New to resonator-- some questions

[Tenzin]

For Christmas, my family bought me a Recording King biscuit resonator. I've only been able to lift it for the past two weeks.

No, kryptonite didn't come with it. I had a heart attack and subsequently a quadruple heart by pass. I'm healing well, but it's a big shock to the system physically and psychologically. I appreciate, in advance, all the good thoughts sent in my direction.

I've been enjoying it in standard tuning and have fooled with some alternate tunings with a slide.

I have three slides: glass, ceramic, and copper. Where do you store your slides? They came in tube like holders, but I'm not thrilled with how difficult it is to get the slides and put them back.

Also, does anyone have any thoughts on strings-- gauge, types that will be able to change tunings.

I anxiously await what the collective wisdom throws at me!

[rsmillbern]

The Recording Kings look pretty nice. I have not had a chance to play one as there are not a lot of resonators in the local stores (and the ones that are are not setup well). I do not need another guitar, but I keep getting tempted by resonators...

I have never been able to keep a glass slide more than about a month without breaking it :-) , but the brass and ceramic ones I have travel ok in the case with no special treatment. At home they live in a drawer with picks and capos...

For strings I tend to John Pearse #790NR. They are 13-56 and seem to hold up well. I tried some D'Addario EJ42s (16-56) once (I always have some for the squareneck), but they were just too heavy for me.

[Silly Moustache]

Hi, congrats on the Bypass, take your time to heal. My long time friend and Dobro player went through the same, so I've seen the "cost".

I've played square neck Dobro in bluegrass bands and in combos, and after fighting with heavy metal bodied National slide guitars for years, I realised that they don't need to have a higher action, nor heavier strings.
My National is a wood body Estralita. i

As you talk about glass, copper etc, I'm assuming that you are referring to a round neck reso?

I have a National wood body which spends most of it's time in open D (D,A,D,f#,a,d) and I use mediums 13-56 but replace the 1st with a 16 or 17.

The "art" is to fret, and slide as gently as possible and put the power in with the picking hand.

My preference (after accumulating a great many expensive slides/bottlenecks, was to purchase a Dunlop Brass 324 or 224 (?) - you need a weighty bottleneck to give a sweeter sound (glass is not ideal).

It's just occured to me that I've already said much of this (and more) in this video :

[Murphy Slaw]

I keep slides scattered around everywhere, one by my Lazyboy, 2/3 in the music room, one in my truck.

I break one a month....

My resonator is a square neck (metal unbreakable slide), but I also play slide with my Gibson flattops, and am shopping for a round neck now.

Open G for the square neck, but open D is great on the guitars/round neck.

It's a blast, have fun with it and get healed up!

[RedJoker]

I'm not sure I can help with the slide info but I will say that I love my reso for fingerstyle. It just has such a cool sound.

I added humbucker meant for cigar box guitars so I have electric guitar strings on mine.

Enjoy, they are so much fun!

[Neal]

Ouch on the myocardial infarction, but I’d bet you have some plastic prescription bottles handy now.

[dilver]

I leaned a trick from a friend a while ago, which was to push a bandana or any handkerchief sized cloth through the slide so the slide is the middle and then wrap the slide in it (any way you want) so that it protects the outside and edges in case of a fall. Easy to find, moderate protection, and quick access.

[dilver]

I leaned a trick from a friend a while ago, which was to push a bandana or any handkerchief sized cloth through the slide so the slide is the middle and then wrap the slide in it (any way you want) so that it protects the outside and edges in case of a fall. Easy to find, moderate protection, and quick access.

[ghostnote]

I’ve got a heavy brass reso that I’ve not really had time to understand yet. It’s fun, but I know I could make it sound a lot better if I put in the time. There’s the problem - there’s never enough time. As for slides, I mostly use them with electrics, but I have glass, brass, and ceramic ones. I like brass the best - something to do with the hefty feel of it. I find them in unlikely places in my house - there was one in my coat pocket a couple of weeks ago. Why? No idea.

