DNickell - Posted - 05/18/2009:  22:25:00

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How much difference in sound quality is there between solid vs. ply in a resonator guitar? Sides v. top v. bottom?

I know it is a huge differnce in good flat top guitars, but does a qualiy resonator matter more than a quality wood?

Slideman1939 - Posted - 05/19/2009:  06:22:03

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This is an age old discussion and based on personal preferences rather than facts that apply to all instruments. Birch PLY or maple PLY reportedly will yield more volume (for bluegrass jamming) but not necessarily sweet.The solid woods are tone woods and in many minds lead to a woody sweeter , less harsh tone but with slightly less volume.. The other part of the question is that it IS a hardware instrument and 65% importance on having the hardware right to 35% importance to what wood is used for the body. Again this is subjective with an equal number of conflicting opinions. A final consideration is body dimensions yielding different tones. Original pre war dobros were thin at a 3 & 1/4 in height. Their authorized licensee (Regal) built some thicker height at 3 & 1/2 inch.It still had the Dobro decal and appearence BUT old timers will swear the 1/4 in." diff in depth made the regal-dobro (Chicago plant) better sounding than a Dobro-dobro (L.A. Plant). The best way to judge tonal differences of factory standard vs. custom woods and interior sound chamber options would be at a festival-- if the owner of a custom luthier instrument would let you pick on his for a minute. Eventually you will hear (YOUR VERSION) of the best sound and then go shopping for a similar combination of woods and hardware--or have one built. Don't reject ply simply because it is cheaper and more available. There is some fine sounding birch PLY and maple PLY out there. Sound quality differences is a tough question because the desired sound is always in the ear of the questioner--i.e. a personal preference.

otbreso - Posted - 05/19/2009:  08:04:54

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I believe the MA model by Beard is birch ply if I'm not mistaken. And boy does it have a sweet sound.

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Edited by - otbreso on 05/19/2009 08:05:25

Bradskey - Posted - 05/19/2009:  10:26:56

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Building expensive reso's with solid woods seems to be the in thing these days, but there's nothing wrong or markedly inferior about ply bodies, dobros were primarily and even intentionally built that way for decades. I don't really believe its a matter of sound "quality", just subtle differences in tone. The cone and setup still make much more dramatic difference than the materials in the body.

WRM - Posted - 05/19/2009:  13:31:28

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Paul Beard and Ivan Guernsey both know how to build a sweet sounding birch ply guitar. As far as I know, it is all that Ivan will use.

I think that construction and setup have more to do with the sound of a dobro than what type wood.

DNickell - Posted - 05/19/2009:  14:43:07

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I very intentionally didn't ask which is "best." I've seen that can of worms opened before, and it ain't pretty!

The reason I posed the question is that I've been placed in the position of making a choice in which these were factors. I went to the local store that handles bluegrass instruments to trade my old banjo in on a squareneck resonator. I wanted to do an even trade and after doing some research they came back with two options for me: the Paul Beard Signature solid Mahogany Gold Tone or the Regal RD-60, which they said was mahagony ply. They had neither in stock. They could get the Regal in a few days. The PBS Gold Tone is back ordered and will be two to three weeks.

I finally chose the PBS, based on what I know of the Paul Beard resonator set ups. I was betting that a superior cone/sound well system would make more of a difference than the wood--and also assuming Paul Beard Signatures have a better resonator than the high end Regals.

I have a Dean Round neck resonator that was about as cheap as the come for a cutaway body with built in pickup. It was mediocre until I replaced the cone and biscuit with a Quarterman set up and it became a different instrument. I didn't want to have to make that kind of heart surgery on this new instrument.

While I'm waiting on the new squareneck I'll just entertain myself with my new-to-me used banjo. This has been a round of serious swapping, but I'm hoping to end up with fewer, but better instruments at the end.

dwood1611 - Posted - 05/19/2009:  16:50:53

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I have the Gold Tone PBSM, which is maple plywood, and it sounds great. I have had several instruments and this one has been the best for the money.

hlpdobro - Posted - 05/19/2009:  18:00:36

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The PBSM is solid mahogany. The PBSD is maple laminate.

