[tdq]

I have a National now but when I was looking for a "budget" reso I did a lot of online research and got to try a bunch - I was living in the US at the time so managed to get to play a range of resonators. Republic was a top contender, but a Regal was definitely up there, although I found with all brands that the quality was mixed, even among the same models . I actually end up getting a HotRod tricone. This was before the boxcar and alligators were out - since then out of curiosity, I tried the gretsch boxcar, and again one was amazingly good and the other, exact same model, literally on a stand next to it, was not very good at all. The Michael Messer guitars looked interesting from what I've seen online. I will be in the UK for a couple of months soon so am keen to see if I can find one to try.
I did notice that Republic have dealers in Liverpool and Wales(!) if you are anywhere near there! Anyway good luck and let us know what you end up with, with pictures