PASSIVE PIEZO PICKUP

for Dobro-style Spider Cone resonophonic guitars

Handmade in Scotland, the Tone Bar ESC-1 passive piezo pickup is designed specifically for Dobro-style resonophonic guitars. Developed over several years, this pickup provides an affordable and highly effective solution for notoriously difficult to amplify spider-cone resonators. The pickup can be installed in around 45 minutes without specialist skills or tools, and apart from a hole for the output jack requires no invasive modification to your instrument. Full installation instructions are included, including guidance on how to correctly set up and pre-load the cone for optimium acoustic performance.

The 55mm x 5mm pickup disc is made from ultra-lightweight polycarbonate into which are encapsulated two proprietory high-output piezo-electric sensors, terminating in a pre-soldered endpin jack socket. The pickup disc weighs just 10 grams and adds negligible weight and damping to the cone. The pickup is attached to the underside of the cone via the tension screw. 2 extra-long tension screws are supplied: 4-40 imperial and 3mm metric. (Almost all USA-made cones use a 4-40 screw)

The pickup is covered under warranty for 2 years from date of purchase. This covers defects in materials and workmanship, but does not cover accidental damage or improper installation.

Professional installation is recommended if you are not familiar with the design and construction of resonator guitars.

Please see additional listing for our National-style biscuit bridge pickup

Do I need a preamplifier?
This is a passive piezo pickup which is designed to produce good results into any standard instrument amplifier with normal high-impedance inputs, without the need for a preamplifier. Use of preamp is however recommended, and any preamplifier designed for piezo transducers will be compatible. Best results will always be achieved with a dedicated “acoustic” amplifier or full-range PA system. Electric guitar amplifiers may be used but their design is less than ideal for accurate tonal reproduction of acoustic instruments. When connecting to professional sound equipment or any amplifier via a low-impedance input (EG 3-pin XLR) a preamp and DI box will be essential