"Modern" vs, "traditional" sounding resos

Dan Beller-McKenna · Post by **Dan Beller-McKenna** » 19 Feb 2014 4:45 am

I currently play a 1973 Dobro brand resonator that has a sweet tone. Enough volume for the situations I play in but not particularly loud. For lack of knowledge and sophistication I would label this instrument's sound "traditional."

I am looking to pick up a second instrument with more volume and "growl" (to use the cliche term). With equal lack of smarts, I would call this sound "modern." What current makers/builders' guitars might tend toward the louder growlier sound? I have played very few resos, so I have little basis for comparisons.

I know exactly what I mean when I talk about PSG, but feel like a rank beginner in describing what I hear and imagine wanting to hear on a reso.

Thanks,

Dan

Peter Jacobs · Post by **Peter Jacobs** » 19 Feb 2014 6:12 am

That's a darn good question, Dan. I'm sure others will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe part of that sound comes from the construction (older resos usually have soundwells, "modern" ones often, but not always, have sound posts).

Scheerhorn is kind of the standard of the "modern" sound -- a lot of that is because Jerry Douglas played one for so long. Beard, now JD's choice, is frequently associated with that modern tone -- Mike Auldridge played a signature Beard, and I always heard his tone as being somewhere between modern and traditional).

I have a Redline Resophonic, which to me has that modern tone, and there are plenty of other makers.

Of course, as always, the player makes the biggest difference, in terms of bar control, damping, attack and sustain, which may be the biggest influence on the overall modern-ness.

You might want to visit the Reso Hangout forum or ResoNation (which requires a small membership fee to fully view the forum) -- you'll learn about a lot of brands (Guernsey, Meredith, McKenna, Appalachian, etc.) that you might not otherwise hear about.

James Hartman · Post by **James Hartman** » 19 Feb 2014 6:57 am

Probably well outside the realm of what you're looking for, but I have a metal body Dobro ('74 ?) which has plenty of "volume and growl". Less Dobro than National Style O in character.

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 19 Feb 2014 7:34 am

Depending on your budget, I'd look at some of the current luthiers whose guitars have that more modern tone. The new National Scheerhorn guitars certainly qualify, as do the excellent guitars made by Paul Beard and his team.

How much do you want to spend?

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 19 Feb 2014 7:49 am

The Gold Tone Beard seems to have a lot of volume compared to other moderately priced dobros I've tried. They sell for about $750. There are some demo videos of it on YouTube.

Dan Beller-McKenna · Post by **Dan Beller-McKenna** » 19 Feb 2014 8:10 am

I'm probably looking in the $1000-$1250 range, so some of the new makers guitars are mostly out of my range, but their lower end models might be affordable on the used market.

If I am understanding correctly from some of the comments: the presence or lack of a sound well is key to volume vs. sweetness, yes?
Dan

Greg Booth · Post by **Greg Booth** » 19 Feb 2014 8:46 am

The modern dobros have a larger body and open construction with no soundwell which allows the guitar body to contribute more to the sound. This will generally mean more bass than the traditional smaller body dobros. The soundwell focuses the tone more on the metallic cone component. I don't think you can say that the soundwell decreases volume though, that's a function of many key parts working together like the cone and spider, the string height, neck angle, the body size and the overall quality of construction. A large body modern dobro definitely worth considering in your price range is the Appalachian by Tom Warner. I played one once in a workshop that was very much like my Scheerhorn.

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 19 Feb 2014 8:49 am

The soundwell vrs posts is probably the biggest factor. The second would be modern cone and a good set-up. Good luck, you've got some great options in your price range.

Dan Beller-McKenna · Post by **Dan Beller-McKenna** » 19 Feb 2014 9:07 am

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions, folks. Very helpful!

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 19 Feb 2014 9:44 am

If skillfully built, there can be no lack of volume from a soundwell guitar, but a lot of it seems to be effected by body size. The old Dobros just aren't as deep.

I've been wanting to try out an Appalachian from Tom Warner, but have yet to see one in person. A guy in my general neck of the woods in the Bay Area just took delivery on one, want to try to get together with him at some point.

Another good value are Deneve resonators from upstate New York, though a couple I have tried in the past just haven't done it for me. Also check out the guitars from the guy who shares your last name, Gregg McKenna.

The least expensive Red Line I think is a great value from the couple I've tried and they fit easily into your budget.

The most exciting thing in the dobro world in the past several months are the Scheerhorns built at National or as I like to refer to them, Nati-horns. If you could up your budget to $2600 and go for the mahogany, it might be the last dobro you'll ever need. But there's no accounting for GAS and how it works on a guy.

The redesigned in the past couple years Beard Vintage R is a very good instrument, these go for $2K.

Speaking of National, I played for about a half hour awhile back their newish Smith & Young Model 11. Very loud guitar, really projects. No one in the store I was at was a dobro player, so the guitar hadn't been tried much up to that point, and they were amazed by the volume when they heard me giving it the test drive. Made of laminate maple, might not have the complexity of tone of Greg Booth's Scheerhorn or my Clinesmith, which are both made from highly flamed solid maple, but a very nice guitar for around $1800-$1900.

http://spidercone.com/

And finally, the growl is inherent in the guitar itself, but to extract it, it has to come from the hands. Josh Graves was the first guy to put the growl on the map, and he did it with a pre-war Dobro.

Rick Langdon · Post by **Rick Langdon** » 19 Feb 2014 10:34 am

Greg Booth mentioned an Appalachian ... if you are interested in the sound of these Reso's, in my sig you will see a link to a basic demo I recorded with an Appalachian ...

Dan Beller-McKenna · Post by **Dan Beller-McKenna** » 19 Feb 2014 5:28 pm

Very nice, Rick! Sounds like a nice Axe--played nicely too.

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. Anyone have an opinion of the Tut Taylor Virginian?

Dan

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 20 Feb 2014 7:22 am

I really like my Tennessean, made by the same people (Crafters of Tennessee, Tut Taylor's sons). It has more of the old style sound in my opinion. The Virginians I've played have the same sort of sound, so if you're looking for a more modern sound, this probably wouldn't fit the bill.

I've seen a couple of them for sale on eBay and elsewhere with no takers recently. I think they're a great guitar, but because they are no longer made and aren't played by someone famous, people don't have any experience with them.