Cool Reso Pickup Alert

Durango Twango · March 15th, 2006, 05:35 PM

Just received my new pickup from National and thought I'd share. The pickup was developed as a joint venture between National (one of my favorite companies both in terms of product and people) and Lace. It's a very flat humbucker (maybe 1/8" or a bit more) that attaches to the face with thin double stick tape. Mine is brushed aluminum that kind of looks like the vintage steel finish - not really a match at all but it works. There is a cable coming off the treble side that goes to a pre-wired endpin jack and for now it loops around the waist of the guitar and attaches to the endpin. Tomorrow, I'll drill a hole for a jack and internalize the wire as much as possible.

Now for the fun. The tone is just what I was hoping to find - warm, very musical, but still retains a surprising amount of the reso character. The thing REALLY sounds like a National when it's plugged in. It's feedback resistant, dead silent, and you can play as hard as you want without a lot of extraneous noise coming through. String balance is better than I expected (good thing 'cause there are no adjustable pole pieces). Since it's a magnetic pickup, you can also run effects, gain, whatever floats your boat. This is a very good and practical real world pickup to my ears.

Anyway, if you have a reso and are looking for a good pickup, give this serious consideration. You have to order it directly from National - the other lace pickups on the market apparently aren't quite the same thing.

bendaway · March 20th, 2006, 02:25 PM

A thin magnetic pickup like that is just what some resonator players have been looking for, even though it is pricey. The cost to buy one from Elderly music will be $150.00 when they ever get any in stock. It seems to me that the design for a pickup like that Lace/National might not need to be more than an updated version of a vintage thin DeArmond.
http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/NLP1.htm
http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/NLP2.htm

Durango Twango · March 20th, 2006, 11:48 PM

I think they looked at some of the old "stick on" pickups in a very real way, but somehow they got a more representative sound where the older ones sounded pretty much the same no matter what you put them in.
I tried this on an archtop and it sounded like my TV jones with the volume rolled off. I stuck it on my National and it sounded like...my National. Actually makes me think the pickup could be used for a lot of applications.

As for getting them from Elderly, I waited several months to get this one directly from National. Seems they get them pretty haphazard from Lace. My guess is that Elderly would be even a longer wait. As for the cost, compared to a lot of pickup systems, really isn't that bad of a deal for me since it got me exactly where I wanted to be without any mods to the instrument aside from a jack. Your results may vary.

JohnnyCrash · March 25th, 2006, 06:02 AM

FOR ACOUSTIC SOUNDS:
I've been MORE THAN HAPPY with my passive Fishman Reso pickup for about two years now.

FOR ELECTRIC SOUNDS:
Throwing in a single coil or mini humbucker to have blended or with a switch, or even two output jacks is EASY on any Reso. Route a hole and drop it in.

PERSONALLY, IN MY OPINION
I've tried a ton of stuff, and if I'm going with an acoustic Resonator guitar, I prefer to keep it "acoustic" sounding with a Fishman through an L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic DI.

Otherwise, I just use a normal electric guitar for any "electrified" tones. Open E, Open G, or whatever.

Durango Twango · March 27th, 2006, 01:10 AM

Geez, I had enough trouble getting myself to drill the hole for the output jack! Well, not really that bad, but I would really rather not ROUTE my steel bodied guitar. That's why I dig this pickup - doesn't require any meaningful mods and it delivers just fine. Chris Whitley got some great sounds out of his Nationals and if I'm not mistaken he used some old Barcus Barry stick on pickups - this is just an updated, more "acoustic" sounding version to my ears.

Just for reference, I had a polychrome tricone a few years ago and the pickup developed specifically for this guitar (that works only on a tricone) was brilliant, incredibily real sounding, based around a mic element. Biscuit pickups I've heard just don't sound as natural to me, and had a lot of piezo character. The only exception is the blend between the Highlander biscuit pickup and the P90 on the reso-lectrics can sound pretty good if you mess with it enough - but still nothing like a mic'd reso to my ears. The contact pickups I've listened to ("cone tone" from elderly, pickup the world's and others) can sound pretty good, but are very feedback prone. All this in mind, I'll stick with my original post.

BUT THEY ALL SOUND LIKE PICKUPS and when I want truly acoustic tone I throw a mic in front of it, just like with the flatops. I prefer pickups that don't interfere with the acoustic tone for this reason.

bendaway · April 10th, 2006, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bendaway

The cost to buy one from Elderly music will be $150.00 when they ever get any in stock. It seems to me that the design for a pickup like that Lace/National might not need to be more than an updated version of a vintage thin DeArmond.
http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/NLP1.htm
http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/NLP2.htm

The price at Elderly has increased to $200!! That is WAY too much for any magnetic pickup. Check out this slim DeArmond style for $27.95:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Neck-Dea...QQcmdZViewItem

Durango Twango · April 11th, 2006, 12:43 AM

You'd still have to drill holes in the face from the looks of the mounting and unless the pickup is less than 1/8" you'll have some string clearance issues.