[waterboy]

Having struggled to play slide cleanly on my recording king rm 991, I have just booked it in for a new nut - aiming for 5/32. I’m going to be using 13’s with the 1st string changed to a 14 in open d per the recommendation, I think, from Toby Walker (his slide class seems to be fun) I have a black mountain slide that clips nicely to my finger. I’m working on getting a baseline setup that works and that I can refine later if I can develop some skills.
The 991 is brass bodied, so heavy. I put some strap locks on it for peace of mind.
Good luck with your recovery, and I hope you have fun with your resonator!

[tinnitus]

Originally Posted by waterboy

Having struggled to play slide cleanly on my recording king rm 991, I have just booked it in for a new nut - aiming for 5/32. I’m going to be using 13’s with the 1st string changed to a 14 in open d per the recommendation, I think, from Toby Walker (his slide class seems to be fun) I have a black mountain slide that clips nicely to my finger. I’m working on getting a baseline setup that works and that I can refine later if I can develop some skills.
The 991 is brass bodied, so heavy. I put some strap locks on it for peace of mind.
Good luck with your recovery, and I hope you have fun with your resonator!

I've tried different heights (on slide guitars, not actual resonators) to varying degrees of success. What height is the old nut you're replacing?

[waterboy]

Originally Posted by tinnitus

I've tried different heights (on slide guitars, not actual resonators) to varying degrees of success. What height is the old nut you're replacing?

It’s currently at about 3/32 on the first string. I may be adventurous and go a little higher than 5/32, but I do also want to fret. It’s complicated a little because I am missing 1/4” off my right index finger…

[tinnitus]

Originally Posted by waterboy

It’s currently at about 3/32 on the first string. I may be adventurous and go a little higher than 5/32, but I do also want to fret. It’s complicated a little because I am missing 1/4” off my right index finger…

This idea isn't resonator-specific, but it might allow you to explore string height and slide action a bit before committing to any actual surgery on your instruments.

Over the decades, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington has played the slide lead guitar part to Freebird on various Gibsons (usually SGs) set up with regular action. To raise that a bit and get a clean slide tone (without modifying the instruments), he slips a piece of heavy gauge wire up under the strings and positions that above the first fret. This raises the action without disrupting string spacing in the nut slots.

I won't get into his alternate tuning here because that's not directly relevant to string height (and it varies by song). Point is, when Rossington removes the wire, he's got a stock instrument again that's not been permanently modified to accommodate one song. I've tried it for various occasional numbers like You Gotta Move, Rocky Mountain Way and Ballad of Curtis Lowe. Works like a champ.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by waterboy

Having struggled to play slide cleanly on my recording king rm 991, I have just booked it in for a new nut - aiming for 5/32. I’m going to be using 13’s with the 1st string changed to a 14 in open d per the recommendation, I think, from Toby Walker (his slide class seems to be fun) I have a black mountain slide that clips nicely to my finger. I’m working on getting a baseline setup that works and that I can refine later if I can develop some skills.
The 991 is brass bodied, so heavy. I put some strap locks on it for peace of mind.
Good luck with your recovery, and I hope you have fun with your resonator!

Rather than having the nut cut first, have you tried experimenting with putting shims under the existing nut? Cut a few strips from a standard business card and put under the nut. Add or remove strips to suit. That way you can experiment with different nut heights. You may also find that you may lower the height over time as you become more adept at controlling the bottleneck.

[tinnitus]

Originally Posted by Mycroft

Rather than having the nut cut first, have you tried experimenting with putting shims under the existing nut? Cut a few strips from a standard business card and put under the nut. Add or remove strips to suit. That way you can experiment with different nut heights. You may also find that you may lower the height over time as you become more adept at controlling the bottleneck.

+1 on using shims to raise nut height.

I use strips of aluminum soda/beer cans to get crisp, non-cushioned contact between the hard nut and the hard neck. It's actually easy to trim aluminum can metal to any shape and size with common scissors. A couple of my electric planks got this treatment and played fine that way just using string tension to secure the nut. A couple dots of Gorilla super glue came later after I was sure I had the right height.

When removing the original nut, you might encounter a thick layer of varnish over the neck and the nut. Just score the varnish around all the common edges with an X-Acto knife so you can gently tap the nut loose. Use a piece of soft wood scrap to pad the nut from your light hammer blows and avoid damaging the wooden neck/finish. Carefully scrape away any dried glue/varnish to leave a nice clean, flat mounting surface for the shims. Good luck!