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JAddison

By JAddison
in Gibson Acoustic

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JAddison

JAddison

Posted
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I decided to leave my all hog in Open G tuning and have started learning to play slide and loving it..

 

I have seen a few clips on you tube and it seems alot of people use resonators.

 

I have no knowledge on them, I am wondering what you guys think of them and if you think it is worth buying one just for slide?

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Rambler

Rambler

Posted
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I decided to leave my all hog in Open G tuning and have started learning to play slide and loving it.I have seen a few clips on you tube and it seems alot of people use resonators.I have no knowledge on them, I am wondering what you guys think of them and if you think it is worth buying one just for slide?
.

 

Here is a linkto a clip of Tomb Feldmann, a fine slide player, explaining the nuances between wood and sheet metal [click on theVideo Sample tab to view). There was a long discussion about this on Stefan Grossman's Woodshed forum, also with alink to the video on p6 of the thread.

 

Quick take. Its not essential for slide, but they do have a Tone. I play a National Vintage Steel and like it. A lot. Note that most of the old guys played wood, some 12-string; Son House and Bukka White only went metal in the 60s. Bo Carter and Blind Boy Fuller, oth, played Nationals form the get-go. Two of my favorite contemporary reso guys are Paul Rishell & Steve James.

 

If you go shopping, my advice would be to save up for a National. Some of the Pac-Rim jobs are ok but most have inferior cones and hardware. Your hog will sound better for slide if you set it up with a medium string set, maybe put a 14 on the hight E (ps the mid-rangey nature of an all-hog makes it good for slide work). Hope that helps. Rambler

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zombywoof

zombywoof

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I have played a National Duolians for years - not only with a bottleneck but just normal finger style in open and standard tuning. They are a brash and in your face guitar. Very quick note decay.

 

For my bucks there are Nationals and then everything else. The new Nationals are possibly the only guitar out there where there is no argment that the new ones are every bit as good as the originals. Plus they have the distinct advantage of an adjustable truss rod.

 

Of what else is left - I agree that the Beard Goldtones are at the top of the heap.

 

Duolian.jpg

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L5Larry

L5Larry

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A resonator is a unique sound all it's own. It doesn't really replace a standard wood bodied flattop, but adds a totally new timbre to the mix. When I think of metal vs wood bodied resonators, it seems traditionally wood bodies are used for country music, and metal for blues. Also keep in mind that a resonator is NOT a slide-only instrument. With an "in-between" setup (medium string height), they can be used for both slide and finger-style as well. Another decision to think about is single-cone vs tri-cone. Each has a distinct sound AND look.

 

My blues band mate and I do acoustic blues shows. I'll play either my Gibson L-7 or an old Silvertone archtop, and he plays a brass body biscuit-bridge single-cone resonator. That's just about as far apart as you can get between the sound of two acoustic guitars. The blend is magnificent. He'll play slide, finger-style, standard tuning, or open tuning, whatever the song calls for.

 

A good resonator really is a pretty versatile instrument, don't think of it as a slide-only machine.

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CAMELEYE

CAMELEYE

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Also worth considering is the fact that there are two types of cone setups, each producing its own unique sound. The National biscuit style where the bridge sits on a round piece of wood (the Biscuit) at the apex of the cone and the Dobro style, where the bridge is embedded into a metal "spider" which transmits the bridge's vibration to the edges of an inverted cone. Often the National style bridge/cones are found in metal bodied instruments while the Dobro style spider bridge and cone are often in wooden bodies. This is not a hard and fast rule however, as there exist plenty of National style cones in wooden bodies and Dobro style cones in metal bodies. And all versions have their own unique tones. Play and listen to them all before you decide.

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BluesKing777

BluesKing777

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When I began learning blues fingerpicking ( a few weeks/years/centuries back?) I had a book with a picture of Mississippi John Hurt with this old Dobro:

 

http://allthatblues....i_John_Hurt.jpg

 

 

I went into a music shop one day and when I looked at the guitar wall, there was one just like the pic above! I do believe my heart may have stopped. It was a late 20s/early 30s model with a Basswood neck that was unplayable for anything but slide - fingering hurt big time, but I didn't care - I had a Dobro!

 

 

A few years later I traded it for a metal body Dobro with a biscuit cone, which I still have. That is the only acoustic guitar I played for many years. It is a bit loud for my little music room, especially with fingerpicks, so I like to play slide on my much quieter LG1.

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

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BluesKing777

BluesKing777

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I've got my National set up for 13's and finger style, no slide in other words.It is my wife's favorite sounding guitar, go figure!

 

 

 

 

 

The Boss likes my metal Dobro best too!

 

Poor thing hasn't had a new string since I bought my first Gibson.....it is in what you called the 'compromise setting' which means it is not very nice to play standard or slide playing - I will have to decide which and get it polished up!

 

 

BluesKing777.

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