After using this pickup for awhile now and after many years of a LOT of old pickups etc, I really don't find this a bad deal - guess you just have to hear it. Sunrise magnetic pickups have been a staple for years and are similarly priced, the Highlander pickup made for biscuit bridges is more expensive and for my needs not as good sounding, and the numerous dual source setups are often several times the cost.

I'm very familiar with old DeArmonds - they're one of my favorite sounds. But this pickup is entirely different.

bendaway · April 11th, 2006, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Durango Twango

I'm very familiar with old DeArmonds - they're one of my favorite sounds. But this pickup is entirely different.

Pickups are coils of wire and magnets.

JohnnyCrash · April 11th, 2006, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bendaway

Quote:

Originally Posted by Durango Twango

I'm very familiar with old DeArmonds - they're one of my favorite sounds. But this pickup is entirely different.

Pickups are coils of wire and magnets.

Unless their piezo pickups, which is where I keep going back to here on this thread.

Why buy an acoustic instrument, only to destroy it's character with a humbucker?

Oh well, people all have different tastes. Different strokes (whatchoo talkin bout Willis?)...

Durango Twango · April 13th, 2006, 07:40 AM

The whole reason this pickup impresses me is how much it RETAINS THE CHARACTER OF THE RESONATOR, UNLIKE ANY OTHER MAGNETIC PICKUP I'VE USED. As much or more than a Cone Tone, Fishman, Highlander and Pickup The World, a couple of which I bought and sold, all of which I listend to in depth before buying and keeping this one.

Anyway, play what makes you happy. Just wanted to throw out something new on the market that works from the standoint of someone who has actually listened to one. Take care!

JohnnyCrash · April 13th, 2006, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Durango Twango

The whole reason this pickup impresses me is how much it RETAINS THE CHARACTER OF THE RESONATOR, UNLIKE ANY OTHER MAGNETIC PICKUP I'VE USED. As much or more than a Cone Tone, Fishman, Highlander and Pickup The World, a couple of which I bought and sold, all of which I listend to in depth before buying and keeping this one.

Anyway, play what makes you happy. Just wanted to throw out something new on the market that works from the standoint of someone who has actually listened to one. Take care!

Did you try the Highlander?

How did that one sound?

An old local blues guy uses those, Doug MacLeod. He's sponsored by National Resophonic, so I'm sure they're decent pickups. This guys' been around (he's played with some of the greats - like Big Mama Thornton)!

http://www.doug-macleod.com

Durango Twango · April 13th, 2006, 05:38 PM

As per above, I tried the Highlander and it's definitely a good pickup. I used to have a polychrome tricone and used that very unique Highlander tricone pickup built around essentially a mic element - that thing was brilliant, one of the most natural sounding acoustic pickups I've ever used in any application. All of the ones I listed are good pickups. But the thing I didn't like about just about all of the biscuit or cone mounted pickups is the tendency to feedback. I could get all of them to howl at moderate volumes - not a problem in pure acoustic settings, but limiting for band level settings. Some had real problems with handling and slide noise as well.

It was the good folks at National who recommended this new lace pickup. They're desciription of the tone was right on the money for what I hear and as promised, it transmits the character of their steel bodied guitars. And running the guitar through overdrives and other pedals - which I've always found very difficult with piezos and contact pickups - makes for some really unique and useful tones.

All pickups are a compromise - the magnetic character of the Lace is no farther off the mark than the piezo character of the Highlander or Fishmans. For me, when I play acoustic sets, If the pickups aren't natural enough it's time to throw a mic in front of the guitars. In a band setting, a lot of the differences get lost in the mix.

JohnnyCrash · April 14th, 2006, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Durango Twango

As per above, I tried the Highlander and it's definitely a good pickup. I used to have a polychrome tricone and used that very unique Highlander tricone pickup built around essentially a mic element - that thing was brilliant, one of the most natural sounding acoustic pickups I've ever used in any application. All of the ones I listed are good pickups. But the thing I didn't like about just about all of the biscuit or cone mounted pickups is the tendency to feedback. I could get all of them to howl at moderate volumes - not a problem in pure acoustic settings, but limiting for band level settings. Some had real problems with handling and slide noise as well.

It was the good folks at National who recommended this new lace pickup. They're desciription of the tone was right on the money for what I hear and as promised, it transmits the character of their steel bodied guitars. And running the guitar through overdrives and other pedals - which I've always found very difficult with piezos and contact pickups - makes for some really unique and useful tones.

