Resonators - wood or metal?

[Doublea1269]

Thanks for the heads up about Manchester, I'll check them out!

[H165]

....replace the stock cones on your Republic with Beard cones. It is a fairly easy upgrade. https://www.resophonicoutfitters.com/product/BC-3.html

Cone replacement with a Beard cone is probably the best sonic upgrade for any inexpensive resonator guitar.

+1 here.

There are basically two schools of spider resophonic construction: traditional (sound well - think Dobro), and modern (open architecture - think Scheerhorn or maybe Rayco).

Regardless of price, either will meet their maximum potential with a high quality cone (Quarterman, Beard, etc).

More important, some can be hugely improved by setting up the spider correctly. If your spider legs get out of flat-plane, your zillion dollar reso will sound awful. Conversely, if your spider legs are put back in-plane and you have good saddles and a good cone, your low-dollar reso may surprise a whole bunch of players.

On my resos, I also dress the legs of the spider, and I dress the contact surface of the cone shelf absolutely flat. These are simple operations. They take some time, and some folks think I'm nuts, but to me it's worth it.

[Guitars44me]

Even though I no longer own a reso, I have had a few. If you are fit and foolish you may choose metal…. For this old dog, it would have to be wood. And a 12 fret cutaway to boot. Metal would be way too heavy.

If you want to play slide on it (why not?) a cut can be a big help when trying to get parallel to the frets past the neck join!

Hmmm…. Now I am thinking there is a hole in my quiver. Dang!

Here’s hoping you find a nice one to get started soon!

Paul

[Pine Cone]

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

Even though I no longer own a reso, I have had a few. If you are fit and foolish you may choose metal…. For this old dog, it would have to be wood. And a 12 fret cutaway to boot. Metal would be way too heavy.

If you want to play slide on it (why not?) a cut can be a big help when trying to get parallel to the frets past the neck join!

Hmmm…. Now I am thinking there is a hole in my quiver. Dang!

Here’s hoping you find a nice one to get started soon!

Paul

You could always try one of these. https://royallguitars.com/product/ro...h-with-pickup/

A smaller wooden body 14 fret (1 13/16" nut) biscuit bridge cutaway resonator from Royall Resonators.

I got one of their woody tricones last year and really like it. Very playable, nice wide neck (1 13/16") and a looker.

[Monty Christo]

Originally Posted by Doublea1269

There are two of us on guitar, a fiddle, a mandolin and a multi-instrumentalist ... we're mostly playing rootsy Americana, country/blues, bluegrass, Irish stuff.

Based on this, I'd probably suggest a wood-body spider-cone for your type of music, but do your due diligence and listen to the differences between spider, biscuit, and tri-cone models and the kind of music people tend to play on them. Then you can choose between metal and wood, if you haven't decided by then.

[Doublea1269]

Royal looks like a really good option, as do Gretsch and Recording King. What I've been able to hear online of Gold Tone also sounds phenomenal. I think I'm going to have to keep overloading on online demos and then just take a chance...there are just so few resonators available around me.

Thanks everybody!

[Murphy Slaw]

I've owned a square neck wood spider for a few years.

Wasn't scratching the itch. I wanted a round neck so I could fret a little and finger style some. I tried a bunch of them. All the wood ones sounded the same, but not as good as my square neck.

Then I found this Swamp Dog, used, in a little shop in Kentucky.

This brass dog was the sound in my head.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by H165

+1 here.

There are basically two schools of spider resophonic construction: traditional (sound well - think Dobro), and modern (open architecture - think Scheerhorn or maybe Rayco).

Yes, Rayco uses the open architecture, which means you get more of the resonance of the large space behind the cone. You also get the back influencing the tone, depending on how lightly it is carved.

[MrDB]

Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw

I've owned a square neck wood spider for a few years.

Wasn't scratching the itch. I wanted a round neck so I could fret a little and finger style some. I tried a bunch of them. All the wood ones sounded the same, but not as good as my square neck.

Then I found this Swamp Dog, used, in a little shop in Kentucky.

This brass dog was the sound in my head.

I have one of those and like it a lot.