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Topic: Matchbro Dobro Simulator |
Gerald Menke
From:
Stormville NY, USA
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Posted 19 Oct 2001 3:54 pm |
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| Hello all: I have a project that calls for a dobro sound, but I have neither the bread for a National, nor the time to learn a new instrument, tuning, neck etc. Anyone out there have any experience with the Matchbro Dobro Simulator? For $470.00 that thing better carry the steel downstairs and set it up for me as well as sound like a Triolian. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! |
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Jeff Peterson
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 19 Oct 2001 7:15 pm
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It is a simulator...it is not accoustic..it is expensive....it sounds like a simulator...there are people who will say it sounds like a resonator...they are wrong...it sounds like a resonator simulator...people are actually recording with it..it sounds like a simulator...there is a place for it--in the simulator section..it's electronic--it 'simulates'....being ready for anything, I have one..to say it even comes close to any of my Dobro/resonators is poop. For what it costs for one of these things, you could probably get a decent used Dobro/resonator accoustic, a Crown GLM mic, and blow the socks off of anything out there.
Anyone who says they record with a simulator and the producer and engineer says, 'I can't tell it's not the real thing', is working in la-la land, and ought to thank their lucky stars they 'work for people with no ears'.(A quote from Bill Lawrence.)
If you can't tell the difference.....Bless your little heart! |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 20 Oct 2001 2:42 am
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As Jeff pointed out anything that "simulates" is not as good as the real thing.
However, the MatchBro is as close a "simulator" that I've heard. I have one of the original models (the superbro is basically equivalent) and I DID fool a bluegrass picker that heard a session I did with mine.
As I've said before, the key is to play the steel like a dobro (dobro type licks), not a pedal steel with a dobro effect unit. |
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Ernie Renn
From:
Brainerd, Minnesota USA
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Posted 20 Oct 2001 3:32 am
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When they first came out, I asked Buddy, since he designed it, if it really sounded like a dobro, (stupid question, eh?) He said he had used it on a recording with a blind singer. After they cut the song, the singer thanked Buddy for the great dobro solo. Buddy said that that was good enough for him.
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My best,
Ernie
The Official Buddy Emmons Website
www.buddyemmons.com
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 20 Oct 2001 4:48 pm
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| I own a Match-Bro (one with 3 knobs - second generation maybe) and it is truly the best sounding Dobro simulation unit I have heard. But, as Jeff said, it is nowhere as good as the real thing. Unfortunately I don't own the real thing, so I have to simulate. I have a Morrell 6 string lap steel that I put a G tuning on to learn the Dobro. On both the Morrell and my Carter (which I have a pedal and a knee lever that together gives me a G dobro tuning on strings 3 through 8 on my C6th neck) the bottom 3 strings don't seem to have much effect on them. I hope to be able to get a real reso again. |
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Joey Ace
From:
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 21 Oct 2001 5:57 am
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I have an early Match Bro and it sounds fine. It does not have the recording problems of an acoustic instrument. I suspect a "real Reso" properly recorded will sound better to the purist, but how many are that pure or can properly record it.
A top pro,I won't mention his name w/o his permission, said at a seminar I attended that he has to use a Dobro for some songs that he plays live with a world famous act.
Because the band is loud he had miking problems. The solution (turn down was not an option) was to use a pickup on the Dobro and send it to a MatchBro then to a miked amp!
That speaks well for the unit.
-j0e- |
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Jeff Peterson
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 21 Oct 2001 7:57 am
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| Smith Curry, a really fine Dobro player with the Kinleys, uses a Lawrence pickup into a MatchBro into a Peavey TransTube Combo w/2-12's. He sounds great, but not purely accoustic. It's hard to get a full range (accoustic) sound through speakers that only go sightly higher than 5k Hz. |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Spicewood TX 78669
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Posted 21 Oct 2001 8:18 am
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I have a very early one that I bought from Buddy in 1993 or 1994... I can't recall. Assuming you play dobro licks, it sounds just LIKE a dobro... unless you have a good real dobro next to it, then you can tell for sure. The dobro sound is essentially an acoustic experience, and I've never found a dobro pickup that can duplicate one as well as a microphone.
But, back to the Matchbro: it's the best thing available for being onstage, in the heat of battle, and having to bop back and forth between straight steel and dobro sounds. The logistics of stage work frequently don't allow you to get up, get another instrument, plug in, heads up to the sound man, etc, etc, etc. And, you don't have to carry another horn, restring another horn, learn another horn, etc.
I would say it's a very acceptable (  ) substitute for a dobro, but not a replacement if the situation you find yourself in allows an actual dobro to be used and you have the ability to play a real dobro. E.g., I use a Matchbro onstage, but when I play bluegrass in the living room or record in a studio setting, I use a Dobro guitar.
One thing I haven't tried though, since I no long have a dobro with a pickup on it (Jim Murphy got that one), is running a dobro w/pickup through the Matchbro to see if that config doesn't help the dobro sound "more like a dobro" if you know what I mean.
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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association
[This message was edited by Herb Steiner on 21 October 2001 at 09:23 AM.] |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 21 Oct 2001 8:54 am
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Herb, we tried that with a friends Dobro (Dobro brand Dobro) and it really didn't do much for it. He was using some kind of pickup that was designed for a Dobro but he said he was getting more of a lap steel sound than a Dobro sound with it amplified. He heard my MatchBro (I have one of the original models that has the extra tone control in the bypass mode) and told me the MatchBro sounded more like a Dobro amplified than his Dobro did.
We tried the MatchBro with his Dobro and the pickup he had and it sounded too "artificial". Maybe some more tweaking or a different Dobro pickup might have got better results. |
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Gene Jones
From:
Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
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Posted 21 Oct 2001 11:05 am
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| * [This message was edited by Gene Jones on 06 May 2002 at 10:41 AM.] |
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 21 Oct 2001 9:06 pm
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If you want to play Pedabro parts and can't get a Pedabro, then the Matchbro is the ticket. I saw Steve Hinson covering Paul Franklin's parts with Randy Travis. The sound was acceptable - I'm sure the audience couldn't tell the difference.
In the studio you want the real thing, though.
Getting a good sound on stage with a real resonator is a trick, especially in a loud electric band. The Matchbro can save you a lot of grief in live performance.
In the studio you want the real thing, though.
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 Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (E7, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6) |
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Gerald Menke
From:
Stormville NY, USA
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Posted 22 Oct 2001 7:05 am
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Well, well. Thanks to all for the reasoned, articulate responses. Since I will be playing live more than tracking with this band, I guess the SuperBro is the way to go. Now I have the utmost respect for Scotty's, but I have observed that they sell just about everthing at full-tilt list; is there anywhere to get a better deal on a SuperBro? Thanks again to everybody for the super helpful information.
Gerald
Zum S-10, Evans SE-200, Lil' Izzy |
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Steve Stallings
From:
Houston/Cypress, Texas
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Posted 22 Oct 2001 8:59 am
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One other option is the Marrs Resonator Guitar Simulator. I've got one and it delivers a reasonable dobro sound live. I bet you can find one lots cheaper than a super-bro. Just my two cents 
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Steve Stallings
Bremond, Texas
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 22 Oct 2001 9:41 am
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Gerald, check the other steel shops, such as Bobbe Seymour's SG Nashville. He has his "advertised" price on his web page. Carter, Herby Wallace and several others also sell Goodrich products.
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