# New Resonator Day



## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Gretsch G9201.

Intonation is good out of the box. Tweeked the truss rod a little; OK for now but it still has to settle. Nut height is high and the biscuit saddle could come down a bit. This guitar is very loud. The D'Addario strings that came with it suck. Not sure where this guitar is gonna take me; could be a one trick pony unless I change my name to Nursing Home Slim or something like that.


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

Thanks for stoking my gas. I’ve been looking at resonators lately. Will be interested in how this one works out.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Wardo said:


> Nursing Home Slim


Thanks for the laugh! Let me know the location of your new "venue" and I'll drop by with some Ensure (and Jack Daniels).

ENJOY!


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## brucew (Dec 30, 2017)

I put the nickel bronze resonator strings on mine. I like them.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

greco said:


> ... I'll drop by with some Ensure (and Jack Daniels).


I've been trying to get a scrip for that combination but apparently OHIP won't cover the bourbon; they also mentioned something about ethics but that part went right over my head.

There's a song in there somewhere and I think it will work with this guitar.

I Got The Universal Pharma Care Blues.


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## mawmow (Nov 14, 2017)

Nice resonator ! ;-)
Oops ! Replicated... 
Too appealing resonator !


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I used D’Addario Flattops strings on the Regal steel body resonator I used to have, and still use them on the Dobro. Much more suitable for them than standard round wound strings.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Wardo said:


> I've been trying to get a scrip for that combination but apparently OHIP won't cover the bourbon; they also mentioned something about ethics but that part went right over my head.


a wonderful Christmas gift for the caring folks at OHIP...


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Cool--enjoy 
(Is this one of the ones with the V neck?)


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

zontar said:


> Cool--enjoy
> (Is this one of the ones with the V neck?)


yes, a slight V and 1&3/4 nut


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Very nice! Enjoy.


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## loudtubeamps (Feb 2, 2012)

Nice one Wardo. I hope you get many hours of enjoyment.
I have been looking at these for a couple of years now 
US $439.0 |Aiersi Vintage Golden Bell Brass Cutway Metal Body Tricone Resonator Guitar With Guitar Case and Strap-in Guitar from Sports & Entertainment on AliExpress
Just can't bring myself to making the purchase. 
I've had resonators in the past and once the honeymoon is over, they collect dust and eventually get sold off.
Is there a support group for this kinda' affliction?


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

loudtubeamps said:


> Nice one Wardo. I hope you get many hours of enjoyment.
> I have been looking at these for a couple of years now
> US $439.0 |Aiersi Vintage Golden Bell Brass Cutway Metal Body Tricone Resonator Guitar With Guitar Case and Strap-in Guitar from Sports & Entertainment on AliExpress
> Just can't bring myself to making the purchase.
> ...


I'm looking to join that group, and I still haven't bought my first one yet. I'm still stuck between square and round neck


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

loudtubeamps said:


> I've had resonators in the past and once the honeymoon is over, they collect dust and eventually get sold off.


yeah, I’ve been wondering about that - have 30 days to decide keep or send back.


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)

loudtubeamps said:


> Is there a support group for this kinda' affliction?


ummm... just look around at the rest of us here .

GAS is like being an alcoholic ... can be brought to heel with a strong will, but never cured

and it just takes that one lovely sounding siren to draw us back in again .... 
uh , sorry , gotta go , ummm, yeah , ran out of errrr tooth picks ... I'll be right back .


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## Jim9guitars (Feb 15, 2016)

That's a beauty! I have been learning dobro slide tuning on a lap steel for a while and would love to get a squareneck sometime in the near future.


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

I like DR Sunbeams on my Dobro, but it's got a spider, not a biscuit.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Wardo said:


> yes, a slight V and 1&3/4 nut


I'm not a fan of V necks--but it would work as a lap steel for me.

But hey-if it's okay for you (Or even your preference)--cool


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

Wardo said:


> Gretsch G9201.
> 
> Intonation is good out of the box. Tweeked the truss rod a little; OK for now but it still has to settle. Nut height is high and the biscuit saddle could come down a bit. This guitar is very loud. The D'Addario strings that came with it suck. Not sure where this guitar is gonna take me; could be a one trick pony unless I change my name to Nursing Home Slim or something like that.



Time to pick up a slide.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

colchar said:


> Time to pick up a slide.


Yeah, I got a slide like the one that Johnny Winter used but I’m gonna take it back and swap it for a set of strings bcs I suck at the slide and there's no point in working at it as it's not gonna be a main area for me.


