The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi, I am a relatively new reso player. I started with a "low-end" (around $300) Morgan Monroe (all black, spider) and it's totally stock. I bought this instrument as an experiment to see if I were going to be able to learn how to play ... I can and have progressed amazingly well. So, now I think that I'm ready to move to a higher quality guitar. Are there REALLY any differences in tone, volume, sustain, etc in the higher end models? I suspect I already know the answer, but if so, which is the absolute BEST one out there without spending thousands of dollars? Thanks in advance for the help!

And your budget is?

Yea ... sorry, good info. I'd like to stay under $1000.

Also, I should correct myself on the "totally stock" description of the guitar. I had a luthier friend of mine, Steve Lamb (Lamb's Music, Ft. Worth) install a Fishman pickup. I play the guitar both acoustically and amp'd through my Fender Acoustasonic 30. As much as I love the sounds I get with it, I may not have enough experience with this to really know when something sounds as good as it can. By the way, if you've not tried this and like to experiment with sounds (as I do) try playing your reso through a Carbon Copy or equivalent delay unit for a "rock-a-billy" sound. It's totally different, but I really like the effect!

If you are talking new I think your options are limited to The Paul Beard Models of Goldtone. Nice guitars for the $$.

Beard will be at the TX Steel Guitar Jamboree in March. They are sure to have several of the Goldtones amongst the hand crafted stuff.
h

Great, thanks for the info. Is there really a noticable difference in the tone, etc from what I have (low end, off the shelf instrument)?

Yes..

The Goldtones use the same spider and cone as Paul's hand crafted guitars. The guitars have better internal design/construction then the Monroe (imho).

Also, setup is key on resonator guitars. An expert setup can get the most out of a lower end guitar. A poor setup can make a $5,000 box sound like trash.

Best bet is is try one if possible.

You have a few more choices if you'd consider a used instrument.

h

Well, out of your budget, but to address your question on whether there is a difference in tone with higher end reso's, the answer is decidedly YES!

I also started out on reso and had a pretty cheap dobro for years and when I got serious I played a lot of them. One day I walked into Mandolin Brothers in Staten Island and I played a Beard MA (Mike Auldridge) and the tone was so DRAMATICALLY better than anything I played that I bought it right then.

As far as better tone models in the $1000 group, I'm sure you can't go wrong with anything that Paul Beard puts out.

Wow, great info. Thanks so much. What about the idea of just upgrading to a better set of internals ... i.e. new, better spider/cone, etc?

Bob I have difficulty seeing how you could be much farther ahead spending money to upgrade your instrument. By the time you add up the various costs, and factor in your time, you won't be all that far off what you would have to spend for a GT and you still wouldn't have as good an instrument. The GT's are good - I have one that I have kept even though I have two higher end instruments and for the money you simply can't go wrong.

Paul Beard isn't putting out the Goldtones, he designed those guitars and they are built in China. Though the ones that come through the Beard shop in Maryland receive final setup and assembly with the Beard components, and there is a sticker inside the back of the guitar under the the bass side soundhole which indicate this. As already mentioned, proper setup is a huge deal with resophonic guitars.

Competing with Goldtone are the Wechter/Scheerhorn resonator guitars some of us like to call "Frugalhorns" because they are a fraction of the cost of a real Scheerhorn - which start at over $10,000 nowadays.

Though apparently not for long. The rumblings out there are that Wechter is going to be ceasing production on the imported guitars.

Alluding to what Bob Blair wrote, I don't know if in most cases either a Goldtone/Beard or a Wechter/Scheerhorn is going to be that dramatic a jump in sound quality compared to a Morgan Monroe that is well set up. The difference is going to be when you take the major jump in price. Bill Mentioned the made-in-Maryland Beard Mike Auldridge model. Dramatic jump here - I believe the price is $3700.

Here's one for you to exercise your due diligence and check out. American made, in Nashville. Redline Resophonic. Steve Smith of Redline at one point was in charge of some the bluegrass line of instruments with Gibson. His entry level instrument is the Rambler. I haven't played this particular model, only the higher end guitars, but it's worth checking out. The Rambler sells for $995 so it fits your budget.

http://redlineresophonics.com/resophoni ... -2/rambler

Bob Eldridge wrote:Wow, great info. Thanks so much. What about the idea of just upgrading to a better set of internals ... i.e. new, better spider/cone, etc?

Yes, that's what I'd do rather than moving on to another import. You can upgrade yours similarly for in the neighborhood of $250-300, less if you're comfortable doing it yourself. You should be able to find all the parts you need to upgrade from Elderly or Beard for under $150.

When you're ready to spend bigger bucks on a resonator, then you have lots of options for fine quality domestic instruments.

Bob, Bill, Howard and Mark;

Thanks so much for your input. You are all involved in this at an obviously professional level and I appreciate your taking time to guide a novice such as me! It's really been enlightening! I guess I have the proverbial "champagne taste on a beer budget"!! I want to get the best sound possible for a price I can afford. It's really a curiosity thing for me - I LOVE the sound that my "low-end" guitar has and that just makes me want to know what a really good sounding guitar would be like! There was a day when I could afford a top of the line guitar, but being retired on a fixed income has put an end to those days!! Thanks again!

