A boy and his resonator: An American Tragedy.
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jessvermont |
I have sold 3 4K+ guitars in the last month and left myself with.... |
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Posts: 84 (06/18/08 08:12:43) |
An upgraded $400.00 Regal RD-40 Resonator guitar which I modified by having a Quarterman cone put in and shaved down the saddle a bit. It now sounds and plays
great. I love this guitar so much that I stopped playing my 3 "high end" acoustics altogether and promptly sold them. I love this little Regal so
much... if I hadn't already put money down on a custom reso build then I would just as soon never buy another guitar again and play this Regal til I
dropped. It may be cheap but I love the way it feels in my hands and I love the cheap trashiness of the dark tone it produces. It sounds great recorded. Reso
guitars are interesting, IMO, in that they don't really have to be "high end" instruments to sound great. The sound is really all in the cone and
how well the body of the guitar reflects that sound - like the laminate top, back and sides on this POS Regal are perfect for amplifying and reflecting the
sound produced in the cone. You really can buy "cheap" reso's and put in a great cone and do some minor mods and you have as good a sounding reso
as you need. But as I like handmade guitars I decided to have a custom reso built that matches the specifications (neck size, radius, scale, etc) of my beloved
cheap Regal. Not sure why though at this point but the money is already spent so no backing out now. Regardless I'm a reso junkie for life now. They're
so LOUD!
A boy and his resonator: An American Tragedy. |
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outfidel |
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Posts: 580 (06/18/08 13:32:14) |
"I would just as soon never buy another guitar again"
Famous last words of a guitar junkie
Last Edited By: outfidel
06/18/08 14:19:13.
Edited 1 times.
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Stuart Aque |
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Posts: 171 (06/18/08 14:58:30) |
"I would just as soon never buy another guitar again"
That's what they/we all say Glad to hear that you finally found the right one. It isn't how much you spend, but how much you enjoy playing it.
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Eldergreene |
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Posts: 162 (06/19/08 00:08:50) |
I've done a similar upgrade (Quarterman cone in a Johnson spider reso), as well as dropping a National hotrod cone in a Republic Duolian (which already
sounded pretty good, I just happened to have the cone spare), & to my ears, both these 2 do their job as well as my '30 spanish tricone does its - they
certainly get played as much...my earliest encounters with resos, some 40-odd years ago, were fraught with the unavailability of high-quality aftermarket cones
- I heard & played some awful-sounding guitars back then...so I too am very appreciative of the good stuff that is so easily available today....(same
applies with guitars, with fine-sounding inexpensive makes, like Johnson Carolina/Recording King, Blueridge, etc)..enjoy, while you can..
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dkstott |
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Posts: 62 (06/19/08 03:45:33) |
I give you 3- 6 months and then new guitars will slowly be appearing in your collection...
a person has to have a variety of guitars available at all times....when one guitar gets feeling kinda old, you grab one from the collection I suggest 4-5 guitars..... 1 - 12 fret small body 1 reso guitar 1 dreadnought 1 banger for the beach or camping events 1 small one for lunch breaks at work |
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RevGeo |
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Posts: 4 (06/19/08 06:40:13) |
My old man used to say 'Beware the man who only owns one gun, he probably knows how to use it'. Of course he had quite a collection of
firearms, but you get the point. I'm down to three acoustics and one electric now. I really never have suffered from GAS very much. My circa-1920s Washburn
parlor serves me well for most of my finger picking, except for some classic ragtime tunes that go up to the 15th fret or so (the Wash is a 12-fretter). A
Garrison GP 20 with a George L soundhole pickup is the 'what to grab when in doubt' guitar and an old Harmony archtop is for sentimental (and funky
tonal) times.