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## brucew (Dec 30, 2017)

Don't give up so fast. This is what got me started. I came across this vid and was hooked. Learned a LOT from Mr. Jeremiah Lockwood. Def harder than it looks but do-able and like everything else you cross a couple plateau's and life is good. 2nd winter and I'm not quite up to Johnny Winter yet, but getting close.
(btw, use brass, chrome and copper slides depending on how dirty I want it to sound; have a glass one, but not my favorite)





If you're having trouble getting started I'd humbly suggest rolled and tumbled, red rooster, and a couple of furry lewis tunes in open G to get you started. Very easy to pick up. Malcom Macdowel tunes are also easy to pick up. (at least I found them so; that's where I started.)

Before you know it you'll need a boxcar just so you can keep one in G and one in D.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Anyway, I've been playing this guitar for a few days now and it seems that I really like it.

I use 13s on all my dreds no problem - this guitar came with 12s which were hard on the fingers with the stock set up and they made a lot of string noise so I put Elixir PB 11s on it to tame the squeak and not end up with carpel tunnel syndrome in record time. The Elixirs may not be the best option but they'll do for now and they have a nice enough mellow sound which makes this guitar way better than the crapped out Dobro that someone loaned me 25 years ago.

So where it's at right now with these strings I can play most of my usual songs in standard tuning, get lots of resonator sound without being as raw as you might want it if you were just playing some delta moma slide. The guitar is still very loud, sounds like a resonator in a big way and has nice tone and kicks ass. Usually I do Wayfairing Stranger in Dm on mandolin because I find that works better for vocal than playing it on a dred but Stranger works real good on the resonator for the same reason that it works on mandolin.

You kinda have to adapt your playing and phrasing to where the sweet spot is on the chords (which is the same for anything) - I found that going at it like I do on a dred doesn't quite work with the resonator and it sounded like crap but once you start finding the guitar's voice it sounds real nice.

I've concluded that my songs can be fitted into 3 categories; sad, miserable and hopeless. The resonator guitar can cover all three. 

So, for $800 I think this is a really good guitar. Fit and finish is very good and the guitar looks really nice. Neck and frets are fine, intonation is fine and the machine heads are good. I like V necks although this neck is a little thin compared to my HD28V. Nut width is 1&3/4 but that doesn't seem obvious due to the sorta thin neck - it's not that thin but it's nice to have something to grab onto. Scale is 25" and it weighs about 9 or 10 pounds.

I like the saddle over the bridge on these because I can rest my palm on it while finger picking w/out muting the low E. I don't use Travis style bcs it puts too much tension into my hand so a lot of times I end up muting the low strings when I don't want to; resting on the saddle bridge eliminates that.

Anyway, I'm taking this pig to a jam tomorrow night; I was going to bring a dred as well but to hell with it; gonna stamped the cattle and rattle the walls with cast iron betty.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

brucew said:


> Don't give up so fast.


What kinda decided it was having to go to open tunings for slide - which I could do but there goes 90 percent of my song list unless I retune all the time. So it came down to this guitar adds a lot to the stuff I'm already doing in standard. Original plan was to have the resonator as a second guitar for a few songs and maybe in open tuning but what I'm finding now is that I like the guitar and it works with my fog horn voice .. lol


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

Wardo said:


> What kinda decided it was having to go to open tunings for slide - which I could do but there goes 90 percent of my song list unless I retune all the time.


At risk of being boring and repetitive, I never use open tunings when I use the fireslide. Don't have to, and I don't like retuning. It's still best for playing with other folks rather than solo, but my demos tend to be solo because they're easier to record. I'm thinking of recording some piano backups and soloing over those.

This solo version of Steel Guitar Rag is in standard tuning -- the fingerings are basically barre chords with the slide as the barre: http://jazzagejazz.ca/fireslide/movies/fireslide_SGR-190606.mov You can test it out using a stock Bic lighter but the sound won't be that great.

BTW, resonators can have *great* harmonics -- check them out. I've used my Dobro as my #1 guitar -- and only guitar much of the time -- for almost 50 years.


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## Fox Rox (Aug 9, 2009)

Congrats and enjoy it! I have the exact same model and I love it. Even though it is heavy as you kn0w what it has become my couch guitar. I love finger picking on it and my wife loves the way it sounds.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Wardo said:


> I've concluded that my songs can be fitted into 3 categories; sad, miserable and hopeless


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Wardo said:


> Anyway, I'm taking this pig to a jam tomorrow night; I was going to bring a dred as well but to hell with it; gonna stamped the cattle and rattle the walls with cast iron betty.


Looking forward to hearing how this goes.


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## loudtubeamps (Feb 2, 2012)

cboutilier said:


> I'm looking to join that group, and I still haven't bought my first one yet. I'm still stuck between square and round neck


I would...from experience...suggest round (for versatility).


