If you were in the UK I would recommend a Vintage (thats the brand name)model AMG1, an inexpensive metal bodied resonator guitar. Excellent for a first time resonator and excellent for Delta style bottleneck. I belive that metal-bodied is best for Delta style, also best results with metal finger & thumb picks. They work well with light gauge strings but you need to beef up the top E string by discarding the 0.012" and fit a 14, 15 or 16 as the "bite" is a bit lacking. The middle and lower strings sound just fine. Actually the heavier the gauge that you can comfortably handle the better it will sound.
Have a look at them at The London Resonator Centre (www.resocentre.com)I dunno if they are sold Stateside but they are well worth seeking out.