Resonator into a PA

hooked · #1 11-12-2017, 04:28 PM

I’m hoping to get some advice. I got a new resonator this year and it has a p-90 style pickup so I am not sure if this should go to the electric forum instead. I have gotten better at playing slide and I am hoping to start using this guitar at a local open mic which uses a Bose L1 system. I will not be able to experiment or test anything prior to the open mic.

I run my acoustics through a Fishman Aura Spectrum DI. A little reverb and delay in the effects loop. Wondering if I should just run my resonator through the Fishman into the Bose PA and turn the Aura blend off. Typically at home I just run the resonator directly into my Mesa tube amp and it sounds great. When testing at home using the Aura into my amp it sounds good but the aura cleans up the resonator grit quite a bit. I know I am going to lose even more character that the tube amp gives my sound by going into the Bose PA instead.

I’m hoping to get some advice of how I can achieve a decent resonator sound with the P-90 going into a PA. Do I just risk it and go in direct and hope there is no feedback? Go in through my existing acoustic signal chain? Bypass the Fishman and into something else more appropriate for this type of pickup?

Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks!

Silly Moustache · #2 11-12-2017, 06:44 PM

Y'know Steve James ?

I did the sound for him in a noisy bar gig in England some time ago. Gave him one mic - a Rode NT1 set it up on a straight up stand half way between his National and his mouth - and he loved it. I'm told he wet out the next day to buy the same mic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX1kom2fPVM

That mic and that stand is all we use for my trio now.

Hurricane Ramon · #3 11-13-2017, 02:16 AM

Thanks for the post , I really enjoyed the video , yep he's a great entertainer , I noticed his resonator is an electric pick up too

I've had my resonator now a year and it is a great guitar . It's all mahogany , heavy sucker .

Mine has no pick up . I'm using a large diaphragm condenser and/or a SM57 , sounds great with either

.

The large diaphragm seems a tad warmer , while the 57 seems like it reaches deeper into the guitar

.

EZ :

HR

firelakekid2 · #4 11-14-2017, 11:43 AM

I also use a Rode NT1a quite frequently. It works very well and eliminates a lot of **** cables. I play in a duo with my brother. We really like when we can use the Rode.

zhunter · #5 11-14-2017, 12:15 PM

I would not want to plug a P90 equipped instrument direct into a Bose. It will make noise but not a noise I want. I recommend an amp sim type pedal with a cabinet sim output. The least cost option I know of is a Behringer GDI21. Caveat I haven't tried one but you will find enough info in print and video to get an idea what can be done. From there you can XLR direct to PA. At $30, it is tough to beat.

I play electric direct to PA all the time and use an array of drives and a dedicated amp/cab sim to get me XLR to PA. But the options I picked are gonna be way more pricey and probably way overkill for open mic use. In hindsight, I could probably get it done with the Behringer too.

hunter

hooked · #6 11-17-2017, 08:30 AM

Thanks for all the advice! I would love to mic my resonator but this place is pretty much "it is what it is". Plug any play. I don't want to be that guy if you know what I mean. I will definitely look into the Rode NT1 for the future though. At home I have been playing around with an SM57.

I ended up bringing some gear to try out on an L1 at my local Guitar Center and think I found a winning combo for the pickup with my Empress ParaEQ and a borrowed Red-Eye into the L1. I did get some advice from a pro who uses this setup with the same pickup and it seems to work really well.

Tommy_G · #7 11-20-2017, 11:51 PM

I use a cheap clip on mic that i clip into one of the perforations on the cover plate It has a mini gooseneck that goes to a small condenser mic. Adjust it 3 to 4 or so inches above the cover ...run it into an EDB2 preamp which is battery operated with phantom power then into a PA.

Sounds just like what I hear acoustically.

J Patrick · #8 11-21-2017, 06:35 AM

...I used to play my national resolectric straight into systems all the time...the p-90 sounded great....i always like to add a mic to any acoustic with a pickup to get more of the instruments actual sound into the mix...

rockabilly69 · #9 11-21-2017, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hooked

Thanks for all the advice! I would love to mic my resonator but this place is pretty much "it is what it is". Plug any play. I don't want to be that guy if you know what I mean. I will definitely look into the Rode NT1 for the future though. At home I have been playing around with an SM57.

I ended up bringing some gear to try out on an L1 at my local Guitar Center and think I found a winning combo for the pickup with my Empress ParaEQ and a borrowed Red-Eye into the L1. I did get some advice from a pro who uses this setup with the same pickup and it seems to work really well.

The Empress is a fantastic box and I have been singing it's praises for a long time. I switch back and forth between acoustic guitar and reso and I'm thinking about getting another Empress and A/B Switch so I can have one Empress for the AG and one for the Reso.