[Mountain Fever]

I have been contemplating a resonator for awhile now, and have tried out many in an attempt to not make a mistake.

At one time, Dobro (an acronym for Dopeyra Brothers...sold to Gibson later) was one of the top two or three makers of resophonic guitars. That is far from the case these days IMHO. National seems to be the top of the heap and others share the rest of the pie.

If you want to inspire your wife, get an Allison Krauss DVD with Jerry Douglas playing the resonator...he is really good.

I have tried maybe 15 resonators accross all price points, up to about $3,500.00. I think for someone who wants to give it a solid attempt without mortgaging the farm, The Beard Goldtone Series is hard to beat. Somewhere around $600.00 street price most places for their entry level model.

Interestingly, resonator sounds are sort of origined from really inexpensive intruments that were built/modified to play mostly blues style music. So, in a way, paying $3,500.00 to get some maker's high quality signature model is counter-intuitive. I have read stories about how some of those first instruments were as crude as a washtub turned upside down with broom handle attached to it with a single piece of wire running from the edge of the tub to the end of the broom handle. The 'string'would be plucked and the tone changed by pushing down on the handle to change the pitch of the wire. Lots of similar things in those days like playing the spoons or washboard for percussion.

For someone who does not know how to play a regular guitar, I think that the squareneck (strings are about 1/2" above the neck) played with a slide is a good way to go. there are lots of tunings and the instrument can be used as an accent to the overall song.