Resonator guitars and bottleneck style

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Guy Wolff
Date: 23 Dec 03 - 10:07 PM

jbailes What a very nice invitation. If i ever get out of state I will look you up ! All the best , Guy

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: jbailes
Date: 23 Dec 03 - 05:23 PM

i recently acquired a new olympia resonator steel guitar from house of musical tradiitons in takoma park maryland for $600 and i love it. everyone remarks on how heavy it is but it doesn't bother me - i wear it on my bike going to gigs. i got it so visitors could play with me and be heard when i am playing barrelhouse piano but i have got to playing it a lot myself. it is very easy. i play in open g and open e. it is loud and clear. single notes sustain, fiddle-like, so it "sings."
if anyone is in dc - capitol hill six blocks east of the capitol (644 east capitol street) - and wants to come by and play the guitar, please do. there is as much corn whiskey as you can drink. out of town visitors will be put up (not shut up).

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: PoppaGator
Date: 23 Dec 03 - 11:41 AM

My fortuitous meeting with Fred McDowell was an important moment in my young life. Until then, I had played my guitar strictly for my own amusement, with no thought of public performance, but he gave me such strong encouragement -- and I took it so seriously, considering the source -- that I gathered myself up to give the musician's life a try for the next couple of years. I never rose any higher in the profession than busking on streetcorners and playing occasional open mikes and "basket clubs," but it sure was fun while it lasted.

Even though the couple of songs I played for/with Fred were strictly secular -- "Richland Woman Blues" and a couple of other John Hurt tunes -- he immediately recognized the gospel influence in my vocal style. (I had spent several formative years -- ages 4-9 -- living next door to a wildly musical black church, listening to long services every Sunday morning and afternoon, plus visting gospel stars almost every Wednesday evening.) "You likes them spetchel songs, don't you," he said. At first I thought he was saying "special," but then realized the word was "spiritual," when he launched into a series of religious numbers.

I came away from the meeting with one new tune for my repertoire, "Twelve Gates to the City." Actually, he showed me two spirituals, one in each of two tunings, but for some reason "Twelve Gates" was the only one I continued to practice and perform over the years -- I can't even remember what the other one was.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 23 Dec 03 - 04:06 AM

Tom, you met & played with Fred!
Now I'm really jealous! Fred is my favourite slide guitarist. Shame we never managed to hook up last summer, you could have shared the story with me!
Season's Greetings.

RtS
("just the straight an' natural blue"

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: PoppaGator
Date: 22 Dec 03 - 05:54 PM

Way back in 1968-69, I was fortunate enough to spend a day and night (ALL night, consuming plenty of gin and reefer) hanging out with Fred McDowell when he came to play at my white-bread college. By then, he had (I suppose) graduated from the masking-taped-together cheap acoustic mentioned above to a nice cheap Sears Silvertone hollowbody electric. Even unplugged, Fred could play the shit out of that thing, easily making himself heard above my rudimentary accompaniment on a full-bodied acoustic box (D-18 Martin).

I suppose part of what makes a cheap guitar cheap is the nasty high action (i.e., not having to fine-tune the action, or even to assure that the neck is dead flat). When you play nothing but slide, of course, you don't need or want the same nice low action that a "regular" playing is looking for, and an inexpensive intrument can serve you quite well, and can be made to sound *very* good by the right musician.

Fred's Silvertone was made to look like a BB-King model Gibson, with that big round red hollow body. There are still inexpensive electric guitars being sold under the name Silvertone, but no longer as a Sears & Roebuck product. Nowadays, they're still red, but they are made to resemble Stratocasters (solid body) instead of the earlier hollowbody model.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Tweed
Date: 21 Dec 03 - 06:13 PM

Guy Wolff said..As Bert alooted to you can make any instroment sound good by sticking with it and getting used to IT'S way...