I hear where jessvermont is coming from. I'm guessing he's a bit younger than me, but I really have no desire to buy anymore guitars. I'd rather spend the money on music, wine and fly fishing gear. Rev George |
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TooSteep |
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Posts: 127 (06/19/08 10:26:29) |
I have struggled so much with getting an acoustic that fits me perfectly, and plays just like I want it, that I cannot imagine trying to duplicate it. I guess
I am way pickier about fit/dimensions and personal playability than most people - I cannot fathom how folks can have so many guitars ... unless they are all
custom built to exact specs .
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rodders |
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Posts: 72 (06/20/08 01:57:47) |
I've never understood the need for multiple guitars (unless it's what you do for a living). It amazes me when you take a look on the AGF - some of the
guys on there own 5,6,7+ guitars worth thousands of pounds each. It's their money and they can do what they like with it - I personally own one guitar,
which is probably too expensive for my level of playing - but I love it.
I have however just purchased a cheap resonator made by Johnson - has anybody had any experience with this brand? Also I was thinking I might change the cone, is this easy to do? |
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Eldergreene |
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Posts: 163 (06/21/08 01:28:51) |
rodders, the cone swap is generally pretty easy, since they are usually of near-identical size - just a matter of common-sense, really, tho you may have to
tweak the action up or down a tad; when I swapped out the cone in my Johnson spider-reso, the Quarterman was too big for the original seating, so that involved
a bit of tricky surgery (enlarging the cone-shelf), but the biscuit-type cones are a straightforward swap
As regards numbers of guitars, I plead guilty - I have 16 at the last count, but all are quite different, & do a different job....only a couple are expensive, some are workhorses, most are good-quality cheapies which we are very fortunate to have available today... I guess I have a low boredom threshold with'em, & like the constant novelty of a different instrument - for sure, a different guitar brings out different aspects of my playing, & one could rationalise that the whole 16 add up to less than the cost of eg a vintage sports car, so it's justifiable that way...I figure that we only have one lifetime, might as well take the opportunity to sample as well as we can.. eg |
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rodders |
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Posts: 74 (06/21/08 02:37:01) |
Eldergreene wrote:
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gcooper |
Yes but... | ||
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Posts: 1486 (06/21/08 03:08:00) |
I currently have seven guitars but hopefully will shortly be reducing that to six or even five. (Anyone wanna buy a Washburn D46SCE 12-string??!!) My old
Yamaha FG I've had for over 25 years and would not part with for any amount of money. I also have a Martin 000-28 which these days is my main guitar, plus
a Freshman 12-string and an Ozark single-cone reso, the latter much modified: I put in a Quarterman cone and changed the rather naff 'gold coverplate and
other fittings for chrome. Rodders, changing the cone's a pretty straightforward job: just make sure, if you do the job yourself, that you tighten the
coverplate screws very carefully so as not to strip the threads - and that you do not inadvertently leave anything inside the guitar such as a small
screwdriver
All things resophonic and slidey are discussed with good humour, cheer and fellowship on the forum attached to Michael Messer's website: if you do not yet know Michael's music - boy, do you have a treat coming! www.michaelmesser.co.uk Cheerily, Gerry C Edit: And don't forget the old adage: if you know how many guitars you have, you ain't got enough... |
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rodders |
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Posts: 75 (06/21/08 03:16:40) |
Thanks Gerry - I'll certainly try not to leave a screwdriver in there!! What did it add to the sound?!
I've been checking the Michael Messer website and forum recently, mainly for advice about less expensive reso's. I wanted one of the MM lightnings, but the availability date has been shifting a bit - and I'm too impatient! |
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BuddyManx |
Too Many Guitars? | ||
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Posts: 43 (06/21/08 16:24:08) |
Well it goes like this- a dreadnaught (expensive) a strat (American series), and a couple of more reasonable models- a "beater", a very nice cheap
335 copy & a regal resonator. I also have another electric that I would like to sell to make way for a Blueridge Parlour- which has a very different sound
to the dreadnaught. In the end there are so many different guitar sounds you can get that there is justification for having a few different ones - if you can
find the time to play them all. You dont need to spend thousands on each of them though.
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