. A Quarterman or Beard cone would fine tune it. I suggest you concentrate on your picking style. Just picking harder will distort your sound and tends to be sloppy. A good clean attack will give you your best volume and tone. Experiment by placing your pick firmly on the string and plucking off the tip. It's a little hard to explain but if you practice I think you'll soon see a difference. Hope this will help you. |
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Sandra Dobbins
From:
Alabama, USA
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Posted 15 Mar 2014 8:01 am
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| Thanks all. I found out the saddle has almost got to b touching the cover plate, not touching but darn close. I am going to start with that and see what happens. |
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Greg Booth
From:
Anchorage, AK, USA
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Posted 15 Mar 2014 12:20 pm
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| Sandra Dobbins wrote: |
| Thanks all. I found out the saddle has almost got to b touching the cover plate, not touching but darn close. I am going to start with that and see what happens. |
Actually, that is what you want. As close as possible without touching. Higher action helps with volume.
_________________
Greg
Kathy Kallick Band
www.youtube.com/user/aksliderdobro |
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