Absolutely right and the old field recordings prove it. Fred MacDowell's first session in Como, Mississippi had him playing a beat up acoustic with masking tape holding the back on and a butter knife tied across the frets for a capo. There is no better example of slide guitar to be heard. He could make that thing talk and sing.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Guy Wolff
Date: 20 Dec 03 - 07:59 PM

Hello ,
               Sorry I missed this thread. Well yes I love playing slide and have a few faverites .
               I like using a remake of the"Blues-King" LOO by Gibson. It has great presence and lots of trebble and high end . It is very good in both G and D tuning . I travel with this instroment. Its light and loud.
            I also play a mid 30'd Deolian national steel that sounds and reacts like a 1949 dodge power-wagon . Nothing comes close when you need that presence! It is great in both D, E, G, and DADGAD. Incredable warmth!
             I also like using and early Kallamazoo ( the 30's model that has the big sound hole. ) This guitar loves very heavey rythmic playing and is very very bright.Those high note slide responces to its wonderful hard thummping bass hitting is a very special sound..It likes lighter strings..   I play it in G or A more then anything else. It has a very particular voice on a good mike .<><<>
               Finaly for some studio work I just love this very funny Pearloid covered Kay " Proffesional" that is an arch-top with F holes and a very even voice across all the strings. I have used this guitar to record a lot of slide work. It is bright but also has some wonderful undertones.
                Ah just one more. For certain moments a telacaster cant be beat !!
                Lately I got my younger son a wooden bodied modern National Resonophonic guitar that is just amazing . It covers many of the bases talked about here.Its bright and has a very strong bass voice but is very even across its range. It is an amazing instroment. If I was only playing slide out it would be a very strong choice for gigging. I would put a pick up in it tough for that.
                As Bert alooted to you can make any instroment sound good by sticking with it and getting used to IT'S way... Today I was playing an old 50's little Harmony that I keep at my pottery shop and in G tuning it filled the room with great music. Lots of the best slide work recorded out there were played on simple instroments that a great hand just got used to . Slellas got palyed to death and thats probably why we cant find many of them still playable.
                Great thread . Keep slideing all here !!! All the best , Guy

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: ddw
Date: 20 Dec 03 - 05:20 PM

National made wood-bodied Triolians as early as 1928. They built two that year, then started production of them in 1929. At that time they were also making round- and square-necked tricones, ukeleles, mandolins and tenor and plectrum guitars with German silver. In 1928 they were also making most of those instruments in wood and many of then in tricone (spider bridge) and single cone (bisquit bridge) models. The continued to make some German silver instruments thru 1934, but in 1930 introduced the O style with steel bodies and some brass parts. Most had 12-fret necks, bu some had 14 frets and some necks were made of Bakelite.

In 1931 they also introduced the Duolian model, with painted steel bodies.

The company produced a dizzying array of instruments till a combination of family feuding (the Dopyera brothers), corporate skulduggery, WWII and electric pickups forced the company to fold. It was restarted in the early 1990s and is now producing awesome instruments out of it's California manufacturing facility.

For anybody interested in these instruments, I highly recommend getting a copy of "The History and Artistry of National Resonator Instruments," by Bob Brozman, published in 1993 by CENTERSTREAM Publishing, P.O. Box 5450, Fullerton, CA 92635.

I've got a Style EN (etched N — the one with flat etching all over except mirror-finish nickle around all the edges) that I ordered in September 2002. Love it!

cheers,

david

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Peter T.
Date: 20 Dec 03 - 04:53 PM

Son House! The video available through Stefan Grossman shows him in fine form (and one where he is really drunk) on Death Letter Blues. All you need to be able to play it is to be a driven man.

(Acoustic Guitar magazine has some really good books out now on slide playing. Bob Brozeman's Bottleneck Blues Guitar is a pretty terrific book/CD (open G).

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Mark Clark
Date: 20 Dec 03 - 04:19 PM

I thought I'd revive this old thread to talk about my new Roger Anderson resophonic guitar. I've played around with slide work over the years but the retuning always kept me from really doing much with it. Now I have a wonderful resophonic guitar that I can keep in a Delta blues tuning so I'm looking for resources to help me work on this style.

Most of the slide recordings I have are Furry Lewis, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Blind Lemon Jefferson and odd tracks of similar music. Anybody got any tips?

