DVD-quality lessons (including tabs/sheet music) available for immediate viewing on any device.
Take your playing to the next level with the help of a local or online resonator guitar teacher.
Monthly newsletter includes free lessons, favorite member content, resonator guitar news and more.
32
Resonator Guitar Lovers Online
Your photos did not show up - there might be a thing here that you are unable to post photos in your first post as a new member - I've never been real sure about that.
Try again, and if it doesn't take I can send you my email. You can email them to me and I can post them in the thread.
The thing about modern Regals (Saga revived the name in 1987 as an import brand - the original company went out of business in 1954) they are decent Reso guitars when well set up, but in general players don't seem to be very interested in Regal model names and numbers, serial numbers, etc. like guitar brands with long histories.
But once we get photos here, we'll give it the old college try.
Here is what I did: I clicked on the photo on your homepage, then saved it to the Photo app on my iPhone.
If you scroll down below where you write text, there is an area to "upload photos," up to three per post. After you have clicked on that, you click on "Choose File." It takes me to the photo library on my phone. Or you can take new photo and accomplish the same thing.
Edited by - MarkinSonoma on 01/06/2025 17:16:54
If you have yet to discover it, I googled something like "Regal biscuit bridge reso" and found that Vermont luthier Jake Wildwood had the same model for sale a few years ago but with a blonde top. A lot of good information and many photos here. The serial number on the back of the headstock also begins with "9." Jake thinks it is from the early 2000s but doesn't know the actual year.
https://jakewildwood.blogspot.com/2021/10/2000s-regal-12-fret-biscuit-bridge.html
Here is Jake's playing demo. The guitar sounds pretty good to me, but I know a lot more about spider bridge resonators than I do biscuit bridge and tricone guitars. Saga of San Francisco revived the Regal name and began producing reso guitars around 1987. I'm not much of a fan of modern Regal spider bridge guitars, though I have heard some that have been "hot rodded" with high end American made components that sound pretty good to my ears.
Maybe biscuit bridge guitars are a little more "forgiving" - they typically don't have as big a sound as spider bridge resos, and the notes decay quicker - they don't have the sustain. But I do like the one Jake is playing in the video. I wish he would have used a bottleneck slide for part of it to hear what that is like, but he does some nice playing by fretting the guitar.
Edited by - MarkinSonoma on 01/06/2025 17:43:08
Hi Mark
You've covered the same ground as I!
I heard back from Lee Haynes at Saga and here was his reply to my question about the Reso
"Best guess is a RD-3M from the early aughts/late nineties. List Price in 2003 was $495.00
I have limited catalogs to compare from that time period and no actual photos of the Mahagony version so I can't say for sure "
Lee
After googling the RD-3 i came up with jake's site and the Regal he had and you have now posted.
One of the things that had attracted me to the Regal ( also wanting to learn how to play ala Charlie Parr)
was the unfinished top, wondering how that might effect the sound.
I am grateful to you and Lee for all the work, and thank you guys so much- looking forward to the journey after i get a setup with a local luthier
Best!
Erik