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

In Dec 2018 I saw the same guitar for sale at my local L&M. It was near mint. Used. Taxes in it was about $450 if I recall. It sounded great. I compared it to some other resonators and this one was much brighter and crisper. Lots of lower priced resonators just don't ring out and can sound dull. This Gretsch sounds really good. I was told it was pretty much a replica of the old early National guitar. I use the resonator for slide and I don't tune to open chords. I use it with my band and it works well. I was using a condenser mic but just recently ordered an actual pick-up for it. I will play it into my Fishman amp. As an example it sounds fantastic when we cover "Handle Me With Care" by the Travelling Wilburys. The slide work cuts through nicely.

I went with this pick up here: Krivo Pickup for Resophonic Guitars. Fantastic on Dobro, Resonator, National single-cone, tricone, and spider bridge guitars. I expect it to arrive in the mail today or tomorrow. Then I can report back. I look forward to trying the pick-up at a gig.

The design of these guitars, you can see limits fret access above the 12th fret. However, a slide on my pinky finger is a great help. It can gain access to the high frets. I too recommend you keep up with the slide work. It is so very nice and the vibrato with the slide offers some great new sounds. I have experienced that an audience loves variety. I switch up between my acoustic, mandolin and my resonator. When we play out the crowd responds well to the instruments and tonal changes.

Fun guitars these Gretsch's. I recommend.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

SO if you don't mind me asking...what's a typical use for the resonator? What's the predominant style that they're typically used for? Is it like down home backwoods mountain man music or are they used in the bluegrass genre more? Just curious as it's waaaay out of my own wheelhouse.

Nice looking guitar BTW Wardo


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## Jim9guitars (Feb 15, 2016)

I'm learning to play "resonator" guitar on a lapsteel at the moment. Resonator guitars can be round neck or square neck, round necks are playable like any guitar, square necks have the strings elevated to the point where they are only played on your lap with a "tone bar", a heavy slide. Resonators were developed in the 1920's, before electric guitars, to boost the volume of the guitar. Square necks tend to be the domain of the country/bluegrass genres but not limited to them. Round necks are found in many styles, Mark Knopfler plays a nice fingerstyle part in the Dire Straits song "Romeo and Juliet". Square necks are showing up in more popular music these days, Mumford and Sons had Jerry Douglas, one of the most respected players, do some songs with them recently. I plan to buy a square neck sometime soon but for now a lapsteel works for learning.


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

Dorian2 said:


> SO if you don't mind me asking...what's a typical use for the resonator? What's the predominant style that they're typically used for? Is it like down home backwoods mountain man music or are they used in the bluegrass genre more? Just curious as it's waaaay out of my own wheelhouse.


I have a spider-style dobro that I've owned for 45+ years. I use it for anything and everything. The sound is somewhere between flat-top and electric, throaty with good sustain. Very good for finger-picking, can be flat-picked with some restraint, great harmonics…

Here's an example where I used the dobro twice (I only had the dobro and an epi dot) strumming (it has a lovely grunt) and lead (at 2 minute in).


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Dorian2 said:


> SO if you don't mind me asking...what's a typical use for the resonator? What's the predominant style that they're typically used for? Is it like down home backwoods mountain man music or are they used in the bluegrass genre more? Just curious as it's waaaay out of my own wheelhouse.
> 
> Nice looking guitar BTW Wardo


I think they were initially developed way back when so that guitars would be louder in big band / orchestra settings before electrics came along.

Then other people got hold of them:











Also used a lot in bluegrass:


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

In my classic rock, pop & country cover band I use my resonator to enhance songs that have been heard a million times by everyone. Resonators are neat for cool, different sounding lead work. Most songs with a slide are great on a resonator. 

The kinks did “Lola” and “Well Respected Man” with a resonator. I cover the lead work in Traveling Wilburys “Handle Me With Care”. Also Bryan Adams “Back To You”, as a few examples. 

You and your audience may or may not have any interest in those songs. I get that. It works for us. Know your audience and play to them.

I’ll introduce my resonator wherever I can if it sounds cool. I find that when gigging, different tones and song arrangements appeal to the audience. People like variety. So far, when I work-in some resonator, mandolin, and harmonica it has been a very positive experience for my band.


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

keithb7 said:


> I’ll introduce my resonator wherever I can if it sounds cool. I find that when gigging, different tones and song arrangements appeal to the audience. People like variety. So far, when I work-in some resonator, mandolin, and harmonica it has been a very positive experience for my band.


Exactly. Resonator guitars have a unique and very culturally-attached sound and people tend to pick one up and play it a certain way. But it's a guitar and has a wealth of sounds just waiting to be coaxed out of it.

Some tidbits:

• resonator guitars are also archtops
• the three main kinds have only-slightly-similar sounds
• the harmonics are lovely and go 'way high
• as always, it's really all in your hands


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