Thanks,

      - Mark

NB: It sure would be nice to have elwooddelta back again.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Jon W.
Date: 13 Mar 98 - 12:25 PM

I had a couple of hours to kill while my kids were at piano lessons yesterday so I went to one of my favorite music stores. There was this really beat up wood-bodied National on a rack so I took it in a little room and played it for a while. It was really ugly yellow, the paint cracked and faded, with some flowers or something on the back. The metal cover plate was the same yellow except half the paint had faded, and had the diamond solitaire shaped cutouts with metal screen soldered beneath rather than the usual punched holes. The body looked like it was made of 1/4" plywood. It had a rather crude neck and fretboard and the cheap plastic button 3-on-a-plate tuners through a slotted peghead. But man Alive! the sound was go-ooo-ood. Finally the owner came in and asked what I thought. I said how much? and he said "two". I thought two hundred since it was so beat up. Wrong. Two thousand. He said it was a 1928 National Triolian, the only year they made wood bodied Triolians. I obviously couldn't afford it but it was a thrill just to play it. I play several new resonator guitars, both Dobro and National, wood and metal bodied, but none sounded as good to me as the old one. Just had to tell someone.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 10 Nov 97 - 09:12 PM

Jon that pie plate sounds like the mother of invention to me.

If you can build your own, my hat's off to you. I can build a bridge insert for a spyder bridge and I do my own set-up work but building a guitar from scratch is out.

I've got a business friend that chrome plates wheels, guaranteed no kidding if you take 'em an old National body. :}

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Jon W.
Date: 10 Nov 97 - 01:46 PM

For years I've had a pipe dream of building my own resonator guitar and learning to play bottleneck on it. I know National Resophonic makes 'em and Dobro did and will again apparently, but who has $1400 to spend on one? I built a metal bodied resonator mandolin using a pie plate for the resonator a few years ago, just to convince myself I really could do the guitar, which turned out pretty fair for a first attempt. A resonator cone from National Resophonic only costs in the neighborhood of $40. So I was getting psyched up to build one soon as I get done remodeling my house. Then I get the latest Lark in The Morning Catalog and I see they're selling some kind of wood bodied resonator guitars for about $350. So who knows, maybe I'll save myself a few months of project time.

PS yes, Elwooddelta, I did get the mandolin plated at a bumper shop. Seemed pretty amusing to them and was by far the highest cost of the whole project.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 09 Nov 97 - 12:23 PM

Hey all you resonator fans,

Check out Gibson's web site thereis news about GAI, the new division of Gibson in Nashville that will re-start production of Dobros.

Looks like they will improve the bottleneck line.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 26 Oct 97 - 08:56 PM

This topic nearly died out. I'm giving it one more try. Anybody got or seen a Rich & Taylor resonator guitar?

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 15 Oct 97 - 08:48 PM

Well Bert, I'm in Texas but that beer sounds good, E-Mail me one and I'll return the favor sometime. I only play slide , I've tried playing in regular tuning but I can't seem to get the hang of it. I play totally by ear and don't particularly know any method. I can tell you that when I started out I was strumming bar chords but have developed the ability to play on one string at a time by learning to mute adjacent strings with my "spare" right fingers. Play what sounds interesting to you, your interests will evolve into a style.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Bert
Date: 15 Oct 97 - 09:01 AM

Elwooddelta,

No, it isn't a Dobro just some old cheapie with a small body that sounds twangy. It doesn't have a resonator, just kinda sounds like it though. The action is prettty low but I can try it both ways. Do you have any tips on playing slide? I'm just a strummer and need all the help I can get.

Max lives in Downingtown PA which is about 20 miles from Phoenixville whre I live. Where are You? If it's anywhere within reach, drop in for a beer.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 14 Oct 97 - 10:52 PM

It's official, I have confirmation from Gibson that Dobro guitars are not in production and it will be well into 1998 before they are available again. IF ya got one, the're a sure bet to hold onto. I bet the prices are going to skyrocket when they are re-launched.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 13 Oct 97 - 08:57 PM

Well Bert, was it a Dobro? Good for Max and the G tuning! Where is Max anyhow? I play bottleneck and don't particularly like a really high nut because I fret down low. In fact after I broke in my wood body, I lowered the action by replacing the bridge inserts. I's just different styles, and thank goodness we've got 'em.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Bert
Date: 13 Oct 97 - 12:07 PM

A couple of months ago I picked up an old guitar at Goodwill (for $8). I put some used strings on it and was going to give it away, but it had such an interesting twangy sound that I decided to keep it.

Well Max (THE MAX) came along to my sing on Friday and said 'this sounds a bit like a Dobro'. He tuned it to G and pulled a slide out of his pocket and started playing it.

As soon as the dog has finished gnawing on that bone, I'll use it to make a higher nut. Then of course I'll have to learn to play the darned thing.

