# Flattop or Resonator for slide; thoughts?



## nbs2005 (Mar 21, 2018)

Hi all,

I picked up Michael Messner resonator from a forum member a few months ago. Love the swampy sound and feel. But after an intense love affair with the sound, I'm finding myself less enamored with it. I'm now playing more slide on my Ami Parlour and even on my OM-40 (tough, cause I've got the action really low). While you lose the swampy rattle, you gain back a lot more nuance, at least to my ears. I'm thinking about an acoustic (with a cutaway) for slide now.

Thoughts? There may be a FT post soon ;-)

Jeff


----------



## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

I'll just go ahead and state the obvious here: The acoustic is far more versatile than the resonator. As much as I love slide on a good National, it's pretty much a one-trick pony. If you're already preferring the sound on your parlour, stick with that for the number of times you end up playing slide. Just my 2 cents.


----------



## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Why not both? Different sounds for different moods/styles?

I have two resonators, a wood and a steel. Both sound great, although probably not that different from one another, both being single-cone, biscuit resonators. I’d like to try a wooden spider and a brass tricone at some some point, but it’s tough to try them in the current environment. That said, slide on a flat-top also sounds sweet.


----------



## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

I love the sound of slide on a resonator when someone else is playing it. When I'm playing it not so much. It sounds thin and uninspiring when I'm playing. I much prefer an acoustic or electric when I'm playing. It is all in the way we hear our tone when playing. If you're not inspired it shows in the playing.


----------



## nbs2005 (Mar 21, 2018)

Thanks for the comments. I really like the expressiveness of slide and I'm working on using it in different types of music. Hard to get out of the delta with the resonator. I find the flattops can get close enough to the delta and still offer so many other sounds.


----------



## DrumBob (Aug 17, 2014)

nbs2005 said:


> Thanks for the comments. I really like the expressiveness of slide and I'm working on using it in different types of music. Hard to get out of the delta with the resonator. I find the flattops can get close enough to the delta and still offer so many other sounds.


I think you answered your own question. Resonators are great for swampy, Delta blues. I have two; a 1929 National Triolian, and a 40's Regal wood body that I bought for $225. Both sound great for what they are and fulfill my need for that vintage Delta blues sound and vibe I like so much. Otherwise, I play slide electric, on a variety of funky guitars, including a '58 Supro Belmont, a reissue Supro Holiday that I've spent too much on getting playable, and several cheesy 60's Japanese guitars that are just about perfect for what they are used for.


----------



## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

I have always wanted a resonator but I get 95% of the tone I need out of on old Oahu flat top.
It is a lap slide that was converted to a round neck.
Birch body, poplar neck, sounds huge.


----------



## mawmow (Nov 14, 2017)

I just sold my all metal tricone Hot Rod : I would slide in Open G on all Mahogany parlor Alvarez AP66, in Open D on Seagull Performer. I would use, glass, porcelain, steel or brass slides to modulate tone.


----------



## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

I use the Dobro I bought new about 50 years ago for everything acoustic, including slide.


----------



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I tend to prefer the (wood body) Dobro or electrics, but a flattop is fine too. Application and context dictates if I'm recording or performing, but if I'm just hanging out I'm not too fussy.


----------



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Both work--depends what you;re going for...


----------



## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

Slide works best on an instrument with good sustain, regardless of anything else. Slide on ukulele and banjo, for example, is generally ineffective. (Yes, I've tried.)


----------



## nbs2005 (Mar 21, 2018)

I sold the resonator. Will be posting a NAGD sometime next week when 'it' shows up.


----------



## albaloney (Nov 29, 2009)

I use my National (with a plastic thumbpick and metal finger picks and a metal slide) for songs that sound better played at maximum volume and don't require maximum finesse. For more subtle and exacting playing l play slide using a glass side on an acoustic. However on any given day or night everything is interchangeable.


----------



## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Looks like a D45 gettin rezo'd real good.


----------

