DaveyL7 - Posted - 08/18/2024:  18:41:05

Hello All

So I'm new to the forum and I have been shopping for my first resonator. I have actually purchased two and returned one because I did not think it sounded good and had little sustain, it was a used Gretsch Boxcar in great condition. I now have a used Republic triolian metal body and I'm still not feeling it, it sounds better than the Boxcar and it seems to work better in open D. I'm just not loving it, but maybe my expectations need to be tempered down on a $600 instrument.
Now I'm considering a Royall Tricone wood body, I think that a steel body is too heavy and I'm a smaller built man. Since I want to play blues based rock music, I think I want something that projects well and has good sustain. Will the wood body Tricone get me closer to my aim that the single cone metal body, at least in theory. I understand that each instrument is different in quality and character, but as they say all things being equal in my head .
Thanks for you help, Peace, Davey

docslyd - Posted - 08/18/2024:  20:13:54

It's hard to tell what your ear is wanting to hear but perhaps blues-based rock would be more suitably played on something that has an electric feature. Especially if you're looking for significant sustain...for which most pure acoustic instruments might fall short. Of course, if possible, I would suggest playing all of the available options that you can prior to hit-and-miss again. There are hybrid resonator/electric instruments...are you playing "standard" (spanish style) with a bottleneck slide or lap style??

DaveyL7 - Posted - 08/19/2024:  10:32:53

Yes, I understand that amplifying the guitar will do the trick but I don't want amplification because of our dog. I'm playing standard round neck style with a slide and fingers. Thanks for you ideas.

tomkatb - Posted - 08/20/2024:  12:33:03

Went thru much the same issues.

I bought a used tricone. Sounded flat. Had one of the great set up guys fix it. Gave it to my kid. It is out in San Francisco. I* think this is what the Allmand brothers used.

Bought a Honeydipper. Had the same Luther hot rod it. Biscuit cone. Too deep south for me.

Ended up with an American made spider bridge guitar. Kind of like the way it does everything.

Wait a bit. Attend one of the reso gatherings. There will be one of everything there and they will let you try them. Save your money.

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 08/20/2024:  13:19:25

As far as The Allman Brothers and use of resonator guitars, the band was obviously around for a long time and included a number of different guitarists.  There could have been any number of resos used on the many recordings. 

Of course the most famous tune where a resonator was played was by Duane Allman on "Little Martha." The guitar is pictured below. A mid to late 1930s roundneck spider bridge Dobro Model 45 with a blonde spruce top. 

I'm mostly a lap style player, and far from an authority on roundneck resos, but I have played quite a few. Even got to babysit a wonderful  early 2000s metal body roundneck National Tricone for a year awhile back for a friend who went to the Middle East to do contractor work. I didn't want to give the guitar back when he returned. 

There are a ton of import resos available these days, and between the different styles it can be a little overwhelming. 

I don't know of any mass gatherings of  of roundneck Reso events, I'm only familiar with the ones that pertain to lap style playing where bluegrass is the main theme. You're going to find few if any roundnecks at those gatherings. 

 

Edited by - MarkinSonoma on 08/20/2024 13:21:58

 

DaveyL7 - Posted - 08/20/2024:  18:24:23

Thanks to you all for your answers. At this point it is becoming clear to me that doing this on a low budget and finding an instrument that I love is a huge challenge and requires some luck. Maybe if I save up and delay my gratification I can get a National and hopefully satisfaction. Honestly paying $800 for a Royall import would be great if I can commit to playing it and learning how to get the tone I want from it.

Edited by - DaveyL7 on 08/20/2024 18:25:27

wlgiii - Posted - 08/21/2024:  09:56:14

With luck + patience I got lucky and found a couple of import resos at bargain prices, thanks to headstock repairs....so, hang in there, keep looking, and and good luck.

And about those guitars- the repairs were well done, so no issues. I have found that with the imports the action is a bit higher than preferred, in order to maintain a good bridge break angle. And one of those, a Rogue wood/biscuit never did get low enough so it's now a lap style camping guitar. However- that wood/biscuit combo makes for a nice sound, and a National cone has really improved it. I've tried out someone's National M-1 tricone and it was certainly nice, but I think I like the wood + biscuit better. (Though I like tricone + metal best of all)

DaveyL7 - Posted - 08/21/2024:  13:28:29

Thank you. That’s encouraging. Do you have a favorite?

tomkatb - Posted - 08/21/2024:  17:31:55

Nothing to do with Tri cones. I suspect you are looking for a place.

I met Mike Esposito at Resogat several years ago.

Listen to his "let it slide{" album on Spotify. Is that what you are after?

If you could contact him I suspect he would tell you what guitar he used on songs.

I would suspect an old Dobro or Regal. Clueless. I was mesmerized when he borrowed my Harlow to play All along the Watchtower. Somehow a bluesman played on a brassy bluegrass guitar a Bob Dylan song that was a hit by Jimi Hendrix. It worked.

It was Howard that made the comment. "it's in the hands" which has stuck with me.

DaveyL7 - Posted - 08/21/2024:  17:53:43

That’s some tasty music on there

DaveyL7 - Posted - 08/26/2024:  18:30:16

It's possible that I have been focused on the wrong thing. I have been thinking that a tricone will be louder and project more than a biscuit single cone or a spider single cone. It has become apparent to me that quality of the builder and set up are most important. I see that the Gold Tone PB gets such a warm and glowing response on the internet because of a better set up and I believe the tone and sustain take care of themselves if I can play it proficiently.

Biggfoot44 - Posted - 09/03/2024:  16:39:21

I read the thread , and re read the first post .

I can't get a clear understanding if you * want * a Biscuit Cone, or Spider Cone ? They are significantly Different.

Greatly oversimplified:

Biscuit - Sharper attack , less sustain . Sometimes can even seem " banjo -ish "
Spider - Fuller tone , more sustain .

The cliché is Metal body almost always Biscuit , and Spider associated with wood body . Greatly oversimplified, the cliché pairings emphasize the respective tones .

1930's recordings of Delta Blues are mostly metal - Biscuit.

If it's still up , on the Beard website is a video of a gentleman playing blues on a Roundneck Spider .

With a sample size of One , I do have a circa 2000 Regal wood body , single Biscuit, roundneck . The tone falls in between the two clichés , but is pleasing in its own right .

Which is subjective What I like isn't necessarily what you are visualizing in your head .

PM me , l can do a video or sound clip of one of my Vertical Guitar friends playing a little on it