Bert.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Calle
Date: 13 Oct 97 - 07:38 AM

Here in Sweden a company has invented a plastic material that is 100% eatable. Something for a starving artist like myself....

Regards/ Carl

PS. In Sweden the word macaper is used as a word describing almost anything. Like "Hey, handle me that macaper..." or "He used some kind of a macaper to brake into the bank..."

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 12 Oct 97 - 10:35 AM

I guess ya fix a National with hammers and bondo, send it to a bumper re-chrome place to get it pretty again:} But fixin' a Macaferri, would ya use [lastic model glue? Actoally I have a jamin' budy that has a plastic Gibson Les Paul looking guitar. It plays ok for what it is. I hear there is an English company making a carbon fiber resonator guitar. Why not?

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: dwditty
Date: 12 Oct 97 - 07:00 AM

I traded out my Model 36 some years back. Coincidently, though, I picked up a 100% plastic Macaferri a couple of years ago. These guitars were made as a serious instrument for people who could not afford a wood guitar. Remember at the time, there were Martin, Gibson, and little else on the scene. The amazing thing, though, is that this guitar makes a surpring good slide instrument. If you can find one, they go for around $100. Circa 1995, they found a whole warehouse full - all in orginal cartons - brand new! Great conversation piece, too. One appeared as Guitar of the Month in Acoustic Guitar several years ago.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Frank in the swamps
Date: 12 Oct 97 - 06:37 AM

Mark,

Uh, I think you may be wrong. I don't believe Django ever played a resonator guitar. The Macaferri ( that may not be the right spelling, but it's a damn sight closer ) is a knotty top with an oval shaped soundhole. The guitar was designed to boost volume in the pre amplification days, but it's a very mellow, classical sounding guitar. I'm not a railhead myself, but it's nice to see a thread that get's into the stringslingers wet dreams.

A buddy of mine in Kansas city has the dubious distinction of having busted a brand new National steel as a toddler. His Dad, risking divorce (as he tells the tale) had just bought one, and Andy (his real name), managed to pull it down from a wall or a table or something, and gave it a lovely Captain Ahab type scar. His Dad had it repaired, and I noodled on it once. A Great Voice, with a Great Scar. I wonder if they used craftsman tools to fix the damn thing.

Frank I.T.S.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 11 Oct 97 - 06:11 PM

Robert, you can call me just about anything, particularly if it has to do with blues, guitars or beer! I know the handle is ah bit hokey but I'm also a blues harpist so I glued my interests together, Elwood the harp player and delta bottleneck blues guitar and there ya have Elwoodelta. I told ya it was a long story. I here some one calling me for a beer! Gotta go get it. Ps Too many guitars and so little money.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Robert Lee
Date: 11 Oct 97 - 04:50 PM

Well, Elwood (or is that Mr. delta?) it's nice to be envied by fellow musicians, even if it's just for the instrument I'm holding.

My Dobro is half-way between the two guitars I most covet; a National tri-cone for slide and a wood-body Dobro with spider for standard tuning. And, what the heck, throw a Parker Fly on the wish list even though I've never played electric in my life.

But, given financial considerations, I'll just consider myself lucky to have the fine instrument I've got.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 11 Oct 97 - 12:21 AM

Man this thread is turnin' into resonators-r-us.com:} Well Robert you've probably got the guitar I want! Keep it for 20 more years and it will be worth some real money. I've kinda' set up an Epiphone Les Paul for my electric jams. I just jacked up the action, put my .14 to .54 open D string set on and whang away through a Dan Electro Fab Tone. I still have much more fun with the Dobro.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Robert Lee
Date: 10 Oct 97 - 11:32 PM

Another resonator guy here. I've got a mid-70s steel (brass) Dobro, bought new 20-some years ago.

I recently had a Barcus-Berry pickup installed so I can take it out to electric jam sessions. It doesn't give a true acoustic sound, but it beats anything else I've tried or heard.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 10 Oct 97 - 08:35 PM

I think the price of all guitars is getting too high but specialized instruments like Dobros, Nationals and a good number of other reissue type guitars assiciated with blues and rock roots are way high^^. Earl, I understand that National is going to reintroduce a resonator ukelele.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Earl
Date: 10 Oct 97 - 10:13 AM

I never heard of a Macaphari but it's plausible. Django played about the right time and could have used a resonator guitar to play his style with a full band.

