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Resonator... not sounding right

Hey guys. Just finished my first resonator and I'm not happy with the sound.

1-it is very tin-y sounding... too much

2-Any abrasion or tap on the body is picked up... even my voice if I talk at the body or pickup.

The body is hand made with poplar, 1/2 inch thick. Hollow body. Dog Bowl resonator. Pick up is hand wound and epoxy'd to the inside of an altoid lid.

To attempt to mute it some I put rubber on the inside of the altoid lid around the outside and added some hot glue under the surface. I also added two small strips of some light foam materisl to the underside of the body around the pickup. No change...

Any ideas how to remove the sensitivity of the pickup?

http://www.kasteneric.com/WWII%20Dog%20Bowl%20Resonator%20-%20Under...

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Permalink Reply by BUGGY (C) on October 22, 2014 at 8:06pm

So as the bowl resonates it creates a change in the magnetic flux, getting the exact offset is tricky

I have one of these so might also try this...to see how it sound using my domino pup under it

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Permalink Reply by Eric Kasten on October 23, 2014 at 1:30am

This is agreat idea and will probably try this on the next guitar. I hadn't thought of this until the link to similar on a previous reply.

(Good illustration.... seriously. Makes sense)

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Permalink Reply by BUGGY (C) on October 22, 2014 at 8:58pm

The string vibration affects the magentic field and induces a current in the coil

the flux flows north to south. I think as you presently dont have any pol pieces the flux ist specific enough and hence the feild isnt being affected so well by the string movement.

On a humbucker one side is north one side is south so the flux flows up and over in an arc which is affected by the string movement.

you would appear just to have a north flux spread wide a cross the tin lid.

If you look at old tiesco pickups that had no poles the magnets went left and right so flux would still flow north to south.

Its like adding a base plate to an tele pup by the bridge it helps the flux flow and improves the sound.

The old nice sounding tiesco pups had offset poles for this exact reason so the flux ran drom the poles N to the body south...creating an flux arc to be broken by the string movement.

The wider the filed the more tone you get, see my banjo field experiments, by extending the flux field tiny extra frequencies start to appear you dont normally get.

I think its a pole piece issue and a magnetic flux direction issue you have.

Google how a magnetic pickup works and I think this might make more sense when you see the flux diagrams.

Good luck I hope this helps sorry for the mass post but this stuff facinates me and I have tried lost of experiments..LOL

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Permalink Reply by BUGGY (C) on October 22, 2014 at 8:59pm

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Permalink Reply by BUGGY (C) on October 22, 2014 at 9:02pm

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Permalink Reply by BUGGY (C) on October 22, 2014 at 9:08pm

Your lid is acting like a shield to stop the flux.. it just needs a screw to the magnet or bolt to the north pole under each string.

Above is a patented field technology pickup its the same basic principal why the old tiesco pups sound sweeter...wide asymmetric field technology = more tone...

So if your adenoid tin becomes south and the pole piece becomes the north as above it should work a treat.

Good luck and I will shut up now. ;>)