All pickups are a compromise - the magnetic character of the Lace is no farther off the mark than the piezo character of the Highlander or Fishmans. For me, when I play acoustic sets, If the pickups aren't natural enough it's time to throw a mic in front of the guitars. In a band setting, a lot of the differences get lost in the mix.

I know exactly what you mean!

A mic is the ONLY thing that'll really sound exactly natural... so we have to find what is a compromise we can live with to get enough volume for what we need.

Have you ever tried the L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic DI with any piezo pickups? Not really pedal-friendly, so maybe it's not for you - but I really dug it.

JeffBrocklebank · October 25th, 2007, 02:37 PM

Hi I had a lace/national pickup installed on my delphi. I noticed the high unwound strigns are way louder than the low bronze wound strings. Anyone else notice this? How did you deal with it?

TNO · October 25th, 2007, 02:59 PM

Use nickel strings.

JeffBrocklebank · October 25th, 2007, 05:11 PM

Thanks very much. I've never used nickel strings on an acoustic guitar. How do they sound acoustically? Any recommendations for brands?

Thanks alot.

charlie cash · October 25th, 2007, 07:03 PM

Durango Twang,
It sounds interesting to me. I don't know why everyone is giving you grief about this. I'd like a pick-up option for my reso without making any alterations to it. Thanks for posting.

March 15th, 2006, 05:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
Durango Twango Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 191	Cool Reso Pickup Alert Just received my new pickup from National and thought I'd share. The pickup was developed as a joint venture between National (one of my favorite companies both in terms of product and people) and Lace. It's a very flat humbucker (maybe 1/8" or a bit more) that attaches to the face with thin double stick tape. Mine is brushed aluminum that kind of looks like the vintage steel finish - not really a match at all but it works. There is a cable coming off the treble side that goes to a pre-wired endpin jack and for now it loops around the waist of the guitar and attaches to the endpin. Tomorrow, I'll drill a hole for a jack and internalize the wire as much as possible. Now for the fun. The tone is just what I was hoping to find - warm, very musical, but still retains a surprising amount of the reso character. The thing REALLY sounds like a National when it's plugged in. It's feedback resistant, dead silent, and you can play as hard as you want without a lot of extraneous noise coming through. String balance is better than I expected (good thing 'cause there are no adjustable pole pieces). Since it's a magnetic pickup, you can also run effects, gain, whatever floats your boat. This is a very good and practical real world pickup to my ears. Anyway, if you have a reso and are looking for a good pickup, give this serious consideration. You have to order it directly from National - the other lace pickups on the market apparently aren't quite the same thing. __________________ "People don't know what they want, so they want what they know."

March 20th, 2006, 11:48 PM	#3 (permalink)
Durango Twango Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 191	DeArmond and maybe a little Barcus Barry I think they looked at some of the old "stick on" pickups in a very real way, but somehow they got a more representative sound where the older ones sounded pretty much the same no matter what you put them in. I tried this on an archtop and it sounded like my TV jones with the volume rolled off. I stuck it on my National and it sounded like...my National. Actually makes me think the pickup could be used for a lot of applications. As for getting them from Elderly, I waited several months to get this one directly from National. Seems they get them pretty haphazard from Lace. My guess is that Elderly would be even a longer wait. As for the cost, compared to a lot of pickup systems, really isn't that bad of a deal for me since it got me exactly where I wanted to be without any mods to the instrument aside from a jack. Your results may vary. __________________ "People don't know what they want, so they want what they know."

March 27th, 2006, 01:10 AM	#5 (permalink)
Durango Twango Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 191	Route? Geez, I had enough trouble getting myself to drill the hole for the output jack! Well, not really that bad, but I would really rather not ROUTE my steel bodied guitar. That's why I dig this pickup - doesn't require any meaningful mods and it delivers just fine. Chris Whitley got some great sounds out of his Nationals and if I'm not mistaken he used some old Barcus Barry stick on pickups - this is just an updated, more "acoustic" sounding version to my ears. Just for reference, I had a polychrome tricone a few years ago and the pickup developed specifically for this guitar (that works only on a tricone) was brilliant, incredibily real sounding, based around a mic element. Biscuit pickups I've heard just don't sound as natural to me, and had a lot of piezo character. The only exception is the blend between the Highlander biscuit pickup and the P90 on the reso-lectrics can sound pretty good if you mess with it enough - but still nothing like a mic'd reso to my ears. The contact pickups I've listened to ("cone tone" from elderly, pickup the world's and others) can sound pretty good, but are very feedback prone. All this in mind, I'll stick with my original post. BUT THEY ALL SOUND LIKE PICKUPS and when I want truly acoustic tone I throw a mic in front of it, just like with the flatops. I prefer pickups that don't interfere with the acoustic tone for this reason. __________________ "People don't know what they want, so they want what they know."

