Paramount Resonators

[beaverHausen]

A friend of mine is selling me his Paramount resonator.
He knows little about it except that he bought it from a german Web store.
Has anybody come across them?
I expect it's a Chinese job but the pic he sent me looks fairly decent.

[Deleted]

From the interweb, they look the same as republic guitars - same manufacturer?
This could be a good thing. But it might not be.
TT

[Deleted]

I was in touch with Thomann about this guitar -- it's the same guitar as the Busker Cannon and the Republic Miniolian, except at a much higher price! 600 euros is too much for this guitar, considering it probably cost less than 100 euros at the factory. Although that might be the distributor's fault - here's the link Thomann gave me: www.i-musicnetwork.com/marken/paramount/ Some of the other guitars they handle are very high end. Obviously the distributor invented the Paramount brand -- sounds really vintagey, don't it?

One thing to know about this guitar: the cone is stamped, not spun.

I believe the company making these guitars is Aiersi. You can order directly from them, www.aiersiguitar.com/category/parlour-resonator-guitars/ -- my experience ordering directly from China was NOT a positive one. At least buying through Thomann, you can get a refund. I've always had good experiences with Thomann.

[beaverHausen]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Well, I had a Republic and was almost happy with it - it was supposed to be brand new but looked like it had been dragged around a car park, the neck was loose and I just feel it was old stock or even a return.

www.resohangout.com/topic/39021

I contacted Robin at Busker and after having an estimate for works to put it right I sent it back.

If it wasn't for those problems I would have kept it.

I really want a 14 fret neck but am not keen on the paint finish of the blues (Sorry Michael) and Robin at Busker tells me he doesn't know when he'll have any Delta 14's in.

I should be able to swap the cone and put some heavier strings on though shouldn't I?

[lexluthier]

Hi! Paramount guitars are, as the other guys have mentioned already, generic Chinese made and ordered in small batches by a company who own the 'Paramount' brand name, which, like Regal, is a brand name that goes back to the thirties.(Probably why it sounds kinda authentic ) Aiersi is certainly one of the brands on this type of guitar', there are many. Check out how many have the same headstock, three dots at the twelth fret, star at the third etc etc. The difference in between all these similar looking brands is what specifications are asked for at source and how they are set up at point of sale. The effect of these differences can be massive!

I had a conversation with someone 'at a German web store' about  the paramount tricone and the report on it was not good, poorly finished compared with other guitars at this price point, no real set-up, so overpriced to say the least. They couldn't even tell me what the body was made of(described in the advert as 'Metal')

Nuff said. Chris

[Deleted]

Yes, there was indeed an old Paramount brand, owned by a banjo company. National even made some guitars for them. I doubt anyone owns the Paramount name anymore -- but it certainly conjures up the days of the old Paramount Records too.

You won't get much more information off of Aiesi's site either, I'm afraid.

[Michael Messer]

Paramount is the brand name being used by a German distribution company. They were trying to do business with me , but I wasn't interested and they ended up creating their own brand using generic models from Aiersi.

Shine On
Michael

[beaverHausen]

Guys thanks for the info.

I have the guitar now, it does need some setup I think although it looks like it has a spun cone instead of stamped.

It sounds and feels the same as the Republic #505 I had briefly, even the case is the same!

[beaverHausen]

So now I have this Paramount guitar, I'm in two minds whether to keep it or not.
The action is very low on the skinny E string and makes for good fretting but no very clean slide work on the 2nd - 4th fret area.
On the heavy E string at the 19th fret the distance is 6 mm from the fretboard. The neck looks quite straight and the frets are finished off better than on the Republic #505
I reckon the nut could do with changing, but I'm no expert. The biscuit looks like it could do with changing also although the strings aren't falling out of their grooves.

I'm thinking about putting a bone nut on and a hot rod cone with biscuit but, can anybody tell me by the photos if it's something that's viable or not please.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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[Deleted]

Don't change the biscuit - alter the saddle.
If you can prise the saddle out, you could shave a little off the bass end, and add a tiny shim (e.g. a filed down matchstick wedge) glued on to the bottom at the treble end.
If you do get a new cone, I'll buy the other !
TT
edit - looking at the pic of the saddle, it looks like there is a bit missing / broken off on the top two strings and its had a botched job. Maybe a new saddle is needed.
TT

[Deleted]

Well, the first thing to do with any set up is to set the neck relief -- take a capo, place it at the twelfth fret, fret the low E at the first fret and measure the gap at the 5th fret. I use a set of sparkplug gap shims for this, it's more accurate than a ruler. You can also use a credit card -- the older ones are just about the right thickness.

[beaverHausen]

Hey deuce. I've been speaking with Robin @busker about this guitar (top bloke, really helpful), he knows the factory it came from. Apparently they cut a piece out of the biscuit bridge for the b string, Robin says although not necessary it's just something they do. After sending him some pics and playing the guitar down the phone to him, he's given me some simple steps that should improve the playability. He says it's a continental cone and it sounds fine so I don't need to change. Just need me some decent strings.