for those who think a dobro and National tricone are interchangeable

[blue]

Sorry. They aren't. They are both awesome however!

But being a national player, this definitely is more my speed. Hawaiian music of course influenced country slide, but with a National in the mix, I get a huge hawaiian vibe in this, and I'm not convinced it's my brain reacting to seeing a National on the screen. I won't be hurt if you tell me I'm imagining it. But I do disagree in advance .

[blue]

Oh, and I know... They are interchangeable. you can play anything on anything. I'm always beating on folks who are looking for a "dry woody blues box" So it would be hypocritical to draw the line at resonators.

[Gypsyblue]

Nice!

I also prefer the sound of the Tricone.

How do you amplify your Tricone? Looks like you're using a mic.

Right now I'm using a mic too. An old Shure SM57.

I'd prefer to use a pickup but I tried a Schatten and didn't like the sound at all.

The Highlander is over $300. To expensive for me.

I have a Flatbucker on reserve but he has to build some first and the wait might be a couple of months.

Also considering the Lace Ultra Slim and National Slimline.

The concern with any of the pickups is that I don't want to put nickel strings on my Tricone. I like bronze strings but they say that because there are no adjustable pole pieces that bronze will give me to much bass.

DR makes a zebra set that alternates bronze and nickel as the wind.

The SM57 mic sounds pretty good but I'd still like to be able to just plug in.

[Gypsyblue]

Hmmm...

I guess the National Tricone is not an acoustic guitar?

When I think of "Other Stringed Instruments", the page that your thread got switched to, I think of autoharps, violins, banjos, bass, etc.

[blue]

Yeah... Don't go there... It's just how it is... Most resonator posts live here. Although they don't get moved out of the General Acoustic guitar discussions if you start a thread there! So we got that going for us. Which is nice!

[birkenweg42]

There is definitely a huge difference between the sound of a tricone, biscuit bridge resonator and spider bridge resonator.
This little jam here is the essence of the National Resophonic sound to me:

[Silly Moustache]

For me a Dobro (not necessarily the brand as they are owned and poorly made by Gibson now) but the spider and cone design, are, for me - best suited to Squareneck playing.

The National style biscuit design is best on round neck format, I have a 2005 Style "O" deluxe which is a dream, but I'd swap it for a 12 fret Estrellita nowadays.

Had a Chinese Tricone once was good but not a National" - Worked OK for pub gigs.

I've seen Bob Brozman, Catfish Keith, and Mike Dowling playing tricones live and they all sounded great.
I've seen John Hammond, and Doug Macleod, and, oh, countless others playing various versions of National Biscuits and they all sounded great.

I've seen Jerry Douglas, Sally Van Meter, Ivan Rosenberg, Mike Witcher, Jimmy Heffernan, etc.,etc. playing various makes and versions of the Dobro.

Reso players have as many differing preferences in materials, and format as do flat-top pickers.

National players - tricone, or single cone - choice. Steel or brass or wood bodies? Your choice.

Dobro players - mainly about the cone - Quarterman, Scheerhorn or Beard cones, sound-well or suspended construction, solid or laminated woods etc.
Your choice.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by blue

Sorry. They aren't. They are both awesome however!

But being a national player, this definitely is more my speed. Hawaiian music of course influenced country slide, but with a National in the mix, I get a huge hawaiian vibe in this, and I'm not convinced it's my brain reacting to seeing a National on the screen. I won't be hurt if you tell me I'm imagining it. But I do disagree in advance .

Well Blue you've turned me on to another great act - Cactus Blossoms - thanks for that !

Here's another version of them playing the same piece but this time with a dobro player !!

https://vimeo.com/47371043

[Silly Moustache]

There's a duo whose old time material often includes a reso guitar built by the player, see this :

Originally Posted by blue

Sorry. They aren't. They are both awesome however!

But being a national player, this definitely is more my speed. Hawaiian music of course influenced country slide, but with a National in the mix, I get a huge hawaiian vibe in this, and I'm not convinced it's my brain reacting to seeing a National on the screen. I won't be hurt if you tell me I'm imagining it. But I do disagree in advance .

I am not at all trying to be difficult here, but I reread your post a few times and don't understand the point you are making and I am obviously missing. I am curious what your point is, so if you are wiling to clarify for me that would be great. By the way, I really enjoyed the video - thanks!

[blue]

Originally Posted by m-thirty-great

I am not at all trying to be difficult here, but I reread your post a few times and don't understand the point you are making and I am obviously missing. I am curious what your point is, so if you are wiling to clarify for me that would be great. By the way, I really enjoyed the video - thanks!

I'm grateful that Silly Moustache posted the same song, by the same guys, accompanied by a dobro! It reinforces it. If you are not a fan of Hawaiian lap playing, what I wrote won't make any sense to you.

But there is tone that's obviously unique to tricones. There is also a tone that is unique to spider cones. When the song listed is played on the National, I hear the hawaiian influence that is present in Country slide playing much more than when the dobro is playing the same song and some very similar licks. I'm suggesting that the tone of the National is responsible for that.

[Silly Moustache]

Like flat-top players have some intense preferences for tone woods, body sizes, strings and picks to achieve the subtle differences in tone that ordinary humans could not discern, reso players have the similar tonal prefernces.

The Tricone (traditional - bell vrass body) has a "rounder" sweeter tone with more sustain.

The single biscuit guitar - (Style "O" , Delphi etc. have a sharper tone, but, again this is affected by the body materials - bell brass, steel (Delphi - which can be very harsh) or wood which is rounder, softer, and with less sustain, but has more "charm".

Then we go to the Dobro spider cone arrangement. Again this differs by cone maker, and whether the body it traditional (small - OMish size) or modern (dreadnoughtish size) and how the cone is mounted - sound-well - traditional, or open body - modern, bigger, more rouder tone.

Then of course we get to woods, solid woods, in which case which, or laminated body (which many of the finest , prefer - laminated is not necessarily a second class in resonators. The Beard Mike Auldridge reso is all laminated.

Not that I know much about it.

[Silly Moustache]

Some examples of fine dobro masters:

(The late lamented) Mike Auldridge:



Jerry Douglas:



Martin Gross (On a Scheerhorn) ;



Then there is the tricone :

(The late lamented) Bob Brozman



and Doug Macleod:



And played lap style by Cindy Cashdollar :




Single cone biscuit:

John Hammond (bell brass) :



Adam Franklin (a friend of mine - on steel bodied Delphi):




Mike Dowling (on laminated wood):



Lewis Cohen on a wooden bodied Estralita (At Dave kings) :



And then there's the type of guitar that started it all:
Weissenborn played by the inspiring Tom Doughty.



And this is what it originally sounded like :

[Silly Moustache]

I forgot this guy from london - one of my favourite you tube pieces :



I really don't know what's happened to this guy - he should be famous!

[blue]

Tricone vs. Weissenborn