The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #75941   Message #1340479
Posted By: GUEST,reggie miles
27-Nov-04 - 11:19 AM
Thread Name: acoustic or resonator guitar?
Subject: RE: acoustic or resonator guitar?
As much as I love that characteristic sound of an all metal bodied guitar, I couldn't recommend any particular resonator without first giving it a once over and a good listen. There are many makers out there today and I have tried as many as I've seen hanging around the music stores and at various booths at festivals. The only thing I can say for certain is that there is a great deal of inconsistency in the playability of these instruments. More often than not they are not set up properly to get the most out of them. So, just buying what may appear to be the right guitar or brand name may not actually give you what you hope for. I would advise first finding someone, (a local repair person or guitar tech) who has some experience with setting these bad boys up properly and seek advice from them about which choices might be your best options. The right guy may be able to make any one of them wail.

PoppaGator mentioned already and you may know that National styled resonators have long been associated with blues players just as Dobros have been associated with country players. There are wooden, brass and steel bodied Nationals. There was even a National with steel back and sides and a wooden face. Weird huh? That's the model I loosely fashioned my homemade job after and it has never failed to turn ears.

happy hunting