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Post by Colin McCubbin on Feb 25, 2015 23:00:28 GMT
perhaps a MM blues is the ticket to joy. hamilton, I think you've answered your own question there! In terms of value for money, AND playability I have to say that an OMI of uncertain ancestry is no competitor for any of the MM guitars.
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Post by lexluthier on Feb 26, 2015 23:28:49 GMT
Hi. In the last year or so I have gone out of my way to familiarise myself with and/or work on as many resonator guitars as I possibly could, having fallen in love with the tone so much. I have to say I still haven't got my hands on any high end examples yet as they are pretty rare in this neck of the woods and my ability to travel is restricted. The guitars I have worked on have been of the sub £700 variety and I've spend hundreds of hours(I kid you not) learning all I could about their construction and how to get the very most out of them via set-ups, bridge materials etc. I've learned a lot for myself and don't regret the time spent, however, I now dismiss all of these guitars out of hand and wouldn't waste any more time on their like, or suggest to anyone who asks me or brings me a resonator to set-up to do so either. I recently converted an MM blues 14 to a southpaw for a customer and I have to say it blew everything I have worked on/played out of the water tone-wise and have concluded that my advice to anyone would be these guitars are the minimum standard I would personally spend money or time on in the future. I assume from reading and listening that Busker guitars measure up to the same standards as the MM guitars. No amount of setting up and swapping out parts will get you 'that' tone if aspects of the basic construction aren't right in the first place, you can't polish a turd as they say!
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 27, 2015 14:55:23 GMT
Thank you! ....very much appreciated
Shine On Michael
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Post by kitkatjoe on Apr 22, 2015 20:38:06 GMT
I'm watching this on eBay. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121577614335?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D121577614335%26_rdc%3D1Looking to to buy my first dedicated guitar for slide, and I've been itching for a reso for years. I'm after a big sound with some decent bite, doesn't need to be a rabid dog though. This being metal bodied and biscuit bridged, non spider? I'm figuring it might hit the spot. I have gleaned from some previous threads that OMI guitars might be an acquired taste (what sets it apart so?) and that the tail end of their production, before Gibson took over, was not the finest. so and thoughts most welcome. Ps - I'm competent with tools, so had considered a cheaper model guitar with a decent neck, and upgrading the cone. Hot rod or PB depending on the guitar in question. Or - perhaps a MM blues is the ticket to joy.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2015 13:49:57 GMT
I have a Johnson reso that was given to me as a gift. It's a fine guitar. Surprisingly good. The neck is great. Nice n' chunky, perfect fret job. I've never really been tempted to do any upgrading on it, just doesn't seem worth it. And I don't like full-sized guitars -- at this point, I only want to play parlor guitars (and headless guitars). But for what the Johnson is, and for the price these go for these days, it can't be beat.
I can understand lusting after a top-end guitar IF you have the cash to spend on it, or IF you're a professional, or IF it's going to be the only guitar you ever buy and you truly expect it to last a lifetime. But remember, a lot of the price you're paying is simply to have that high-end brand on the headstock. Which is a fine reason to buy a guitar too, I'm not knocking it.
A properly spec'd Chinese guitar (that is a guitar built and inspected to a reputable person/brand's specifications) can be an excellent instrument, every bit as good as any National out there. This isn't rocket science -- it's about the materials used and the care put into the making of it. The Chinese have become excellent guitar builders, as long as someone is assuring quality control.
So, considering you could buy both MM models for the price of a National, with some change to buy a few of slides and extra sets of strings.... for me that's a no-brainer. Too bad Michael won't spec a parlor model! (Yes, yes, I understand why...)
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Post by amccj7 on Apr 27, 2015 3:11:19 GMT
I don't think plastic/nylon nuts on OMI guitars were a cost-cutting exercise in the last years of their existence. Plastic nuts were fitted on most OMI guitars that I have seen. OMI Dobros were expensive guitars; I paid £370 for my 33H, which was a lot more than I paid for a Telecaster in the same year. Knowing what I now know about manufacturing guitars, the costs involved and what I know about the Dopyera family, I don't believe the plastic nuts were a cost-cutting device, more likely an alternative material to use instead of animal bone. Shine On Michael I came upon this topic a bit late so I apologize for the late remarks. I own a 1980 OMI model 66S . I happened to talk to Mike Replogle on line and wanted to ask him the very questions we all wondered about, In regards to construction methods used at OMI at the time. This is a copy paste from such a conversation. "Gibson is 24 3/4, fender is 24 1/2, Dobro is 24 1/2... go figure. the OMI shop was a couple of doors down from a sign shop. They scavenged bits of plastic from their dumpster and used them to make nuts. They use plastic because it was cheap (free), not because it was tonally suitable." So there you have the truth regarding plastic nuts. I hope this helps clear things up.
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Post by amccj7 on Apr 27, 2015 3:15:46 GMT
Here is another concerning glued in cones.
"the stamped cones were an attempt to find a cheaper way to mass produce cones... OMI was always trying to cut expenses the cones were glued in as an attempt to keep the cones seated, prevent buzz, etc. Misguided as it turned out, since the glue tended to deaden the cone.. and the stamped cones were already dull sounding." And,, if the inside of your dobro is orange, then it was dipped in a vat of sealer- another attempt to save labor
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Post by Michael Messer on Apr 27, 2015 8:36:10 GMT
I am not in a position to prove anything, but I seriously doubt the story about collecting plastic from a dumpster. All OMI nuts are almost identical and buying plastic nuts would not make much difference to any costs.
Glued in cones - not sure about that either.
Don Young worked at OMI and is the only person I know who could give us the facts.
Shine On Michael
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2015 12:18:24 GMT
Folks... I never owned or played a "dobro" but do own several biscuit resonators. Is not there a fundamental difference in tone or coloration, as the difference say between a tele or strat, that the OP needs to consider as per his favor in making a decision...?
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Post by Michael Messer on Apr 27, 2015 13:21:37 GMT
There is a big difference in sound between a National (single cone & tricone) and a Dobro. That doesn't mean that one is for blues and the other for country, as that depends on who's playing them, but there is a difference. I would say the difference is more pronounced than the example you mentioned - Strat V Tele, as their sound is coloured by amplification.
Shine On Michael
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