A Beginners Guide To Resonator Guitar - History / Sounds / How To Buy - Resonator Comparison
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2021
- A beginners guide to resonator guitars.
How the different kinds work.
Basic history.
Sound clips and comparisons.
Buying guides.
If you’ve wondered about Tricones, Single Cones, Dobros etc and are just learning this is the video for you.
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Resonator Guitar Playlist - The Washboard Resonators • Resonator Guitar Infor...
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Thanks all!
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Love these videos!! Really fun and I'm learning a lot!!
Fantastic! So glad you’re enjoying them. We’ve got an ever increasing list of ideas which we’re excited to share. If you’ve got anything specifically you’d like to see then let us know. If we don’t have the knowledge then we know someone that does. This weeks video will be filmed tomorrow and was a suggestion!
I recently got a Gretsch G9200 Boxcar w/round neck as an anniversary gift from my wife. I love it dearly and it has been a "bucket list" guitar of mine for a long time now. Actually, this guitar is how I found this channel and even more in the world of resonator guitars and music.
Wow! That’s a super present. They’re super little guitars for the money. Glad yours brought you into our particularly nerdy fold. 🤩
@@TheWashboardResonators Thank you for all of the great content and music.
An honour and a pleasure. Many thanks.
@@TheWashboardResonators Could you possibly do a video on beginner fingerstyle picking and easy tunings to learn, it seems very confusing as a new player to this style?
Great short beginners guide to those wonderful guitars. You covered all the main stuff. Now it's up to anyone who got interested to dig deeper.
Thanks. It’s very basic but hopefully informs people what they might like and then they can find actual models that work.
I bought a Recording King Swamp Dog, style O, resonator, round neck guitar. I love the quality and the tone of this guitar. The biscuit bridge has the perfect tone for my finger style slide technique of playing. $800 including tax and hardshell case.
Those Recording King guitars can be absolutely magnificent. I hope yours is.
Hi , I love to here these instruments played, i have a Kala Resonator Ukulele, i know it’s a ukulele but i love it and maybe when i get better at playing i may upgrade to one of these Beautiful instruments . Regards Michael O’Grady.
Lovely! We did videos about ukuleles. They might be of interest!
Great video, i think you covered it all. I own a grestch boxcar roundneck. It's my first and only reso so I don't have much to go on, but I am very pleased with it. Quality built, great sound. I have played a few of the others in that price range, (I paid about 500 new) and I firmly believe if that's where your starting out, grestch is your best bet. The boxcar is a spider, but they also make biscuit ones around that sane price.
As someone new to, and completely obsessed with resonators now, I really appreciate and enjoy your channel. Thanks!
Super kind words and it’s kind of you to share this info. I’m sure as the years go on other players will find this video and your information helpful. I have a pal with the same guitar as you and it’s a good guitar. I’ve seen pro players using them plugged in on gigs and they do a great job. Very usable guitars. All the best!
The first thing I see in my head when I hear "resonator guitar" is the album cover of Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms.
Check our latest video as I went to meet Steve who sold Knopfler that guitar.
He fixed one of my guitar’s and I took in him playing a gig.
‘British Blues Roadtrip’
I've just ordered a Michael Messer Blues '28, which is a single cone biscuit 12 fret wooden guitar. It won't be with me for a couple of weeks, but glad to hear you recommend the guitars! Your videos are great by the way, very informative.
That is a brilliant guitar choice. Based on the 1928/9 wood body Triolian. Many National experts of the opinion that those wood body guitars are some of the best and most adaptable.
Thanks so much! I'm an acoustic player, looking to try out and possibly purchase a resonator. This video was the perfect introduction to get me started. ...Nice pickin' by the way! Cheers.
Thanks! Hopefully it gets you going! 🎼🎼🎼
Hi Martin,
Great video full of good information thank you keep sliding . Cheers Paul
Hope it helps! Thanks!!
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My resonator is a custom guitar… made by R&B…it’s acoustic and electric…and run $2,000. Mark Riley has slowed down but still makes guitars for players on request. He works out of Red Rock, AZ. Oh…they are f@#$%! g rocking guitars; great for blue grass, blues, and rock. I love mine…a piece of art.
Awesome! Sounds great!!
Always enjoy your videos even though I don’t play a guitar.
