MM BLUES -HELP PLEASE. | MICHAEL MESSER FORUM

MM BLUES -HELP PLEASE. Oct 9, 2011 20:00:14 GMT

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Post by strummitcadders on Oct 9, 2011 20:00:14 GMT

I have been the happy owner of 14 fret for about 2yrs now, and just love giving this great instrument a workout at every chance I get. At the price asked, I think its a superb guitar.. After a time of messing about with various string heights and guages, I have recently settled for 15 -56's, and lowered the action at 12th fret to about 3.5mm bass/3mm treble. That works great for me. All in all, I'm very pleased with the compromise for fingerpickin and plectrum (both slide and normal in various tunings)
There are a few things that I could use a bit of help with though if anybody can assist.
1. My model had the higher spec tuners that were introduced a couple of years ago (Were they branded "Golden Age"?), but I still get tuning problems with sticking strings-mainly on the D and G. I have lubricated the nut slots with graphite and very lightly run a few passes of the correct sized nut file up and down, but this made no difference. I Have also used various biscuits at the bridge without any improvement. Can anybody suggest a really good luthier who knows about resonators in the London area or SE England?
2. I want to start going out live? What is the best way to amplify this instrument---I was thinking internal pickups rather than miking up. Budget limit about £250 tops. Are there any good installers in area mentioned?
3.With my style, I sometimes wish I could slightly mute the strings just behind the bridge, just for a split second,like I do on all my other instruments. Is there any practical reason that I could'nt simply take an angle grinder and get rid of the metal bridge guard? It looks electro welded in place- but could it be taken off and rubbed down to give a smooth surface.......or is that a totally mad idea?
any help or ideas would be great. Congratulations on a quality site, and best wishes to all resonator players out there.

MM BLUES -HELP PLEASE. Oct 9, 2011 20:41:32 GMT

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Post by Michael Messer on Oct 9, 2011 20:41:32 GMT

Hi Strummitcadders,

I am pleased you are enjoying your MM Guitar an your kind words are much appreciated.

I will try and answer all your questions for you.

Tuners: They are Stewmac Golden Age tuners and generally speaking, they are good tuners. I have them on a few of my own guitars and they work fine. They do not perform like a modern tuner, they really are retro. I have one that was sticking occasionally and I rubbed some graphite into the tuner cog and it seemed to do the job. I use graphite on the nut under the strings on all my guitars. All resophonic guitars creak a bit when you tune them.

Amplification: I use two systems, a Shure SM57 microphone and a Highlander iP-1X Inline pickup. 90% of the gigs I do I use the SM57 microphone, it beats everything because you really get the natural sound of the instrument. The remaining 10% of the time I use a Highlander iP-1X, these are expensive, but they are by far the best pickup available for a National or National-style guitar. They have to be fitted professionally. The only person in the London area I can recommend is Dave King at Dave King Acoustics in Berkshire. The other options are to use a Schatten resonator pickup (not as good as the Highlander, but cheaper), or a magnetic pickup stuck to the front of the body. There are a few brands available.

Removing the handrest: It is not mad, but I do believe it is not necessary for damping strings. I dampen with the heel of my right hand all the time. However, there are people who prefer the handrest removed, American guitarist Mike Dowling does it for the very same reason as you. The only down side to it is that your cone will have no protection and one bang either from your hand while playing, or the front of the guitar bumped into something, will collapse the cone.
There are coverplates made with removable handrests, but the screw holes are different on every guitar, so it could be difficult.

I hope that has helped.

Shine On
Michael.