I would like to own a Resonator guitar but I can't shell out the big bucks
so almost naturally you wind up lookin' at these ebay offers, like this one:
[cgi.ebay.de]

Does anyone own a Johnson Resonator?
are they any good at all or is it like putting money down the drain?
the real ones like Dobro or Amistar unfortunately are out of reach, moneywise.

any thought?

Hey open-g,

I went through the same thing...wanted but couldn't afford a Dobro, National or whatever. I finally decided on the Fender. They have an asian made (China?) resonator that really has a pretty good sound with a nice bite to it. Mine's black but I think they have a couple of different finishes.

It's no National, but it sounds pretty good for about 350 US. It sounds best when played with a bottleneck for slide or a bar for a steel guitar sound -- the sound is not as good for strumming/fingerpicking as it is for slide/steel. The quality control is good but not great -- typical of the price range i'd say.

I wouldn't buy anything without playing it, but you should be able to find one in most good music stores that carry Fender. Check it out and see what you think.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-08-18 22:28 by texas fan.

Thanks Texas fan,
I would use it mainly for sliding, but strumming chords and finger picking must also be possible. So I guess it's simply like with all other guitars - you got put the money down to get some decent quality.
The problem is to find one. I went to 3 shops yesterday and only got to see 1 resonator guitar, which I din't like.
I'll be checking out some more shops next week - lets see.

Amazing how the reso guitar cuts through
check the video



...a true master on reso & slide, Bob Brozman




another one from Bob................he's crazy






Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2006-08-19 05:09 by open-g.

Hmm... you can even buy a kit and build it yourself - IFF you can^^
[vlebonator.free.fr]

... i don't know, i've always admired this one:


- MSG 1969, by Joe Sia (courtesy of Jaggergrrl)

i think that's a Style 0 from about 1930 - one of those can't cost more than about a squillion dollars, right?
anyway i'll be fascinated to hear what you decide on, Open-G honey - and remember:
everybody's gonna need
some kind of resonator :E

i have a johnson like this one [cgi.ebay.de]
and i am satisfied with this guitar.great sound,great quality.the only thing i added is a pickup.

-----------------------------------------------------
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away

aw...great picture, Miss Sssoul - thank you kindly

>>... i don't know, i've always admired this one: <<

you mean you've always admired both, right?


....a squillion dollars? yeah, seems like it

>> "Nowadays, a National is a premium priced item, so it can lead one to believe that the guitars were always expensive.
That isn't really the case. Also, the model prices didn't change all that much, and in some cases, stayed the same throughout the history of the company.

The 1930's era price list

In Bob Brozman's book, he notes that the price of the various models weren't that out of line with other makes. Here's two 1930's era price lists:

National:

Duolian: $32.00-35.00
Triolian: $45.00-47.50
Style O: $62.00-65.00
Style 1: $125.00
Style 2: $145.00
Style 3: $165.00
Style 4: $195.00

Martin Guitars:

D-18: $55.00
D-28: $100.00
D-45: $200.00 "<<

from [www.nationalguitars.com]

you bet, I'll proudly post a picture if I get one

open-g Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Amazing how the reso guitar cuts through
> check the video
>


>
> ...a true master on reso & slide, Bob Brozman
>


>
> another one from Bob................he's crazy
>



Wow!! Cool stuff!! I didn't know him!!

i bought an amistar style "don" yesterday. I'm not sure if the strings that are on it are good for playin' slide. Can someone recommend strings (especially how thick they should be) ?

TeleK Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> i have a johnson like this one
> [cgi.ebay.de]
> rgitarre-Singlecone_W0QQitemZ160019840458QQihZ006Q
> QcategoryZ114457QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewI
> tem
> and i am satisfied with this guitar.great
> sound,great quality.the only thing i added is a
> pickup.

Hey yeah - thats good news.

I have a few questions TeleK,

Is it the same model JM-998-D with ornamentation? (thats nice)
Were you able to play it before you bought it, or did you just order it?
Can you play decent sounding chords on it - and what gauge strings do you use?
What kind of a pick-up did you put in?
Do you get that signature sound thru' the pup to the amp?
so Johnson Reso's aren't bad after all?

thanx in advance

Ulpostone, is this your new baby?
or is it a tri-cone?
where did you buy it?



I think they put on Phosphor bronze .014 strings - but obviously I can't give much advice - yet



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-08-19 16:56 by open-g.

i just ordered it. bought a ovation copy by johnson , and i am really surprised how good it is.so i just ordered the dobro (above mentioned) and the same again. really surprised how good it is, especially the quality!!!
i use martin strings (very heavy ones) and a steel or/and glass slide. i am currently recording no expectations with that guitar.but i am in learning progress with that slide things. (there are also very good books for slide beginners).chords are for the string gauge ,"easy" to play, with thinner strings it would be more easy.but i like heavy strings. after a week you don`t feel the pain anymore
my pickups: first tried the fishman
[www.fishman.com]

then changed to bryk pu
[www.bryk.de]

-----------------------------------------------------
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away

Hey open-G,

yes i'ts exactly the that model. I bought in Berlin (my hometown) at "American Guitar shop". They had to order it from czech republic. By the way, i can highly recommend that shop, very good advice and service (http://www.guitar-shop.de/)

Allrighth, Ulpostone - I know that shop, been there a few times.
_ But how come you had to order from Cezoslowakia ? they didn't have it in the shop?
Now , Amistar is without doubt a great company - but how did you get the feel for your instrument?