Ha! Maybe this is the one to get you started!! Thanks though. 🎯🤩🎯
Brother I have a resonator guitar, and I think you did a great job with this video; keep it up
Thanks friend! 🎯
@@TheWashboardResonators This is a super versatile instrument I love it I wish musicians paid more attention to it
Great video with a very clear explanation of the types of resonator. I really love the sound and look of these, particularly the one Mark Knopfler plays. I'm guessing it's old and extremely expensive so is there a modern version that's affordable?
Thanks! Mr Knopfler’s guitar is a genuine 1937 Style O model. This has a brass body and a 14 fret body join on the neck.
I’ve seen the genuine vintage ones go for between $2500-5000.
You can get modern replica ones for similar money or Chinese made ones for $300-800.
Beautiful guitars. 🎯
Great intro video to Resonators 👍👍
I’m an expat 🇬🇧living in Canada 🇨🇦 now and just learning guitar. One day I’d like a resonator as I like the blues. I’ve found I prefer smaller bodied guitars like Parlor s and I’ll probably go that way or maybe a Republic highway in wood if I can find one.
Anyway , great video keep them coming 👍👍
Excellent choice. Those parlour resonators sound fantastic. Got to love those Republic products too. All the best!! 🎯
5:30 a Dobro (doe-bro) used as a lap guitar usually has a square neck and a tall nut and bridge with the strings high off the fingerboard to allow the usage of a slide. The round neck versions are played like a normal guitar.
There’s more than one use of the brand name ‘Dobro.’ They made more roundnecks than square necks back in the day.
@@TheWashboardResonators The use of the name Dobro is ONLY supposed to be regarding the Dobro brand, created by John Dopyera. All others are simply called resonators. It's like Q-Tip or Kleenex. Both are brand names, but get thrown around generically. A Dobro is not any wooden bodied resonator. It is ONLY a wooden bodied resonator with the Dobro name. My point was, you were making the assumption that Dobro's were all considered lap instruments. They aren't. Only the square necked ones with high string height and equally high bridges and nuts. The round necked ones, are normally played guitars. Although you "can" play a round neck as a lap instrument, it is not intended to be that way.
@@TheWashboardResonators But they're ALWAYS pronounced Doe Bro, NEVER Dobbro.
The two guitar types I like the sound of the most are the Weissenborn guitar and any dobro that Jerry Douglas plays
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Thanks! 😬👍
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Your videos are most helpful, thank you so much. I am on the edge of buying a (first?) resonator guitar and am very much tempted to go with the Gretsch G9201 a read many good things of (and my guitar store just across the street has one ready to be played.....
Excellent! They’re fun instruments and wonderfully idiosyncratic. Hopefully the Gretsch will be the gateway to a room full of vintage Nationals!
@@TheWashboardResonators The Gretsch is standing in my living room now, and I see a huge learning curve ahead of me, esp. with the use of a bottleneck. It's fun though and it has a great, full sound, quite amazing, I should say. Thanks again for your great overview!
You didn't mention Republic Tricone, which is a Chinese replica of the National Tricone, but a lot cheaper. It's still well-made.
Anyone buying a resonator guitar for the first time should be warned that they come in round-necks and square-necks. You can only play square-necked models with a slide.
I'm English, and I've been living in California for 43 years. I own a large number of resonator guitars, lap steels, pedal steel, Weissenborns, etc. You're the first person I've heard, on either side of the Atlantic, say "dobbro" instead of "doe bro".
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Thanks for video, I needed sound comparision between resonator and acoustic guitar and it was perfect. I have some questions tho, I also like to play fingerstyle, is it possible on reso guitar and if so can you also make percussive effects?
Perfect! It’s a good place to start then with that comparison! Fingerstyle completely doable on resonator and I think percussion effects work better on resonator. There are more places for different textures; the strings behind the bridge or grills on a Tricone can be used to get good high end effects. You can also bash on a metal body doing bass drum style with no worry of bashing anything through.
Thank you for these videos. I've played guitar for decades but just recently decided I need a resonator, probably a tricone. Any thoughts on Recording King and Regal? They are both imports to the USA (where I am). For all I know, they come out of the same factory with a different branding. Or maybe one brand is generally better than the other in craftsmanship or quality control?