Yes, that's what I'd do rather than moving on to another import.

Jerry, thanks for the upgrade info. I know that what I really, really want is to jump up to the $10k+ sound without having to mortgage the house - but I realize I'm not going to be able to afford that anytime soon. I guess what I need to do is to find a good reso-experienced luthier here in the Ft. Worth area and see what the difference would be between upgrading what I have and just buying a GT or WS outright. Thanks again, all!!

You don't have to jump to 10K. Come to the TSGA Jamboree in Dallas (Irving, really - at the Sheraton DFW) in March (7th through 10th as I recall) and try out some of Carroll Benoit's (ww.benoitguitars.com) instruments, as one example (I love my Benoits). And hang out and listen to all kinds of players - in the Benoit Room, at the non-pedal sessions, and in the main ballroom (which is mostly pedal steel). I'm not sure if Beard is going to be there this year or not, but sometimes they have a display room also. Hope to see you there.

Thanks, Bob. I'll be there! Do I need a ticket?

You need a ticket to get into the main ballroom (though not into the display rooms I don't think, but you will want to hear some of the main stage stuff for sure), and you can buy one on site (I think in advance if you want also). I think you can pay a per day rate or for the whole weekend. I can't see the price but as I recall the price is always really reasonable for what it is - maybe it is on their website but I can't see it right now. Here's the link:

http://www.texassteelguitar.org/jam.html

Hope to see you there Bob!

There are a few good builders that post on this forum. Gregg McKenna is building some fine resos in 6, 8, and even 10 string here in Connecticut. I got my first handmade dobro from Greg and his prices aren't that far from what you're looking to spend. Another builder is Bob Sehy from New York. I have a rosewood/spruce and a maple from Bob and they are both exceptional guitars. Bob's are large open body with sound posts rather than the traditional soundwell. If you search the forum you can probably find more info on them.

Good luck,
Scott

Thanks, Scott.

What's the difference between an open well and a sound post?

Hi Bob,

The traditional construction method was to use a "soundwell" inside the body. If you check out this link you can see what it looks like:

http://www.strumhollow.com/building_a_r ... guitar.htm

At some point some builders started building them without the soundwell. Here's a picture of the maple Bob Sehy built under construction:



And this is how it looks now:



They sound different. I wouldn't say one sounds better than the other, just different. Then again 5 guitars made of the same wood but built by different luthiers using similar construction techniques can all sound completely different too. If you have any favorite dobro recordings someone on the forum can more than likely tell you what kind of guitar was used.

Thanks,
Scott

Scott, thanks so much for that explaination! That was very kind of you to take so much time to answer my question!! I now know what to look for at the show in March!

Are you wanting your dream resonator to have a pickup so you can play electric when more volume is needed? This could be an entirely different conversation if the answer is yes.

There's some good definition from Scott about different styles. Besides resonator cones, nut and bridge material, body size, body woods, body design all effect the tone of resonator guitars. Most important is set-up.

That's one reason I suggested you upgrade the one you have for now. As your education of build increases and your ear is more critical, you will have a better idea of what you want in a resonator guitar. Do you want the crisp clean snap of a maple body or the mellower tone of mahogany....a traditional sound or a more modern one e.g.?

Your next move to a better instrument will likely be a big one so it's good to know exactly what you want.

Because someone says "it's what I play, so I'm sure you'll love it" may not be a good enough reason to purchase one.

When I took up dobro in '87, I didn't know there was anything besides the Dobro brand, so I bought a new one. It was OK, but if I had known there were better instruments like the Rudy Q Jones, Paul Beard etc., then I would have bought one of those instead as money was not a real issue at that time. I was eager and anxious to get started, so I didn't really research the thing properly and was thusly somewhat disappointed.

There are many choices for premium instruments today.

Be patient, play some different brands and styles if you can and compare them to what you already have. There might not be as much difference as you think. Then, when the time comes to spend the big bucks, you'll be able to make an informed decision.

Only my opinions, of course.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

From Paul: Are you wanting your dream resonator to have a pickup so you can play electric when more volume is needed? This could be an entirely different conversation if the answer is yes.

Now THAT is a good question and may really strike at the heart of the matter! Right now, I'm playing an admittedly low-end guitar which has had a pickup added in an attempt to offer options on the sound the guitar produces. At this moment, I prefer to play the guitar amplified. It just seems to have a richer, more full sound... more mellow if you will (of course, the Carbon Copy delay adds a lot to it). So, I have A sound, if not totally THE sound I like... So, is a pickup necessary (or even desirable)? On THIS guitar, the answer is probably YES. But I wonder if a different answer might be the case if I were to pick up a guitar whose sound was LIGHT YEARS ahead of the Morgan Monroe that I play.

It's all a bit confusing. What I've learned in my year or so reso-experience is that I definitely want a BIG, old school, mellow, country sound coming from my guitar. That is probably best exemplified by a song I worked up a few months ago ... it's from one of Mike Auldridge's tutorials entitled, "Lorena". THAT is the sound I want my guitar to produce!!

Thanks, Jerry. Your wisdom born of experience is always appreciated!!