My New Resobird

[Steven Hicken Jr.]

Hey all, after posting on social media, a few people asked me if I'd post a video of my new Resobird, so here it is!

This is a raw acoustic demo into a Sony HDR-MV1 music camera (Stereo Mics). After the demo I've also answered a few of the questions I got on social media such as the woods used.

https://youtu.be/x9Xm60eF1QI

[Craig Stock]

Beautiful Guitar, and sounds great!

Enjoy it!

[Will Houston]

Looks and sounds great, enjoy your new toy !!

[Greg Cutshaw]

4 knees on a Resobird

[Bill McCloskey]

That is pretty amazing. And loud. Can I ask how wide the cabinet is? It looks huge in the video but I didn’t know if that was a perspective thing.

[Bob Carlucci]

very nice Steve.. Now , listen ,, DO NOT take this the wrong way, its an overall observation not being critical in any way...it sounds like a Dobro down low... liked it much better that way.. Like other reso/pedal steels I have seen videos, it lost the dobro sounds once the pedals/levers and pedal steel stylings came into play. I wonder if a lower tuning in G or something would be a better way to play these instruments..

I don't own one personally, but if I did, I would set it up differently from the standard pedal steel setup we all use,,probably an extended g tuning of some type..,.. In any case, that thing really sounded nicem especially down low.. Hard to tell the difference in sound between it and a "real dobro.. until the traditional pedal steel stylings begin.... bob

[Bill Fisher]

Six strings; no pedals. That's Dobro. Otherwise, just a different sound of pedal steel.

Bill

[Kendell Scott]

I’d also be interested in hearing one of these in a low G tuning of some kind. Love the concept of a pedal steel loud enough to take to an acoustic pickin party or a bluegrass festival.

[Steven Hicken Jr.]

very nice Steve.. Now , listen ,, DO NOT take this the wrong way, its an overall observation not being critical in any way...it sounds like a Dobro down low... liked it much better that way.. Like other reso/pedal steels I have seen videos, it lost the dobro sounds once the pedals/levers and pedal steel stylings came into play. I wonder if a lower tuning in G or something would be a better way to play these instruments..

I don't own one personally, but if I did, I would set it up differently from the standard pedal steel setup we all use,,probably an extended g tuning of some type..,.. In any case, that thing really sounded nicem especially down low.. Hard to tell the difference in sound between it and a "real dobro.. until the traditional pedal steel stylings begin.... bob

Bob, no offence taken. A big part of me owning this instrument is for the pedal steel stylings with a Resonator sound, which is for my own taste. I play pedal steel as my only instrument. No guitar or dobro experience; so this fits the bill for me as it instantly translates. That's why I tried to keep some of the demo simple and low in range, to show the bark and natural tone of the instrument, for those who aren't a fan of resonator with pedal stylings.

Some of my favourite pieces of pedal steel are actually Franklin Ped-A-Bro. Hal Rugg on the Resocasters album, Paul Franklin on Dan Seals acoustic albums. A lot of which were deliberately pedal steel moves rather than dobro stylings. I appreciate your comment though. It's purely a stylistic choice for me.

It's always been an argument with the nature of Resophonic Pedal Steels...but equally...if I turned up to a dobro jam on a square neck, people would probably say "you can tell he's a pedal steel player trying to play dobro", so it's a catch 22.

To answer the questions about tunings, Jimmie has also built 6 and 8 string models too. I believe traditional open G on the 6 string and another Resobird user had a custom tuning on his 8 string. Having less strings would in theory have less dampening on the cone too, which I believe would be even louder. I don't think my 10 string model lacks in sustain or volume though. It has more than plenty sustain and is much louder than my old model from 2020.

Thanks for all the nice comments.

[Steven Hicken Jr.]

Six strings; no pedals. That's Dobro. Otherwise, just a different sound of pedal steel.

Bill

That's correct, and that's my intentions for this 10 string instrument. A Resophonic Pedal Steel.

It's like comparing the late and great Glen Campbell playing his Mosrite, to Jerry Douglas playing a Beard. They're all Resonator family and sound but different styles.

That being said, as per my comment above, Jimmy does build models with less strings that can give you more of the traditional square neck style. I've just always wanted more of the Franklin D9 sound and style.

[Steven Hicken Jr.]

That is pretty amazing. And loud. Can I ask how wide the cabinet is? It looks huge in the video but I didn’t know if that was a perspective thing.

The video is from my music camera's wide angle lense, so makes it look longer than it is. I have other cameras with normal lenses but the microphones are much better on the HDR-MV1. It's served me very well for stage footage over the years and we used to use it to record live family band videos.

My Resobird is longer than a traditional pedal steel but it's not extreme. It's in the region of 40 inches long cabinet and endplates wise. It's really intuitive to play with the seating position. Not much difference between playing traditional pedal steel. Most of the length is a overhang of the right side which isn't part of the ergonomics.

In terms of the width, I don't think it's much wider, if at all than my Show Pro SD10. Although, I haven't measured them up.

[Bob Carlucci]

There is a LOT of potential there for pedal steel players.. I mean that thing had serious reso "bark" in the sound.. Like I said to Steve, when played the way a good E9 pedal steel player would naturally play it, it lost that realistic reso bark.. However, with a different tuning/copedent, and a somewhat different approach, these could be used on a limited basis for some bluegrass,blues, americana situations where a typical E9 pedal steel might not fit .. VERY nice instrument, and I am hoping to see where a few guys can take it... bob

[Steven Hicken Jr.]

There is a LOT of potential there for pedal steel players.. I mean that thing had serious reso "bark" in the sound.. Like I said to Steve, when played the way a good E9 pedal steel player would naturally play it, it lost that realistic reso bark.. However, with a different tuning/copedent, and a somewhat different approach, these could be used on a limited basis for some bluegrass,blues, americana situations where a typical E9 pedal steel might not fit .. VERY nice instrument, and I am hoping to see where a few guys can take it... bob

Thanks for the kind words, Bob. An aim of mine is to get the Resobird into the British folk world. It definitely lends itself well to acoustic music where sometimes, even the most textural of pedal steel can be too much.

I'm definitely not ruling out learning some barky dobro style myself. That style will come very much in handy and the D9 tuning gives it a little extra bark than E9. It's just as mentioned, I love some of the jangly pedal steel stuff that's different from traditional square neck. I'm sure different tunings and approaches would very much help though.

My band has begged me for years to just jump on a dobro and play gigs with them because I play this "rocket science" instrument so dobro must be easy. I've had to explain to them time and time again that genuine dobro is an art form in itself. It's an art form I have a lot of respect for which is why I've never taken them up on their offer.

[D Schubert]

I'm wondering, how does it sound plugged in? Can you conjure up a usable non-dobro steel guitar tone? In other words, could this axe cover both the acoustic and electric sounds for a Saturday night gig?

[Steven Hicken Jr.]

I'm wondering, how does it sound plugged in? Can you conjure up a usable non-dobro steel guitar tone? In other words, could this axe cover both the acoustic and electric sounds for a Saturday night gig?

Unfortunately, I haven't tried that as of yet. My primary instrument is my Show Pro so it isn't really in my plans to use this as an electric pedal steel.

I'm not denying the possibility though, it has a traditional steel pickup so could be possible. I just wouldn't want to be dishonest.