How do you use your resonator?

[nbs2005]

Hi all,

I've owned a few resonators and currently have a National Estralita Deluxe. I had a metal reso Rocket before that and a metal Michael Messner. When I don't have a resonator I think I must have that sound (or have felt that). But after a bit, I find myself gravitating to regular acoustics, even for open tuning slide. Yes I'll occasionally pick up the National for a song or two, but find I want to switch to something else, rather quickly.

So before trying to sell/trade this in for a big loss or a multi year wait (not much reso action up here in Ontario; it's been on Kijiji looking for trades/sale for a bit) I thought I'd ask how you use your resonators. Mine is set up with ~2.5 mm action across the board at the 12th fret so works with both slide and fingerstyle. Do you find you use yours only of certain styles or even certain songs? Or have you incorporated it more generally in your playing.

Thanks, for your thoughts in advance.

[gfirob]

I use my National Style O for ragtime fingerpicking, slide guitar, and the odd rockabilly tune (like "Mystery Train"). I keep the action about medium high to handle both slide and fingerpicking. I would say it gets about 10% of my playing time. I wouldn't sell it, though because it has a unique voice compared to my wooden guitars.

[Silly Moustache]

Hi, I also have a National Estralita Deluxe which replaced a Style "0" deluxe which was a great instrument but too loud and too heavy for me.

I'm currently trying to make a worthy video with this guitar as one of a series of "The back of my Wardrobe" collection - i.e., instruments that I own but don't play much.

I bought it thinking that it could serve as a fingerstyle guitar in normal tuning, but it stays in D and is used, occasionally, as a my bottleneck guitar. I have long since learned that I don't need a higher than normal action for slide but I do put a .017" on the first.

This is SEVEN years old ! when I still had hair!

[Mandobart]

I got my wood bodied spider cone Gold Tone Paul Beard round neck resonator about a year ago. I have about 2.0 mm at the 12th fret action. I keep it in standard tuning with mediums and use it for fingerstyle (fingertip flesh, no nails or finger picks). I also like to flatpick it. I haven't really got into slide yet.

I have a few other guitars that do other things - HD-28, Ovation 12 string, Eastman E2OM-CD, gypsy jazz Sel-Mac copy, a carved top and back archtop. I enjoy them all, but probably play the OM, archtop and resonator the most.

[Bob Womack]

I use mine mostly for slide work, and that is a small part of my catalog. Because it has an 1 11/16" nut width it isn't really good for fingerstyle so it gets passed over for that. But when you've got to have one you've got to have one.

Bob

[darkwave]

I use a cheap Style-O knockoff that I've put a lot of work into with my band. We have another guitarist who strums flat top as a backbone for our songs and I add a second guitar as "seasoning" and for leads. I play 6-string electric for about half the set, then the rest is divided between 12-string electric and my reso. We play rock/pop/americana.

My aim is to provide a contrast and compliment to the "always there" flat top. I do use slide occasionally, but it is for a texture rather than to play anything bluesy. I don't feel obligated to copy the style of the original on the covers we do, and simply like that the reso fills a similar space in the mix as my electric (mid-forward and strong with single-note lines).

[FrankHudson]

I have an old, cheap, Epiphone biscuit resonator and I use it exclusively for sloppy bottleneck slide. Even though I'll play slide on electrics or on my Martin 0015 too, nothing sounds and responds like a resonator for when you want that grit.

[Eldergreene]

I have 4 resos: a 1931 National roundneck tricone & a Michael Messer metal-body single-cone, both of which are mostly used for slide; & a cheap dobro copy & similarly-cheap AMI wood-body biscuit reso, both with upgraded cones, the spider used for slide, the biscuit mostly standard tuning ( blues, ragtime, early jazz/old timey ), for which it works well - I really like the 'half-&-half' sound of the AMI, & it's the one I use most despite it being a cheapy ( very comfortable neck on it too ).

[OVG]

Have you tried any traditional Hawaiian music? Maybe some Sol Hoopii, anything with a different tonal goal and different intervals to playing blues.

[Mycroft]

All maple Rayco, with a spider. Play blues, ragtime, hybrid bottleneck, but also mostly anything that I play on my standard wooden 6-strings. I really like the difference in tonal characteristics, particularly when fingerpicking. Usually strung with a light set of strings, but I often bump the 1st string up a gauge or two for better tone when using a slide. String height is just slightly higher than my low-action 6-strings, but low enough to easily fingerpick. Prefer the tone of glass over metal slide.

[Norsepicker]

I've got two - a National Tricone cutaway with the German silver - it's really heavy but solved the problem by using a strap, and an old 30s mahogany handmade that's kind of beat up but has that blues sound. I find I go in phases, I have guitars I've thought about selling and then some style of music seems to suit one of them perfectly and I'm glad I kept it. I've got a classical that stayed on the wall, but I've gotten into a tango kick and nothing else sounds as good in that style. The National works in the open blues tunings as well as tunings that imitate classical Indian music, someone told me once they were "like a sarod" and the mahogany one is pretty strictly for blues side. If you're looking for music the late Steve James book on fingerpicking blues is really good.

[Monty Christo]

I'm firmly of the belief that a good reso is just as versatile as any other guitar, as long as the player is equally versatile.

I use my steel Mule tricone mostly for fingerstyle (with and without fingerpicks), vocal accompaniment, and slide. I play 99% original material, none of it especially bluesy or traditional. I primarily use open D tuning.

[L20A]

My Beard Spider Round neck works very well in my band setting.
We have 6 members and three of us all play guitar.

One plays a 12 string and usually capos up.
One plays in standard tuning playing cowboy chords.
My Resonator is a great fit with these other guitars.
It offers a different sound from a regular acoustic guitar.

We also have a banjo and a mandolin in the band.
Holding it all together is our upright bass player.

[Dave Hicks]

Mine (Gretsch Boxcar) is set up with heavy strings (Pearse 16s), so I slide more than fret. I use it for blues and old timey songs.

D.H.

[slimey]

I've an El Toreador that I use in both regular and open tunings. I play slide and also use it played as a regular guitar.
Every Saturday I go to a fairly large jam with a variety of instruments, I find I can take a solo and not worry about breaking through sound of the other acoustic instruments, regardless of how loud it all gets.
I find the instrument to be the most versatile of any of my guitars. I also have a hotplate in it which allows me to plug in. Depending on what kind of amplification I use it can either be a louder acoustic resonator or a screaming banshee.
Tremendously useful and flexible instrument.
I also use it at gigs with the band I play in for a variety of stuff, ranging from pop songs like Stuck in the middle with you, to blues classics .