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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
 Posted - 10/15/2004 : 02:01:54 AM
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Inspired by Bob Brozman and Konabob, I decided to try acoustic steel guitar and bought the cheapest thing built for steel on the market, the Rogue resonator guitar from Musicians Friend. I've used regular guitars with nut extenders, but I really wanted the string spacing of a true steel guitar.
MF introduced their Chinese-made resonator (either square or round neck) recently for an introductory price of $150, plus they offered free shipping for purchases over $200 (it's usually $300) so I ordered the guitar, a steel and some miscellaneous strings, picks and things to get the free shipping, total of $201.
After placing the order, I found the guitar and steel were backordered for a few months (pretty popular, I guess), but the deal was cheap so I waited and finally got the guitar today. With the three separate mailings of the guitar, the steel and the other items, I figure MF couldn't have made much money on the deal.
First impressions: Very shiny. I got the black squareneck guitar, and it's mirror-like, as is the chrome on the resonator cover. There are a couple tiny dots of missing paint in corners and inside the slotted headstock. Comes with light/cheap strings. I tuned it up to taropatch and started playing. It's loud! String balance is okay, but could be better, probably with better strings. When I took it up to high G (GBDGBD), the 6th string tuning machine had a hard time holding and the string would slip. Might not happen with heavier strings. Until I change strings, I'll stick with taropatch. I noticed when the 6th string would slip, the other strings would go out of tune, so even with the square neck, there's some movement in the overall structure of the instrument.
The slide is still backordered.
For those who love the warm Weissenborn sound, the resonator sound is pretty tinny. But it's okay to start, and you can't beat the price, which is now up to $229 or so. It won't fit in any of my dreadnought or classical guitar cases, so it'll have to travel in a gig bag.
FWIW,
Jesse Tinsley
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2004 : 02:28:32 AM
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| Congratulations Jesse...can't wait to hear you play |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2004 : 11:41:31 AM
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Me neither, Craig! It looked so easy when Bob Brozman did it....
Jesse Tinsley |
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1154 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2004 : 1:31:15 PM
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quote:
Me neither, Craig! It looked so easy when Bob Brozman did it....
Yeah, Bob made everything look easy! Too bad he won't be back in 2005. |
Dusty |
Edited by - wdf on 10/15/2004 1:31:57 PM |
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Konabob
`Olu`olu
USA
928 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2004 : 2:05:00 PM
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One really cheap way to try the steel guitar without buying one is to go to any hardware store and find a nice smooth cotter pin or short metal bar that you can simply slide under the strings and rest it just behind the second fret. This will cost less than a buck, though you end up playing in A instead of G. In addition, it makes it really easy to switch from steel to slack-key. I have played steel guitar this way in a pinch using CO2 cartridges, socket wrenches, bic lighters, and various other objects as slides. You can get some really amazing blues sounds using these funky setups. I have also noticed that the nice big body of a regular guitar sure beats my Weisenborn style guitar for sheer sound volume and warmth. Anyone who is at all curious about steel should give it a try. You sure don't have anything to lose!
-Konabob
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Konabob's Walkingbass - http://www.konawalkingbass.com
Taropatch Steel - http://www.konaweb.com/konabob/
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=Konabob2+Walkingbass |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2004 : 4:03:18 PM
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Anyone who has ever listened to kelly Joe Phelps will know what Konabob is talking about. He slides abouit on a fairly beat-up flat-top dreadnought Gibson. He has come up with a neat "nut" made of brass with a groove the full length of the bottom which fits undr the strings and sets on whichever fret he wants to use for the particular song. He then uses a real cheap-o elastic type capo over that nut. The sound is amazing.
I do a lot of slide playing on my Taylors. I find the action way too low on the maple Jumbo 910, but eh LKSM 12 string has a huge sound, as does my 614C maple. I have not played them lap-style, but they sure sound good with steel on steel. My Weissenborn building project is on hold until my cabin building project gets a roof on it. Then I am looking forward to having a "real" lap steel guitar on which to play.. I hope is sounds as good as the Weissenborns I have heard in the past.
And, yeah, thered ought to be a law.....Bob Brozman plays much too well for someone who does not even break a sweat! |
Karl
Frozen North |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2004 : 11:29:55 PM
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I've played all of my guitars with nut extenders, both store-bought and homemade, and it's okay for fooling around. But the strings are too closely spaced to fit all five of my thumbs in there, especially wearing fingerpicks.
I also love bluegrass and blues, so a resonator guitar in G tuning is great. It can do just about anything in the American repertoire.
Jerry Douglas is my dobro hero and I'm trying to learn a few of his licks. I've also been enjoying the new Old Crow Medicine Show CD, which has a little dobro in it.
Jesse Tinsley
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