Help/advise on resonator guitar

[jackweasel]

Maybe someone out there can give me some tips or advise on playing a resonator/dobro. Just got one yesterday and I'm not sure which tuning is the most common. I made the mistake of trying to take it back to standard from what ever tuning it was in at the store [open e I think] and have lost that tuning. My Intellitouch tuner won't pick up the vibrations anywhere on the instrument so I'm looking for a new one. Any recommendations anyone?
Also, where's a good source for instructional information or videos? What type strings are best, acoustic or electric? Any advise would be appreciated.

[jim_n_virginia]

Theres a guy who has one at the weekly music jams I go to and it is set up in standard tuning and he is really good. He fingerpicks ragtime, jazz and country kinda like Chet Atkins style.

If the guitar was set in in E from the store it's pretty easy to tune in back. Just tune it to standard and play an E chord and tune up each string until the unfretted string matches the fretted string.

I know a lot of guys (well 2 or 3) who tune to G because we play a lot of bluegrass. To tune guitar to G do the same thing. tune to standard and then play a G chord and then one string at a time tune the string up to where it needs to be.

If you got the deluxe Intellitouch tuner it has a memory function where it can remember a E tuning but I haven't ever tried it so I am unsure how.

good luck!

[woodenkings]

my favorite to play on my Regal is DADGAD.

i have a large chart of chords for it - if your interested i can
email it to you on a [safe] notepad document.

[410Mike]

Is your guitar a fretted resonator like a Son House "National" or a "Dobro" as in Jerry Douglas' Scheerhorns?
If it's fretted, well just about any tuning in the world has been used. For slide, I always varied between DADF#AD (open D) or DGDGBD (open G) For the Dobro...well that's a whole new kettle of fish. If I remember, what they call "G" tuning is really GBDGBD, but don't quote me.

410mike

[Curly]

there's an article on Jerry Douglas in the current Guitar Player magazine, and he discusses tunings a little

I think open G guitar tuning would probably work well: DGDGBD

as noted, open G "Dobro" tuning is a little different

I'm sure that resonator players experiment with different tunings all the time

[charlemagne52]

Dobro...oh yeah! I had the pleasure of seeing Jerry Douglas last night with Alison Krauss and Union Station. He is some kind of player. The whole band is fantastic.

I'd recommend Stacy Phillips' book the Complete Dobro Player. Easy, lots of good tuning ideas and a great way to begin.

[jackweasel]

Thanks guys,
Right now I'm using DGDGBD. Found it on a website. Yes, it is a fretted Fender metal bodied resonator, and I've actually made some headway in the last two days using that tuning. Getting ready to throw Clapton's "Me and Mr. Johnson" into the cd player and push it through my Bose PAS. That way I can mic off the Fender if I want and blend it in.
Thanks for the advise.
And, yes, jerry Douglas is the current king of the dobro.

[Freeman]

Hi Jack

Wow, there certainly is a lot of talk about reso's on all the forums right now.

Re your first questions - let me turn it back to you. You must have had some sort of music in mind when you bought your Fender - did you want to play bluegrass style "Dobro" (ala. Jerry Douglas), old Delta Blues (Son House, early Bonny Raitte, EC on Unplugged), maybe some Blind Boy Fuller piedmont blues, Dire Straits, or ??? Because,

Each is a little different - bluegrass is played lap style with a "bar" or a "steel" with a very high action (nut extender) and every note is played with the steel using fingerpicks. I don't play this style but I think 410mike is right that the usual tuning is GBDGBD.

There is no reason not to play in standard tuning - old blues and ragtime songs are great on a reso. Mostly you'll find people finger picking them rather than strumming or flat picking.

Most bottleneck blues are played in either open D (DADF#AD)or open G (the tuning you found). You can play both slide and fretted notes (and combine them). There is a ton of instructional materials (and players) out there - Homespun Tapes and Stefan Grossman's site are good starts. One little caution, do not tune UP to open E or A - most resos have pretty heavy strings and you can crush the cone.

