So I was just at the Reso Hangout...

Gary Blanchard

Gary Blanchard

beloved, local musician
I am thinking of trying to lower the action on the resonator guitar myself; it looks fairly easy to open up and sand a bit off the bottom of the bridge. One link took me to the Reso Hangout, a kin to my old stomping ground, the Banjo Hangout. Guess what? Same attitudes.

There are those who frown on round-neck reso guitars, as God intended resonator guitars to be played on the lap. I just finished reading a five-page thread on the heresy of playing a round-neck resonator without a slide; that is apparently an affront to God and the Universe. It seems there are some who feel you can only play blues or country on a resonator guitar.

I decided I will read the forum for pointers but will skip signing up... :ack:
 
So I guess one of these would be out of the question

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Good move. Bluegrassers can be pretty insular and hardcore.
Is it a spider 2 piece insert or is a buiscuit type? Either way it’s not a hard job. Just be careful not to loose screws talking off the cover or stripping the holes when you put em back in.
I have a Regal squareneck that looks identical to yours except mine has a slotted headstock.
 
Pine Apple Slim said:
Good move. Bluegrassers can be pretty insular and hardcore.
Is it a spider 2 piece insert or is a buiscuit type? Either way it’s not a hard job. Just be careful not to loose screws talking off the cover or stripping the holes when you put em back in.
I have a Regal squareneck that looks identical to yours except mine has a slotted headstock.
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It's a spider 2 piece. I'll work on it at the studio so the cat doesn't get into it. Literally and figuratively.
 
I went back and saw it was. Looks like you may be able to get the inserts out and back in without removing the hubcap, which would make the job much simpler. As Andrew said, go slow.
How’s the action at the nut end? If not the best, it would be worth it to take it to a luthier for a set up unless you have nut files.
 
Pine Apple Slim said:
I went back and saw it was. Looks like you may be able to get the inserts out and back in without removing the hubcap, which would make the job much simpler. As Andrew said, go slow.
How’s the action at the nut end? If not the best, it would be worth it to take it to a luthier for a set up unless you have nut files.
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The action there is good, I looked at the bridge and it seemed high enough for the Queen Mary... :grin:
 
I played a borrowed Fender round neck for a few weeks one time. Although I keep my squareneck in Bluegrass G and my lap steel in C6, I actually preferred keeping the round neck in standard and using the slide only sparingly to solo.
I really liked how it sounded just playing regular electric lead guitar licks on it. I remember Jessica and Elizabeth Reed sounded awesome on it.
 
You may want to try some Monel strings if you put on a mag pickup. Unless the Lace is designed to handle bronze of course. The Monels don’t sacrifice as much volume as typical nickel or steel electric strings but they still respond well to mag pickups. But, they do sacrifice some harmonics for a more direct fundamental. So you might want to stick with phos bronze if the pickup is designed for them.
 
surfsteve said:
Learn to play in Open G or D. It's fun. Even if just rudimentary.
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I do a lot of open D stuff for my originals, but this guitar is strictly for the Professor and his music; he isn't about to fuck around changing tunings at a gig. :grin:

I play a couple of "bluesy" tunes, but I have never been a blues guy.
 
Gary Blanchard said:
I am thinking of trying to lower the action on the resonator guitar myself; it looks fairly easy to open up and sand a bit off the bottom of the bridge. One link took me to the Reso Hangout, a kin to my old stomping ground, the Banjo Hangout. Guess what? Same attitudes.

There are those who frown on round-neck reso guitars, as God intended resonator guitars to be played on the lap. I just finished reading a five-page thread on the heresy of playing a round-neck resonator without a slide; that is apparently an affront to God and the Universe. It seems there are some who feel you can only play blues or country on a resonator guitar.

I decided I will read the forum for pointers but will skip signing up... :ack:
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Inform those dumbasses as to why resonators were invented in the first place. AMPLIFICATION

https://chasingguitars.com/nationaldobro-history/
 
I know you're not keen on open tuning stuff with the reso and honestly it's not necessary. (I'm actually backing somebody up tonight and they requested reso, but the keys of the songs don't lean themselves to one open tuning and I dont want to have to bring multiple guitars so I'm doing it in standard) But if you want to do a zoom thingy one day I can show you some open tuning stuff.
 
rhino said:
I know you're not keen on open tuning stuff with the reso and honestly it's not necessary. (I'm actually backing somebody up tonight and they requested reso, but the keys of the songs don't lean themselves to one open tuning and I dont want to have to bring multiple guitars so I'm doing it in standard) But if you want to do a zoom thingy one day I can show you some open tuning stuff.
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What are your favorites? On my Dobro I like Open G & Open D

I have a Tele that mostly stays in Open E (with flatwound 12's) for skydog stuff.
 
335clone said:
What are your favorites? On my Dobro I like Open G & Open D

I have a Tele that mostly stays in Open E (with flatwound 12's) for skydog stuff.
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Learned in open G, but D suits my voice better. It was a huge game changer when I learned how similar they are. It just depends on who I’m playing with.
 
rhino said:
I know you're not keen on open tuning stuff with the reso and honestly it's not necessary. (I'm actually backing somebody up tonight and they requested reso, but the keys of the songs don't lean themselves to one open tuning and I dont want to have to bring multiple guitars so I'm doing it in standard) But if you want to do a zoom thingy one day I can show you some open tuning stuff.
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As I say, there are a good number of songs that I have written in open D and DADGAD tuning. It just isn't anything I need for the Professor Sorghum stuff. and I ain'r goona be a blues singer. :grin:
 
This is very elementary but I have seen people skip this part so often...

#1 Is the neck straight?
NO: straighten it. YES: carry on like I was never here.
 
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