Regal and National Resonator Comparison

I have owned and played a Regal RC-1 and National Vintage Steel Delphi extensively at home and in performances and thought it might be helpful to some if I shared a few of my perspectives on these instruments. Both are single-cone, steel bodied resonators. The Regal has a 14 fret neck while the National has a 12 fretter.

Playability - These guitars feel very different. The neck profile and width is smaller on the Regal, and the neck on the Regal has a glossier finish. The frets on the National seemed to have been more carefully polished as they are smoother. Action is adjustable, so I will not comment on that. Both instruments have adjustable truss rods that are effective when adjustments are needed/desired.

Sound - The Regal sounds a bit more like a banjo to me than the National. Both have the growling, trash can sound that I associate with this type of resonator, but the Regal is a bit tinnier, thinner, and compressed sounding. The National has more depth and what I can best describe as reverb. It is also considerably louder, though both guitars are real loud. The National produces more sound and there seems to be more layers/complexity in the tone, especially on the E and B strings (regardless of which tuning they are in). The differences in tone between these instruments is not subtle. I should say that it would be more fair to compare a 14 fret National with the Regal, but I do not have one. Perhaps some of the differences I hear between the two has to do more with the 12 fret/14 fret bodies than with the makes? I do think that the Nationals with 14 frets tend to sound more banjo like than the National 12 fretters, which sound deeper to me.

Reliability/Quality - I have had the Regal longer than the National, so it has been put to the test more. The Regal is, overall, sturdy. The saddle cover fell off a while back (I screwed it back on), but aside from some rattles here and there (something these guitars are prone to) it has been reliable. It stays in tune well. I have had no problems at all with the National yet and it seems like a very carefully built instrument.

My Unsolicited Opinions/Conclusions - The National is a superior instrument in terms of build quality/fit and finish, playability, tone, and volume. However, the Regal, if properly set up (break angle on saddle needed to be adjusted, new nut was needed with properly spaced slots, etc.), is a servicable instrument that captures a lot of the Duolian sound. This National, as well as other recent Nationals I have played, was ready to go when I got it. The narrower string spacing on the Regal makes it harder for me to play, as does the glossy neck, but it is not hard/difficult to play. To me, it just does not feel as comfortable as the National and I am less accurate on the Regal with my picking hand (right). I play a wide variety of blues music on these guitars, mostly in open tunings with a slide. I tell you this to give you some context for my comments.

Again, hope this is helpful for some of you...

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by m-thirty-great

Sound - The Regal sounds a bit more like a banjo to me than the National.

Nice review. The new Nationals are just flat out fine instruments.

Just a suggestion though on the Regal. Any comparison of a steel body reso to a banjo sends up a red flag. While that sound can be the result of a less than stellar built instrument it is often just a matter of a guitar that has not been properly setup like the biscuit not being centered on the cone or an improper break angle. So you might try fiddling a bit with the Regal. A simple moving of the biscuit might result in a much warmer sounding guitar.

Originally Posted by zombywoof

Nice review. The new Nationals are just flat out fine instruments.

Just a suggestion though on the Regal. Any comparison of a steel body reso to a banjo sends up a red flag. While that sound can be the result of a less than stellar built instrument it is often just a matter of a guitar that has not been properly setup like the biscuit not being centered on the cone or an improper break angle. So you might try fiddling a bit with the Regal. A simple moving of the biscuit might result in a much warmer sounding guitar.

I have owned the Regal for 7 years, have had it professionally set up, have tried many kinds/gauges of strings. Also, I have tinkered with the break angle repeatedly and the biscuit is certainly centered. Changing the break angle does make a significant difference in the tone and sustain of the instrument and, in my experience, can introduce or alleviate buzzing/rattling. Still, I think the Regal has more of a banjo sound in all the configurations I tried. I also think the 14-fret Nationals I have played/heard sound a bit thinner, more banjoish than their 12-fret cousins. It seems to me that the different bodies produce noticably different tones. I do not mean to send up a reg flag, and my guess is that some would prefer the 14-fret/Regal sound that I am trying to describe. I have actually had people, non-guitarists, tell me that the Regal sounds like banjo, but I have not heard that with the National. I have owned the Regal much longer than the National, so maybe I will get the banjo comment about the National at some point. Perhaps I can find other words to describe the tone I hear on the Regal/14-fret Nationals so as to avoid any negative connotations? I really did not mean to disparage the Regal as I really like the tone of the guitar.