Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey Everyone,

I am not even a newbie, I haven't even held a reso before! So I guess I am at sub-newbie status. But, they sure look cool, and sound awesome, so where do I begin if I want to build one?

Thanks!

Jeff

Jeff - Id check out Beards for a reso kit!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Beard has the best selection of parts, and is working on some cool innovations for cones and coverplates etc. You can also get info and parts from Stew-Mac.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Hey Jeff,

I identify. Seeing Matt Gage's reso at ASIA got me inspired. My apprentice is a young bluegrass guy who's exposed me to new stuff, and I want to try new things. I guess this will be a year of eye opening experiences.

Don, thanks for hosting. Looking forward to this. BTW, can we borrow a pix of Matt's reso from the archives? I assume so...
Terry Stowell38594.606400463

StewMac seem to be backing away from resos now. They no longer list the plans and they don't sell the kits any more. I think Beard's Resophonic Outfitters is probably the best source these days, at least in terms of online sales. It's the easiest website to find what you want, although it's worth getting a catalogue too because not everything he sells is listed on the website. Randy Allen makes nice tailpieces if you want to get away from the traditional bent piece of metal, and Paul Norman's carbon fibre biscuit bridges are worth checking out.

Jeff. you need to start by deciding what kind of resonator guitar sound you want. There are 3 different types, the biscuit bridge, the spider bridge and the tricone. Whilst all having that recognisable "cone tone" they are constructed differently internally and they all sound different from each other.

Then you have to decide whether you want to play it like a regular guitar ("spanish style" - can be with or without a bottleneck-type slide), or flat on your lap with a steel bar. That will dictate whether you want to build a squareneck or a roundneck.

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Pete
http://www.petewoodmanguitars.com

I've seen Paul Norman's biscuits first hand, since he's an NEL member. They're really great. I'll be using one on my next reso. Paul's a good guy too... I'll have to invite him over here.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I Like Jeff know very little about Resonator guitars.

What is a biscuit bridge ?

Thanks

Russell

There's a good explanation of the basic features of resonator guitars, that puts it better than I could, at www.musicfolk.com/docs/Features/Feature_ResophonicBasics1.ht m

The cones are explained on the next page.

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Pete
http://www.petewoodmanguitars.com

Here's LouisianaGrey's link.Don Williams38594.8593981481

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Thanks Guys

Much appreciatted, this is a whole new science

Oh buy the way for anyone who wants to look at this you have to delete the space between the t and m, in htm.

[QUOTE=Jeff Doty] Hey Everyone,

I am not even a newbie, I haven't even held a reso before! So I guess I am at sub-newbie status. But, they sure look cool, and sound awesome, so where do I begin if I want to build one?

Thanks!

Jeff[/QUOTE]

Jeff, Like Pete said, you will have to decided what style you want to build.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Search the web , magazines and any other reading material you can find about these guitars. Theres no Construction Manuals that I know of,and just about every builder has his or her own opinions and experiences about them.

Good Luck. D.L.