I'd love to hear more details - from all of you°°
please keep 'em comin'

All budget resonators are greatly improved by a cone upgrade and professional set-up (which will usually include a new biscuit, bridge and - sometimes - nut). The usual upgrade is to Quarterman or National cones. If you don't know what I'm talking about, do a little homework before you buy - a quality cone makes a HUGE difference to tone and it's the tone that most folk chase when they buy a resonator.

If you want to play slide and pick the odd chord in between, no problem. Most are set up this way, particularly if you are upgrading the cone. Not too many luthiers competent with resonators, so choose carefully depending on country you live in (I can think of two in UK).

For slide you want fairly heavy strings - I use 16s at present. Going to Twickenham on Tuesday so will be stocking up at the London Resonator Centre in Denmark Street while in London (they will also do mail order)

My mate bought a Johnson tricone and it's a nice guitar. After hearing mine, though, he's getting a cone etc. upgrade. They lend themselves to wonderful music making. Enjoy.

hey open-g,

have to go out now for a while, will tell you more details later.

Keith's is a mid 30's model, it's got 14 frets to the body & a slightly different shape to the earlier models which have 12 frets to the body. I have a 1933 model O, 12 fret, & I personally like the way it 'sits', I'm not comfy with 14 fret models, but that's my personal opinion.

I've also got a tricone made by Greg Beeton, north of Sydney, you can see a pic of it here, it's the one on the extreme right.

[www.jefflang.com.au]

It's the first one in which he engraved the back & sides as well, he basically copied the design from Brozman's book.

You can play a single cone comfortably on your right knee, but tricones just feel better (to me) when you've got them on your left knee, like a classical guitar, that way you angle it so it faces you a lot more. Resos project their sound straight out so I find when I've got it in my lap I can hear what it's really like. A good idea when buying one would be to take a guitar-playing friend along & sit in front of him as he's playing it, you'll notice the difference in sound from when you're playing it.

For strings go for phophor bronze, 16-56 or so, immediately ditch the nickel strings the asian ones come with, I always tune down to a G or D, with thinner strings you could tune up to A or E, but I like the feel & weight of the thicker strings.

For slide, if you want metal, go to a hardware store & buy a spark plug socket which fits whichever finger you're going to use, make sure you can put your finger all the way in, some sockets only go 1/2 the way in. For glass, scout around for a wine bottle that fits your finger, put it in several thick bags & then just smash it against something hard, after 2-3 attempts you'll get it. When in Canada I used 'Light-n-Easy' cider bottles, they came in a 6-pack, nice brew. Forget ever having to buy a commercially made slide.

There's a difference in sound between the nickel-plated brass ones, which have a 'sweet' tone, & the galvanised steel ones which are definitely grungier much more suited to down home delta blues. Nickel ones look a lot better on stage tho, make sure you polish it to really catch the light.

The advice about replacing the cone on the asian models is a sound one & I'd scout around & have it done professionally if you're unsure about it.

great info and hints here
very much appreciated - thank you.

hey open-g,

sorry for the delay (had some problems with my laptop).
I made some investigations on the net at first and then tested Amistar guitars at a shop called "sound & drumland" in Berlin.
I decided to buy my Amistar at the american guitar shop, because i always buy there (2 Martins and a wonderful Gibson Hummingbird so far). They had to order from czech republic (took 4 weeks) because they don't sell Amistars usually. They have now some of them in stock.

I got myself a Don Johnson^^

...and it's effing great

I was thinkin' about all what was said and posted around here but my moneytary situation plus the great review of TeleK clearly won.
so I ordered it on monday and got it on wednesday, only by coincidence btw.

I had just emailed the shop to give me some details about delivering times and I was leaving the house when I bumped into the parcel service man who was trying to figure out where to ring the bell.
he hadn't have found it and was just about to leave when I spotted him with a huge parcel and said "thats for me, right?"
he asked me where I live and I showed him the bell - and the blind bat went "err, duh, sorry"
ok, I got it, unpacked it - but hey whats this? it's a small guitar but that heavey? didn't quite expect that.
you guys never told me that its heavier than my Telecaster - haha.
but thats allright, because the sound that comes out of this instrument is really incredible. I love it, great guitar.
Had a nice session with a friend in the park. he brought his ole' 1967 Framus which also cuts through nicely.


note the tarred and feathered waste bin - hehe


Framus '67 & Johnson JM-998-D

so you are also satisfied with that johnson dobro?
great to hear that. i am satisfied with that guitar too.
incredible guitar for that price, unbeatable!!!

-----------------------------------------------------
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-08-25 12:33 by TeleK.