Many thanks! Tricones are the ‘grown up’ resonator fans choice!! Played a few examples of the two brands and for the money they’re good. They’re fairly generic like most far east instruments. I’m lead to believe there are basically three factories that produce most resonators you see that. In both cases I’ve played ones that sound great and ones that are less great. If you can try one in a store that’s better or get one used and get a video / sound clip. Almost every brand of resonator may have hit and miss instruments. They’re odd ducks in that they’re mechanical and set up is key to getting the bits to work together. The two brands you mentioned are a good place to start and you can save and trade up to a better USA made guitar overtime. Second hand you can get National Resophonic guitars at $1200+ if you stalk eBay and wait! As an extra idea the Republic brand are good value too.
I quite recently baught a resonator from a Norwegian company called Morgan. They're made in the east somewhere but in my ears it sounds quite good. I have to mention though that I had to take to my guitar tech for fret polishing and allso do something with the sharp fretends. This is my first reso and I'm so addicted to that sound.
I have nothing to compare with though so I really wonder what,makes National reso's so much better than cheaper ones? I paid about 1000$ for mine compared to a National that costs four times more than mine. I mean; steel is steel isn't it?
Don’t know this brand but so much eastern product is is fairly generic and often of reasonable and decent quality.
In terms of the debate around expensive instruments vs cheaper ones.
There’s no reason a Squire Stratocaster couldn’t be on stage and made to move an audience with the same effect as a genuine 1960 one that could cost perhaps 200x the price.
It doesn’t sound 200x better.
There’s are perhaps other reasons you’d buy an American / Western made instrument.
Global geo-politics and not spending money in a hostile country (if you can help it) or supporting people working for real living wages.
Just the pride in owning the best and what that denotes to others.
I personally bought my USA made NRP’s used for not much more than a new eastern instrument and then everything else I own is genuine vintage which essentially acts as my savings / pension fund that I can play and enjoy.
Value is something that can be measured in many ways outside of monsters value.
In Britain we have a range of resonators by Michael Messer which are similar in value to yours.
I recommend them heartily if someone has a budget and wants quality.
The important thing is that more people play these and create music with them.
I hope your guitar gives you much joy. I’m sure it’s great.
I've got new guitar blues. Your recommendation for a reso suitable for fingerstyle picking more than slide, so slightly easier action, good neck width, playability, non-foggy sound.
Thank you friend.
You get guitars set up and tweaked for your playing style. Also many resonators have wide necks that at first hurt but eventually make sense. Still, I’d recommend any wood body or brass body first for fingerpicking. Depending if you want a smoother sound I’d go Tricone and if you’d want something rootsier then I’d say a single cone. I love the National Resophonic company but in terms of cost effectiveness I’d look at Michael Messer or Republic.
Hey Martyn. Just found you here. Really informative & concisely delivered. Thanks for vids.. I'm very new to resonators, only about 9 months now & located in UK. I picked up a Vintage AMG1 steel body ((reasonably Priced) as a starter guitar & really loving the sound & learning to play slide guitar in open turnings (G&D) so far, However, it came with 16 gauge strings. I'm looking to buy another reso for a different sound & play-ability. Where do you stand on string selection please ? Coated, non coated, Gauge (slide & picking) make etc ? I've tied to be short in my question but could go on for ages Re:- makes, models & price of different guitars. Any help on strings would help me tremendously. Cheers Mark......
I discuss strings in more detail on the video ‘How To Polish and Restring a Resonator’ and also on the video ‘beginners bottleneck.’ Essentially it makes sense to have 16s or 15s when using the open tunings.
It also makes sense to have 12s or 13s on standard tuned guitars. I personally gig a Style O resonator with 13s and a Tricone resonator with 16s. I can do both styles on either but it helps to have a specific instrument fir each job if possible.
You’ll often see that 13 sets are the same as a 15 set except for the 15 on top. They’re the best halfway house to have a guitar that does it all. The slide responds better with less fret clatter on the thicker top string.
I can happily play bottleneck on my Style O but it’s because I’ve got good technique. On the bottleneck video I demonstrate playing slide on 11s with my 1930s archtop.
I split strings into two camps.
1/ gigging instruments get coated daddario 13 or 16 phosphor bronze. This is because I can get 25+ gigs out of them before string changing. They keep the brightness.
2/ Vintage instruments and recording sessions get the Michael Messer Signature Newtone strings. Hand made in Britain they sound the best by far. They’re made in a way that means the tension is less when compared to other strings. I’d recommend any player try a set of 15 for both standard and open.
We have lots of resonator information videos if you look at the playlist section that cover some of these topics as part of a bigger video.
We will be doing specific videos on the subject of strings and bottleneck setup in the next few weeks.
