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Topic: Fingered (non-slide) dobro question |
nick allen
From:
France
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Posted 3 May 2004 11:26 pm |
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In the 60s/70s, one of the classic country sounds was dobro played as a guitar, i.e. with the fingers, not a steel slide. Examples include "Harper Valley PTA" and a lot of Waylon's earlier stuff. James Burton, Jerry Kennedy and Jerry Reed were some of those who specialised in this. I'm just wondering whether any of you guys out there know whether they used very light strings to get the "bendy" sounds, or just very strong fingers  .
Nick |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 4 May 2004 6:36 am
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I don't know about the other guys but James Burton used light strings with a plain G. He also played a pretty good Dobro in the conventional manner with a Stevens bar. What was unique was that he used a flatpick and one fingerpick on his middle finger to do his slide Dobro work.....JH
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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 4 May 2004 6:56 am
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| The Variax has both a dobro and National steel body setting. |
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D Schubert
From:
Columbia, MO, USA
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Posted 4 May 2004 7:21 am
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| Just from the thin sound, those are slinky strings. Over at the Clarence White Forum, there was some discussion of Clarence's session work with a fretted Dobro. In his case, it was a Mosrite-era thin-bodied electric Dobro that had almost no acoustic volume at all -- but was miked closely and turned 'way up in the control room. |
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Rich Weiss
From:
Woodland Hills, CA, USA
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Posted 4 May 2004 9:12 am
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| Quote: |
| The Variax has both a dobro and National steel body setting. |
Hey Mike, I see you've been pushing the Variax alot lately. Well, I've got a Variax 700 acoustic on order, I already paid for it, and should get it next month sometime. I look forward to hearing the dobro and resophonic sounds that it models. |
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Jerry Clardy
From:
El Paso, Texas, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 4 May 2004 9:30 am
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| Mike - How does the sound from the Variax compare to the MatchBro and SuperBro effects? |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 4 May 2004 10:27 am
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Rich, my friend who works at Line 6 tells me the 700 acoustic is absolutely amazing. But I've not heard this guitar yet. My friend will get his (they give him a freebie of one of every product they make,) about the same time you get yours. But I don't know if the Dobro sounds are included in that guitar. They are included in the standard Variax 500 and 700 medels.
Please give us a report on the guitar after you get it. I'm sure many of is would want to know what you think of it.
It's true, I have been pushing the Variax, but I'm doing so because I'm genuinely stoked. I honestly believe that this is the most significant development in the guitar's history since the advent of amplification.
However, I have to admit, none of the different patches (I'm not sure that's the right word) sound EXACTLY like what it is they are emulating. If you compare the dobro sound on the Variax with a real dobro, you'll hear a difference. Ditto with the banjo, and especially the acoustic 12 string sounds. Some are closer that others, but none of them are exact, 100% replications.
It really comes down to whether you see the glass as half empty or half full. Some will only see the differences between it and a real tele/strat/LP/335/hollow body jazz box/acoustic/banjo/sitar/12 string/dobro etc. Others will not compare the Variax tones with the originals, but accept them for what they are.
Something to bear in mind is that while we as players might be able to tell the difference between the Variax and our other guitars, listeners will not. Nor will they care. The real question is not whether the Variax can replicate the exact sounds of the various guitars it's emulating, but whether or not the sounds it sounds GOOD.
I think it sounds great.
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Rich Weiss
From:
Woodland Hills, CA, USA
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Posted 4 May 2004 12:16 pm
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Yeah, this will be used exclusively for recording. When your studio is not soundproofed, like mine, there's any one of a dozen sounds outside my window that can ruin a take on an acoustic guitar track, so recording direct with an acoustic modeler seems like a godsend. Don't even have to turn off the air conditioner. I hope it sounds as good as I've heard.
http://www.line6.com/VariaxAcoustic/intro.html |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 5 May 2004 3:35 am
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Hey Mike,
Let's take your Variax and my Dobro to a blugrass gig without any ampliphiers and see who gets the best resonator sound. I still don't like any fake reproduction of anything no matter how close it sounds. On another post you spoke of the Line 6 Tele sounds and I said I didn't want any "Fake Twang", same thinking applies here. Have a good 'un, JH
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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 5 May 2004 7:49 am
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Jerry, the Variax is a solid body guitar. It would make as much sense to take it to a bluegrass festival and play it unplugged as it would to do the same with a tele.
I suggest that you try one out. I thibk you'll be very surprised.
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 5 May 2004 8:04 am
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Mike,
I think the thing would probably be great in the studio for direct recording, etc. It's just that I'm of the old school and think too much of our "real" music has been going the electronic route. I still want the real "feel" of a real instrument. I had a Roland guitar synth for awhile and liked a lot of the sounds on it and it got to the point in a short time that when I'd go out and sit in with another band and didn't have it I really missed it so I sold the dang thing and just play straight guitar with a little delay and distortion when the song calls for it. I'm sure this Variax is the wave of the future but as I believe everyone knows, the way music has been going for a while now that the old ways are still the best. Real instruments are where it's at....JH
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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.
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nick allen
From:
France
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 6 May 2004 11:35 am
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Jerry, your posts remind me of a joke.
"How many bluegrass musicians does it take to change a lightbulb?
Five. One to change the bulb and four to complain that it's electric."
But I have to agree with you. No electric guitar can truly capture the sound of a good acoustic instrument. Notwithstanding that I don't care much for bluegrass, I respect Bill Monroe for refusing to use electric instruments. |
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