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Post by bolo on Oct 13, 2006 16:57:18 GMT
Hey up everyone, I'm in the market for a resophonic guitar, looking at around £400 - £600. Could probably push to more if I'm unimpressed with guitars in this range. At the minute i'm playing slow, deliberate slide stuff on a hollow body electric guitar but want to take my first step into the real world of resonators Can any one throw some names at me? Are ozark anygood? Also, my local music shop has an engraved Dean, any opinions? cheers
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Post by Michael Messer on Oct 13, 2006 22:43:01 GMT
Hi Bolo,
Welcome along. I would recommend talking with Ron at the London Resonator Centre, his advice will be worth listening to. I would also advise talking with Pete Woodman on the Isle of Man, again....he knows this area very well. Personally speaking....the best sounding budget priced National copies that I have seen for a while is the Ozark Deluxe 3616. I think it an excellent guitar for around the money you are talking.
Keep in touch,
Shine On, Michael.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2006 19:11:15 GMT
A quick word of warning, just because you've got £600 in your pocket, don't think you have to spend it all - you may well find that a £300 reso will serve you very well. Decide whether you are going for a biscuit, spider or tricone instrument. Also, play a few...a lot of people find the idea of a reso is much better than the reality - it doesn't suit everybody. If you are thinking of spending a fair bit more than £600 you may find yourself edging into 2nd hand National prices. By the way, if you are unfamiliar with getting your hands on resos, you might find it difficult to make a truly accurate assesment unless you have played a National to compare it with. Unless you are absolutely convinced that a reso is for you, I reckon an economy-line Regal or Ozark will be fine. Also, don't get hung up on the idea that it HAS to be a shiny metal one, some of the wood bodied or paint-finish metal bodied resos can be great value. I've played the antique-finished Dean reso ("Heirloom" I think they call it), an OK guitar, not incredibly loud, BUT incredibly heavy! The Ozarks that I've played have been pretty decent apart from the sunburst finish wood bodied Tricone - an absolute dog with no volume or reso character at all. And speaking of dogs, avoid the Fender wood bodied "Dobro" style spider bridge guitar...absolute rubbish.
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Post by Michael Messer on Oct 14, 2006 21:06:02 GMT
In additrion to my post.....you should read my reviews of various resophonic guitars. They are al on my website.
Good luck
Shine On Michael.
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Post by andys on Oct 15, 2006 19:57:32 GMT
Heres my take on this. I did quite a bit of research into getting myself a decent, playable but above all, budget resonator. I have quite a bit of ability as far as setting up guitars is concerned, though not as much as some of the repairers/builders on this site, so I plumped for a guitar which would be versatile rather than merely look the part. I looked at the real cheapies, but the guitar that seemed to suit my purposes was the Vintage VR800. This has a cutaway, which is useful for when you are playing stuff with a capo and need high fret access. It has a mini-humbucker, for low feedback at high volume, ( I rarely amplify it, but its there when I need to), it has a lovely bound neck, and replacement parts retro fit into it. It is also wood bodied so it doesnt weigh too much, though to paraphrase Mike Harding its still a "Barnsley Fighting Guitar". I upgraded this with a Quarterman cone, and a bone nut, the rest really does the job. In fact I would say that similar guitars such as Ozarks, Regals, Ashburys etc, with a few tweaks and upgrades, will get you a good entry level resonator for about half the £600 budget. They wont sound like Nationals, but they wont be too far off, for an introduction. They are addictive though, I'm looking for a nice spider bridge guitar, and it has also got me into knocking together resolectrics with the spare parts (See Unusual Resophonic Guitars thread for my efforts). We'd all love a National, (and if I won some money mine would be a Radiotone or maybe some kind of Tricone) but some of us have other demands on our finances. I love my Vintage, I cant walk past it without picking it up and playing it, and its incredibly versatile.
If I was looking again with your budget, Id buy something like an Ozark, a Vintage or a Regal, get a new cone for @ £50 from Resound, drop it in (or get your local guitar repairer to do it along with fitting a new nut), and bingo you have a perfectly adequate starter reso.
Just my take on this, others may disagree. If I was a serious proffessional musician I would have a top end resonator. Im not, I play for pleasure only, I cant justify that kind of money on a guitar. What I can say is that there is a lot of choice out there and a lot of very playable instruments for not much cash these days. Just think of the junk that was our first guitars, compared with the quality that new players these days can start with.
Yours Andy S
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Post by Michael Messer on Oct 15, 2006 20:32:12 GMT
Thanks Andy & John. Your comments are very useful and should be helpful to newcomers into the wonderful world of resophonic guitars.
I very rarely write reviews for magazines these days, so some of the comments you see in the reviews on my website are definitely a little out of date. Especialy the comments about other models available.
