|
|
#2
07-31-2006, 08:27 PM
|
|||
|
|||
Yes, pardon my bluntness, but Fender resos are trash. My advice is, take a little trip over to the IGS (International Guitar Seminars) guitar board, a VERY reso centric message board.
http://www.guitarseminars.com/cgi-bi...Forum&number=1 There are many better choices, even for a budget reso. Johnson, Regal, Amistar, etc. Stay away from the Fender. If you really want to get into resos, you will not be happy with a Fender. Do some searching and reading over at IGS. A wealth of information. Many, many threads about the different brands, quality, upgrades, modifications, prices, etc, etc. The one thing I can tell you is I have never encountered anyone who had something good to say about the Fenders.
__________________
GDB Yeah, a bunch of guitars without names and some other stuff too... 
|
|
#4
08-01-2006, 05:42 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I recently played a Regal that was pretty nice. The neck was the weak link though. It had a stacked heel and the headstock had an ugly volute. The body was quite nice though and the sound was solid.
I wonder if you can buy replacement necks for these things to upgrade an inexpensive reso. The necks bolt on so it couldn't be that difficult to replace. Amistar makes a great reso. It's the next best thing to the real deal National. Some of the Regals sold in the early 90's were made by Amistar. If you see a Regal with a CZech Republic label, it's an Amistar. drive-south
|
|
#6
08-01-2006, 06:44 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I hear a lot of good things about Liberty Guitars in Florida:
http://www.libertyguitars.com/default.htm They aren't in the same league as a National or Dobro but I've heard they are amazing value for money. They often sell direct on eBay, here's one auction - check out the feedback. (ps - I have no connection with this company, just passing on what I've heard...) Last edited by selectortone; 08-01-2006 at 06:49 AM.
|
|
#7
08-01-2006, 06:47 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I don't know about much in NC (I'm in the northeast US), but also check out http://www.reso-nation.org/ The sweet spot in the intro reso curve seems to be the Goldtone Paul Beard Signature models (esp those that go thru Paul's shop - www.beardguitars.com). The Wetcher-Scheerhorn (esp. the Rob Ickes model, although a bit more money) also gets good reviews.
Lower priced brands, like Regal, can be _made more better_, but the cost of parts and labor puts you into the Goldtone range. psh
|
|
#8
08-01-2006, 08:16 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
|
|
#9
08-01-2006, 08:27 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Another vote for the Beard Goldtone. You didn't say what style of resonator you were looking for or what style music - but I have played a number of "inexpensive" resonators including a steel Fender (it was the worst of the bunch), several Deans (one wood spider was not too bad, a wood cutaway a/e was pretty lackluster, and, while I wanted to like their "Chrome G", it sure didn't compare with my style 33 Dobro.
The one Regal I played had a cone upgrade and was a fairly nice guitar, and the one Johnson I played in a store had a severe coverplate rattle. I'm a bit spoiled since I have both a nice brass biscuit Dobro (tm) and an old wood spider bridge Dobro (tm). But it also gives me a pretty good reference point for comparison. I did a little e-mail write up on the ones above that I could forward to you if you PM me you email addy. One strong opinion about resonators - again, you don't say how you are going to play, but there are very different sounds from both cones (single and tri), bridges (biscuit and spider) and bodies (steel, brass, wood). But even more important to me are the necks - I prefer a short (12 fret) wide (1-3/4 or 1-7/8) flat (20 inch radius) for slide, while many of the less expensive guitars have 14 fret, 1-11/16, 16 inch R fretboards (just like your average acoustic). The old adage about playing before you buy really applies here. I've got a lot of reso references - PM me if you want some.
|
|
#10
08-01-2006, 08:50 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
|
|
#11
08-01-2006, 11:15 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
i also own a reso of the Regal brand. love the tone the reso's produce.
__________________
God Speed, from East Texas Romans 12:2 i always choose webstrings...
|
|
#12
08-01-2006, 12:13 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I went to Musician's Friend and picked up a couple Rogue (house brand)resonators on sale real cheap. One is a square neck spider that I hardly play, the other is mahogony Triolian Bisquit along the lines of a Gibson Hounddog. The Triolian is great for a campfire guitar, almost sounds like an electric and really stands out amongst the sea of Dreadnaughts. I dare say they are made in the smae Asian factory as the johnsons or regals. I figure if i get into them more, i can get the National or Dobro, for now there good enough.
|
|
#13
08-01-2006, 04:29 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Jedd, I have a wood-bodied Liberty Triolian that I've been thinking about selling. It has been upgraded with a National Reso cone and biscuit http://elderly.com/accessories/items/NR16.htm , and a McIntyre BRF-50 pickup http://www.mcintyrepickups.com/pickups.html . Funky paint job, though - I like it, some folks don't... Email to talk, if you'd like - [email protected]  
__________________
PeaVine
|
|
#15
08-08-2006, 02:41 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Whoops, I forgot about this post.
PeaVine, I'd love to have that thing to hang on my daughter's wall not to play. We did her room up in South Seas decor  I played a couple of wooden bodied Crafters over the weekend and have come to find that I still like that 'trash can' sound of the all metal resonators over the wooden ones. Would love to buy a National but I can't justify the cost. Maybe I'll beg for a Liberty when the time is right.
|