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@@TheWashboardResonators Hey Martyn thanks for info, I will defo check out other videos you mention on the subject. Briefly, I just looked at MM Signature Newtone strings I assume for recording/vintage instruments you use the "Signature Newtone Nickle Plate Steel" strings then ?? I've Clicked on bell so will be looking out for specific vids on strings over next few weeks. Thanks again for advice & help. In meantime I have plenty of your videos to go through. Thanks........
Just bought myself a second hand resonator for 300 euros. Probably a cheapo compared to what your showing us here, but hopefully a decent place to start. It is a Recording King MG-10 ANT. Couldn't really find any info on it. I think it is a 998R of 10 years old, compared to what they produce nowadays. Looks really nice but at the moment still sounds a little dull. As far as I can tell it definitely needs new strings, but other than that I don't know what I've got in my hands, quality wise. Intonation is also a little off. Maybe somebody here has some tips to check out. I've been playing guitar for almost 30 years, and always wanted to try one of these but never got to it until now. Always loved the sound and the music. Looks like there is heaps of info on this channel so I better get to it. Thought I first give open D or open G tuning a go and learn me some travis pickin. I do have some experience with slide guitar on an electric so that might help. I ordered myself a set of John Pearse 790NR strings, hopefully a good place to start. Anyway, thanks in advance for all the info I will undoubtely find here. Take care!
This should be a perfectly good starting resonator. You can try the new strings to brighten it. The cones can take a little movement to try and improve intonation but I’d say it might be a bigger job for an actual luthier. See how you go. A better instrument might be on the horizon if you have a good experience with this one! 🎯
Martin, I have a recording king biscuit bridge. And it’s a lovely guitar. And being a bass player, I always tend to gravitate toward bottom end.Would you say the biscuit bridges have the most bottom end of the three? It would appear to be that way with me.
Absolutely. Wood bodies generally being bassier. I’m a bass player too really so I appreciate getting some good low end.
@@TheWashboardResonators Incidentally, It seems like the loudest of the three types. Is it?
What kind of polish do i use to keep from it corroding
We have a video about how to polish. Flitz polish and plain turtle wax is the easy answer.
THANK YOU SIR!
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@@TheWashboardResonators This helped a lot. I’m buying myself a new guitar for Christmas, been away for 35+ years and it’s time to get back at it. I’ve budgeted about $1500 for one so I should end up about where I want to be!
I need a squareneck metal body resonator. Can you make a recommendation for someone on a budget up to $1000 US.
Hey. It’s not my area of expertise but I’ve seen either newer Gretsch or Goldtone ones well under that budget and I’ve even seen actual vintage Nationals sell around that price. I’ve also seen many people put nut risers on any resonator with great results.
@@TheWashboardResonators Thanks. Gretsch doesn't make a square neck metal body any more and Goldtone never did. I have found some by a company called Royall that look real good though.
What do you think of the Recording King Swamp Dog Parlor Resonator?
Hey. Am not aware of it sadly so couldn’t say. Sure it would a fine beginner/intermediate instrument.
@@TheWashboardResonators, thank you for your answer, it's made from brass. I'm a beginner. :)
recording king tricone 991
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Thank you Martyn, I just can't enough of resonator chat. When played well .... it is truly a unique stringed instrument. One day, when we eventually get "parole", I hope to travel up to Yorkshire and enjoy a "Washboard Resonators" gig.
You helped me a while back with a suggestion to buy Tom Feldmann's slide beginner's book; it has really helped me learn the basics of bottleneck slide ... BZ ..... :)
I have an opportunity to buy a used (c.2000) Vintage AMG 2 Tricone. It looks in very good condition, however the action is very high. Is it a major undertaking, or even possible, to bring the action down ? Perhaps you might know of a luthier I could send photos too for an informed opinion ?
Thanks,
Hey CJ. Kind words and many thanks. So much love for resonators in this house!! We’d love to see you at a gig. In normal times we tour all corners of the UK so will hopefully see you in Yorkshire or wherever you are. The AMG would be worth a punt at the right price. In the UK Steve at Beltona instruments is incredible for all kinds of luthiery and specialty resonator work. He’s based near Leeds and has built resonators for Knopfler/Clapton etc.
I've had a regal tricone for.... 2 decades. Never liked the sound and the action is wonky. It is very pretty though, and I just need to play it. Light gage ernie ball electric strings seem to play/sound best on it. Don't care it its a sin.
So long as you enjoy it! 🎯