It was not that long ago that to play a resophonic guitar you had to own an antique or an expensive hand-made instrument. Now they are available in numerous shapes, sizes, colours and prices, which in my book is great.
Shine On, Michael.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2006 22:09:15 GMT
Hey Bolo, At the top end of your budget is the Ozark Deluxe 3616. I went to a workshop at the London Resonator Centre a while ago and Papa George who was running it borrowed one to use for the workshop- I was really impressed and bought it afterwards. Talking to Ron at the Resonator Centre, he said it's the closest to a National Style N that he'd heard and at a much lower cost. No need to have to spend extra dosh on a cone or biscuit upgrade. Michael has heard it recently too gave it the genral thumbs up. If you want to hear what it sounds like, have a listen to the track "Curtis Leowe" on my soundlclick - www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=338959 - other than a bit of reverb it's purely the sound of that guitar. Hope that helps, Lewis
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Post by Michael Messer on Oct 15, 2006 23:17:42 GMT
(Hi Lewis, welcome to our forum!) I totally agree with Lewis. I actually made an error while typing the first reply I wrote on this thread, which I have now changed. But the guitar I recommend is the Ozark Deluxe 3616. It really is a good instrument and I reckon is unbeatable value for money. Thanks Lewis, you jogged my little grey cells there! The Regal I was talking about was actually the Ozark 3616. Here is a thumbnail I 'borrowed' from the LRC. Their list price for this guitar is £649. Shine On, Michael.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2006 7:38:17 GMT
That Vintage with the cutaway & pickup - sounds like the model I tried at my local store, very dark grey. almost black in colour. At £200 it's a great deal, you can't go wrong for that sort of money, and also as an easy way to amplify on the cheap its super (OK, you loose most of the reso tone, but it's not at all bad). It was a little thin on the middle and bass acoustically , but I'm comparing to with my custom 1930s Regal reso which has a barking midrange, but overall a versatile and cheap guitar.
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Post by Blues Pertti on Oct 16, 2006 7:38:59 GMT
Hi, Sound of Ozark was very nice on Lewis's soundclick. What kind is the general feeling of Ozark 3616. Is neck width and type close to National and so on?
Pertti
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2006 8:10:40 GMT
You've got me there, ppuusaari, as I haven't actually played too many Nationals - but the overall impression of the neck is that it's substantial but very manageable, even with my small hands. Fretboard has a gentle radius - probably 12".
According to the Resonator Centre website, under "Special Offers" they're now doing the 3616 for £549 making it a no-brainer i.m.o.
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Post by Blues Pertti on Oct 18, 2006 9:31:09 GMT
Michael, have you tried to play that Ozark deluxe 3616? (urgent need for review)
Pertti P
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Post by Michael Messer on Oct 18, 2006 9:53:31 GMT
Pertti, The Ozark is an excellent guitar and very good value for money. Highly recommended!
Shine On, Michael.
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Post by mistercanetoad on Oct 18, 2006 12:08:57 GMT
I've tried (and owned) quite a few entry level resos for a few thoughts see an earlier thread. I now own an AXL tricone..an ebay special that needed some work but is great now, an AXL duolian (same as a Johnson bottleslide); incredibly cheap and remarkably good and a regal wood bodied spider . All are perfectly adequate and give a good loud reso tone.
BTW I tried an Ozark Deluxe 3616 at the London Reso Centre and was greatly impressed with sound and playability, don't like the look of it though.....
It strikes me that you are almost up to the level of being able to afford a second hand modern wood bodied National. I bought one of these in the end and have no regrets. Fantastic sounding (different to a metal body) and it won't depreciate in value. I had been playing a metal bodied Ozark before this but I do a lot of pub sessions etc and it was incredibly heavy, like carrying a bag of bricks around! And the weight of the body leaves these things open to Les Paul snapped-off-headstock syndrome if dropped.
To avoid London prices try Frailers in Runcorn. Give them a ring though, their website is rarely up to date
Dave
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Post by entfred on Oct 19, 2006 14:59:38 GMT
Hello!
This is a great forum and I have enjoyed reading the post on various resonator topics.
For an inexpensive resonator, I highly recommend the Regal RC51 tricone. I purchased one and upgraded the cones to National cones. The stock cones sound good on the Regal, but I think this cone upgrade made the Regal even better than it is, stock. Also, there is the Johnson. I found this Regal, by luck, and liked the sound of it. At the same time, I got to play another Regal which was a single cone and that sounded great, too.
Check out myspace.com/constipators for a few tracks using the Regal tricone:
regal1, cutone
Also, there is a National Delphi mp3 track (delphi1). These tracks will give you some examples of the tone of these resonators.
--- entfred
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