Howard Parker
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El Dobro - Posted - 05/19/2009:  19:18:29

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It narrows down to what kind of sound you want to get out of the guitar. For me, I've gone to the solid wood guitars, because I can get the tone and volume out of them that I like. One thing the old laminated guitars had going for them was the weight. They're a bit lighter than my solid wood guitars.

Don
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Stringnut - Posted - 05/19/2009:  20:37:48

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From what I understand, building a resonator guitar has more to do with speaker cabinet technology than it does with tone woods. Why else would so many pro players pick a laminate Mike Auldridge Signature guitar over any other? I believe tone woods make prettier but not particularly better sounding guitars. Do you want bells and whistles with looks that could kill and great sound or do you want the best sound and playability you can get for your money with a little less flair in the looks department? There is a market for both audiences and I don't have a problem with either because it all comes down to what's in your pocket book in the end and what appeals to you personally. Trust your ear to tell you if you prefer laminate over tone wood or not. Play and compare.

Dan

Things are more like today than they''ve ever been before. --Spiro T. Agnew

DNickell - Posted - 05/20/2009:  06:58:18

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I always thnk of the resonator as an Amish amp. I've traded off a bunch of stuff--old archtop guitar, Vega banjo, etc.--that I wasn't using at all and hope to end up with quality instruments at the end with no money invested. Getting the better banjo made me sound so much better that I decided I'd rather have quality over quantity. Duh. It took awhile for that to sink in. There is a reason nobody ever accused me of being smart!

Bradskey - Posted - 05/20/2009:  08:43:46

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I think you made the best choice. The Regals are serviceable, even good sometimes, but the GT Beards are all around better instruments especially with their setup.

jaykellogg - Posted - 05/20/2009:  13:11:34

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I play a Beard vintage R which is an R body birch plywood bidy (stained cherry.) I love the volume and the tone. I have spokeen to several knowledgable folks who say that a Maple will be "brighter" etc. When I spoke to Abe Wechter he said in his opinion the thin top laminate doesn't appreciably affect the sound. All I am saying is for my money I would just as soon have a laminate guitar as a solid wood. On my opinion there are other things like F holes vs. screen holes vs open holes that affect tone more and then there are the strings. Man you get a lot of difference by just replacing the strings. Setup is all important. That is why I feel you made the right choice with the Beard. The solid wood guitar might just hold its value a bit better.

W. Jay Kellogg

beergeek - Posted - 05/21/2009:  02:07:05

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I've played both. I bought the PBSM without having played it but it was the best decision, IMHO. I specifically wanted the solid mahogany after listening to the comparisons on Rob Anderlik's site. What everyone says is true, it's a warmer sound. What they say about the Beard MA-6 is also true...it sounds fabulous and it's ply.



"If you can live to be 50 without growing up, you don''t have to."

beergeek - Posted - 05/21/2009:  02:08:08

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Off-topic ....

Hey Howard...are you guys going to be at Summer Namm? I'd love to stop by and say hi!

"If you can live to be 50 without growing up, you don''t have to."

garry uk - Posted - 05/21/2009:  07:53:23

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quote:

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Originally posted by Stringnut

From what I understand, building a resonator guitar has more to do with speaker cabinet technology than it does with tone woods. Why else would so many pro players pick a laminate Mike Auldridge Signature guitar over any other? I believe tone woods make prettier but not particularly better sounding guitars. Do you want bells and whistles with looks that could kill and great sound or do you want the best sound and playability you can get for your money with a little less flair in the looks department? There is a market for both audiences and I don't have a problem with either because it all comes down to what's in your pocket book in the end and what appeals to you personally. Trust your ear to tell you if you prefer laminate over tone wood or not. Play and compare.

Dan

Things are more like today than they''ve ever been before. --Spiro T. Agnew

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What he said. It's always seemed to me that the function of reso's body is more like a speaker cab than that of a conventional flat-top.
Remember, most of Gibson's highly sought after hollow and semi solids are pressed ply (or laminate if you want to ramp the price up).

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