Dobros were originally made by the Dopera Brothers (DoBro)to give more volume to Hawaiian guitarists. The two brothers had fight and one left to found National guitars. Nationals (as far as I know) were always steel. Dobro made both wood and steel. In the thirties Dobro's steel guitars were covered with a coat of paint, usually an olive drab color. In those days they made resonator everythigs, I've played a National steel mandolin which sounds great.

Speaking of price, I bought my Dobro in 1985 before they started showing up on rock album covers. Beleive it or not I paid $200. The Dobro bass we bought new and it was tres cher.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: LaMarca
Date: 10 Oct 97 - 09:49 AM

There's a short history of the National Steel/Dobro as well as musician and guitar dealer links here for them what's interested:

http://www.well.com/user/wellvis/reso-us.html

I personally like the story that the steel body Nationals served the dual purpose of sounding louder in a roadhouse/bar setting and being usable as a defensive (or offensive) weapon if the crowd got a little too rough!

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 09 Oct 97 - 11:17 PM

I can't imagine Son House playing a thing called a Macaphari De-jango. However there is an instrument called a Dobjo, a 5 string thing with a banjo neck. I'm talkin' real resonator guitars like Earl's steel body. ....... Hey Earl that base sounds interesting, I've only seen pictures.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Mark Pemburn
Date: 09 Oct 97 - 09:35 PM

Am I wrong or was the mother of all resonator gitters the device that Django Reinhardt had made for himself (called a Macaphari or something-like-that) so that he could be heard over the band in the days before amplification? (just an aside)

Q: Django had two musical brothers, what were their names?

A: Clango and Bango? (Fool!)

Pax,

MP

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 09 Oct 97 - 08:35 PM

Speaking of OMI the factory is closed and parts are getting hard to get. Gibson is supposed to be moving the Dobro manufactur to Nashville but I haven't been able to find out when production will start. It will be interesting to see what they start making, if, when. Mean time check out National Reso-Phonic at nationalguitars.com, they got some pretty cool stuff, pricey but cool. Come on Gibson, get on the stick!

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 09 Oct 97 - 08:28 PM

Well I am not loded or I'd have that bell brass model already. I've plaid the Epiphone Dobro and it's pretty good but the sound is slightly muted compared to my wood body F60. Calle, you're right about the price and the jam for the buck though, that Epiphone is far less expensive than the OMI Dobros.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Calle
Date: 09 Oct 97 - 03:56 AM

Hot Tips! For those of you who isn´t loaded with money and therefore can´t aford an original 60´s Dobro I strongly recommend that you check out the new Epiphone Dobro model. It´s a truly fine piece of guitar. More jam for little bread, so to speak....

Regards/calle

PS. Atleast in Sweden Dobros are really expensive.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Earl
Date: 09 Oct 97 - 01:15 AM

I don't know the model, it has no markings other than the Dobro logo. I think it was made in the 60's, it does not have a spider bridge. I bought it second hand before the prices started to skyrocket.

We recently bought a Dobro bass. It has the body of a wooden Dobro but with a long bass guitar neck. It's the only accoustic bass guitar I have ever heard that can cut through other instruments without being plugged in.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 08 Oct 97 - 08:03 PM

Sounds interesting Earl, what model steel Dobro do you have. I've go an F60 wood body with a spider bridge. I've go my eye on a bell brass DM33H, unfortunately my wallet's eye is on groceries.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Earl
Date: 08 Oct 97 - 01:49 AM

I play a steel dobro and my wife, on occasion, plays washtub bass.

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Elwooddelta
Date: 07 Oct 97 - 10:27 PM

Yea Max all ya really need is a good Dobro and a harp, just tow guys (or gals) and ya got the makin's. I play both, not at the same time but have a few guys around my area to jam with. What do you play?

Subject: RE: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: Max
Date: 07 Oct 97 - 09:16 PM

Dig it. These folkies just play washtub bases and screwdriver dulcimers (their going to get me for this) but it's nice to see someone with my taste in instruments. Nothing gets a crowd going like a good slide. I like to match it with a little harmonica action. You sure can bust out a funky beat with a slide.

Subject: Resonator guitars and bottleneck style
From: elwooddelta
Date: 07 Oct 97 - 09:07 PM

Seems like we've got to get this thing movin' Anybody out there play Dobro or National slide?