April 11th, 2006, 12:43 AM	#7 (permalink)
Durango Twango Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 191	Well... You'd still have to drill holes in the face from the looks of the mounting and unless the pickup is less than 1/8" you'll have some string clearance issues. After using this pickup for awhile now and after many years of a LOT of old pickups etc, I really don't find this a bad deal - guess you just have to hear it. Sunrise magnetic pickups have been a staple for years and are similarly priced, the Highlander pickup made for biscuit bridges is more expensive and for my needs not as good sounding, and the numerous dual source setups are often several times the cost. I'm very familiar with old DeArmonds - they're one of my favorite sounds. But this pickup is entirely different. __________________ "People don't know what they want, so they want what they know."

April 13th, 2006, 07:40 AM	#10 (permalink)
Durango Twango Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 191	And that's just the point... The whole reason this pickup impresses me is how much it RETAINS THE CHARACTER OF THE RESONATOR, UNLIKE ANY OTHER MAGNETIC PICKUP I'VE USED. As much or more than a Cone Tone, Fishman, Highlander and Pickup The World, a couple of which I bought and sold, all of which I listend to in depth before buying and keeping this one. Anyway, play what makes you happy. Just wanted to throw out something new on the market that works from the standoint of someone who has actually listened to one. Take care! __________________ "People don't know what they want, so they want what they know."

March 20th, 2006, 02:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
bendaway Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: NC Age: 49 Posts: 129	A thin magnetic pickup like that is just what some resonator players have been looking for, even though it is pricey. The cost to buy one from Elderly music will be $150.00 when they ever get any in stock. It seems to me that the design for a pickup like that Lace/National might not need to be more than an updated version of a vintage thin DeArmond. http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/NLP1.htm http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/NLP2.htm

March 25th, 2006, 06:02 AM	#4 (permalink)
JohnnyCrash Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lost Angeles and Orange County Posts: 7,128	FOR ACOUSTIC SOUNDS: I've been MORE THAN HAPPY with my passive Fishman Reso pickup for about two years now. FOR ELECTRIC SOUNDS: Throwing in a single coil or mini humbucker to have blended or with a switch, or even two output jacks is EASY on any Reso. Route a hole and drop it in. PERSONALLY, IN MY OPINION I've tried a ton of stuff, and if I'm going with an acoustic Resonator guitar, I prefer to keep it "acoustic" sounding with a Fishman through an L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic DI. Otherwise, I just use a normal electric guitar for any "electrified" tones. Open E, Open G, or whatever.

April 13th, 2006, 05:38 PM	#12 (permalink)
Durango Twango Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 191	Tried One As per above, I tried the Highlander and it's definitely a good pickup. I used to have a polychrome tricone and used that very unique Highlander tricone pickup built around essentially a mic element - that thing was brilliant, one of the most natural sounding acoustic pickups I've ever used in any application. All of the ones I listed are good pickups. But the thing I didn't like about just about all of the biscuit or cone mounted pickups is the tendency to feedback. I could get all of them to howl at moderate volumes - not a problem in pure acoustic settings, but limiting for band level settings. Some had real problems with handling and slide noise as well. It was the good folks at National who recommended this new lace pickup. They're desciription of the tone was right on the money for what I hear and as promised, it transmits the character of their steel bodied guitars. And running the guitar through overdrives and other pedals - which I've always found very difficult with piezos and contact pickups - makes for some really unique and useful tones. All pickups are a compromise - the magnetic character of the Lace is no farther off the mark than the piezo character of the Highlander or Fishmans. For me, when I play acoustic sets, If the pickups aren't natural enough it's time to throw a mic in front of the guitars. In a band setting, a lot of the differences get lost in the mix. __________________ "People don't know what they want, so they want what they know."

October 25th, 2007, 02:37 PM	#14 (permalink)
JeffBrocklebank NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: vancouver Age: 32 Posts: 2	Lace Pickup Hi I had a lace/national pickup installed on my delphi. I noticed the high unwound strigns are way louder than the low bronze wound strings. Anyone else notice this? How did you deal with it?

October 25th, 2007, 02:59 PM	#15 (permalink)
TNO Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 220	Use nickel strings.

October 25th, 2007, 05:11 PM	#16 (permalink)
JeffBrocklebank NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: vancouver Age: 32 Posts: 2	nickel strings Thanks very much. I've never used nickel strings on an acoustic guitar. How do they sound acoustically? Any recommendations for brands? Thanks alot.

October 25th, 2007, 07:03 PM	#17 (permalink)
charlie cash Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Western Colorado Posts: 368	Durango Twang, It sounds interesting to me. I don't know why everyone is giving you grief about this. I'd like a pick-up option for my reso without making any alterations to it. Thanks for posting.