I've been playing one of my resonators in standard tuning down two half steps and play Keep on Truckin' and other BBF songs. Its pretty easy to drop the first, fifth and six to the equivalent of open G and pick up the bottleneck for some Roll 'n Tumble or Walkin' Blues, then switch over to open D for Police Dog Blues (no slide) and Dark is the Night, Cold is the Ground (with the slide). And even, my gosh, to open C for some Kottke or Fahey (altho they didn't play reso's).

If your Fender has a p/u obviously you can plug in and do all that electric blues stuff - play with a flat pick if you want. However I find the reso is loud enough and just fingerpick, switching between flesh and nails and finger picks depending on the sound I want. Dont' be afraid to experiment.

[jackweasel]

Freeman,
Thanks for all the input. I guess most of my interest is toward blues, but I do love the jerry Douglas stuff with Allison Kraus and Union Station. I play a lot of "Americana" type stuff and try to cover everything from Dylan and Neil Young to old time Gospel standards. I'm really interested in using it to add to my own original tunes when I record.
Being a harp player as well, I have have found that the slide/dobro takes on a lot of the feel of a harp, especially in fill-ins and background accents. I fingerpick a lot on my other guitars and will probably be switching over to picks when I take up the Fender. I'm also finding that I'm more comfortable, especially in this learning stage, playing it laying down on my lap. A nut extender and bar slide is on order, but I also like the idea of playing it upright with a bottleneck.
It doesn't have a pick-up.....yet. Today I'm going to mic it off through my Bose PAS on the front porch to aggrevate the neighbors and my dogs. [hhmmm... that might make some interesting recording with a K-9 chorus in the background.]
It's new and I'm fascinated with it so there'll be a lot more experimentation ahead. Any input from anyone on this matter is valued and appreciated.
I'm just trying to have fun.

[anthonyc007]

I bought my resonator after watching Clapton on Unplugged. Try Open G and playing "Running on Faith". Great tune.

[jackweasel]

Quick update:
The dog just looked at me and went back to sleep. It's bad when he won't even jam with me.

[ChuckS]

Check out Mike Dowling. He has quite a bit of instructional material (CD, book, and video).

[s11141827]

Well from Open G Tuning (G, B, D, G, B, D) if you tune all the strings down a half step you now have Open G Flat aka the Black Keys Tuning (Gb, Bb, Db, Gb, Bb, Db). If you use D'addario 16-56 Gauge Resonator Strings on a Round Neck Resonator in Open G Flat Tuning, you could play music by Curtis Mayfield on Resonator Guitar.

[Monty Christo]

This is an 18-year-old thread!

[Charlie Bernstein]

Originally Posted by jackweasel

Thanks guys,
Right now I'm using DGDGBD. Found it on a website. Yes, it is a fretted Fender metal bodied resonator, and I've actually made some headway in the last two days using that tuning. Getting ready to throw Clapton's "Me and Mr. Johnson" into the cd player and push it through my Bose PAS. That way I can mic off the Fender if I want and blend it in.
Thanks for the advise.
And, yes, jerry Douglas is the current king of the dobro.

Hm. You haven't told us whether its a squareneck or roundneck. You're talking about Jerry Douglas, who plays squareneck, but the tuning you're using now is usually used on a roundneck.

So which do you have? They're tuned and played differently.

Assuming it's a roundneck (because you tuned it to standard tuning), I'd say that while the D tuning you're using is good, if you're already an okay guitar player, I prefer open G: DGDGBD.

I like it better because in open D, you can only walk up to the low tonic. On open G, since the low tonic isn't the lowest string, you can walk up or down to it.

Here's a video of a squareneck and roundneck being played side by side, by two of the best in the business. Notice that Derek often uses his fretting fingers, Jerry never does: Little Martha