Help me make a decision

[bloozeman]

So I’ve been getting into slide and resonator playing more and also playing more acoustic solo shows. I play a Taylor 914ce 99.9 % of my show. But I’d like to add more resonator playing into it as I’m a blues player. I want to buy a nice national or mule and using that as my main guitar. My question is, will I be able to play the resonator as easily as my Taylor for strumming and chord work as nice as it is on the taylor? I’d like to think if I got a nice resonator that I could play that for everything I play now and it would give me the blues tones for my playing and then I could just tune it to an open tuning for some slide work, which I’m not an expert at but suffice. Any opinions or advice? And also what would you recommend for the resonator? National vs mule? I like the look of the national NRP black rust O style. I do have a Michael messer blues resonator 12 fret right now as well but playing that mostly wouldn’t be feasible as after about 3 songs my fingers hurt like hell

[Charlie Bernstein]

Originally Posted by bloozeman

So I’ve been getting into slide and resonator playing more and also playing more acoustic solo shows. I play a Taylor 914ce 99.9 % of my show. But I’d like to add more resonator playing into it as I’m a blues player. I want to buy a nice national or mule and using that as my main guitar. My question is, will I be able to play the resonator as easily as my Taylor for strumming and chord work as nice as it is on the taylor?

Though chord work will be different because the tuning will be different, it won't be any harder if the setup is good.

You probably won't do much strumming on a reso. It's not where most reso players think they shine. On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with a change-up of sound, and if that's the appeal of a strummed National or Mule, you can certainly he held blameless.

Originally Posted by bloozeman

I’d like to think if I got a nice resonator that I could play that for everything I play now and it would give me the blues tones for my playing and then I could just tune it to an open tuning for some slide work, which I’m not an expert at but suffice.

Any guitar is good for anything, of course. But the reso blues sound isn't just in the notes you play. Acoustic reso players usually like their resos because it goes so well with percussive Delta fingerstyle. It's also great for un-Delta fingerstyle, as heard in Mark Knopfler's "Romeo and Juliet" and Duane Allman's "Little Martha."

On the few songs I play on both standard-tuned flattop and open-tuned reso, I play them differently. Likewise, when I play them on mandolin, I don't try to duplicate my guitar riffs or chording. For my style, there's be no point. But you might like simply having the variation in voicing. That's one reason so many players these days have more than one acoustic guitar.

My own bottom line is that it's the player that makes the music. Rory Block always did well playing Delta-style on a Martin D-28 — because again, a guitar is a guitar. Unorthodox, but so what?

Originally Posted by bloozeman

Any opinions or advice? And also what would you recommend for the resonator? National vs mule?

Someday I hope to be able to afford a National Style 0. Meanwhile, I love my OMI-era roundneck Dobro and Quarterman cone. Don't know anything about Mules. I'll keep reading this thread to see what others say.

Originally Posted by bloozeman

I like the look of the national NRP black rust O style. I do have a Michael messer blues resonator 12 fret right now as well but playing that mostly wouldn’t be feasible as after about 3 songs my fingers hurt like hell

If it's hurting your fingers, there's something wrong with the setup. The action might be too high. Avoid that. It makes fingering hard (Ow!), and it makes the notes you finger go sharp.

Let us know what you end up getting. Operators are standing by!

[Charlie Bernstein]

PS - Just Googled Mule. Review: Love the sound, hate the relic'ing. I'll take the National, please.

[Robin, Wales]

My question is, will I be able to play the resonator as easily as my Taylor for strumming and chord work as nice as it is on the taylor?

I would say no.....Most metal bodied reso guitars sound like a bag of spanners being rattled when strummed! But a wood bodied National, like the El Trovador, may be worth a look.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by bloozeman

So I’ve been getting into slide and resonator playing more and also playing more acoustic solo shows. I play a Taylor 914ce 99.9 % of my show. But I’d like to add more resonator playing into it as I’m a blues player. I want to buy a nice national or mule and using that as my main guitar. My question is, will I be able to play the resonator as easily as my Taylor for strumming and chord work as nice as it is on the taylor? I’d like to think if I got a nice resonator that I could play that for everything I play now and it would give me the blues tones for my playing and then I could just tune it to an open tuning for some slide work, which I’m not an expert at but suffice. Any opinions or advice? And also what would you recommend for the resonator? National vs mule? I like the look of the national NRP black rust O style. I do have a Michael messer blues resonator 12 fret right now as well but playing that mostly wouldn’t be feasible as after about 3 songs my fingers hurt like hell

If you are doing research into what to buy you might check a few Bob Brozman interviews. Saw him a few times and he had some great guitars!

[Mandobart]

I don't know about Nationals, Mules or Dobros specifically. Reso's are a niche within the guitar world.

I'd always wanted a round neck resonator guitar. I played what I could find within a 300 mile radius (not a lot there TBH). I have a 1930's wood body spider bridge Regal resonator mandolin gifted to me by a friend. It needed a little work to make It playable, but when I did it revealed such a sweet tone, I knew I wanted a similar guitar.

I bought a Gold Tone with a Paul Beard cone. They set it up for about 2 mm action on the low E at the 12th fret with 13's per my request. It sounds great to me. I keep it in standard tuning and play a lot of flatpicked bluegrass and CW, and fingerpick a lot of other tunes. It ended up being exactly what I was after.

[slimey]

I have 2 Nationals, an El trovador and a tri cone.
The tri cone stays in open tunings for slide. The Trovador is extremely flexible instrument that I'll play any style of music in any tuning.
I attend a couple of acoustic jams that can have up to 20 musicians sitting in, the Trovador will happily punch through the mix for solo's and handle the rhythm with aplomb. Though I have to back off and play lightly during the vocals and other peoples solo's.
I find the Trovador to be a very flexible and useful instrument with a huge pallet of tones depending on how I play it.
The tri cone barks if you want it to.
I had the luck to jam with Bob Brozman quite a few times at the Worthington Unvarnished Music Festivals. Usually I'd start giggly because you had absolutely no clue what he was going to do next. He was nuts about Rhythms and would change up songs while taking leads, a truly unique character and musician. Such a shame he had such bad luck .

[Charlie Bernstein]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

I would say no.....Most metal bodied reso guitars sound like a bag of spanners being rattled when strummed! But a wood bodied National, like the El Trovador, may be worth a look.

Yup. Anything's worth a test drive. I can say that my OMI Dobro roundneck is only good for fingerstyle and slide. Strumming it sounds like tinsel on a dead Christmas tree.

[Monty Christo]

Originally Posted by bloozeman

I’d like to think if I got a nice resonator that I could play that for everything I play now and it would give me the blues tones for my playing and then I could just tune it to an open tuning for some slide work

I own a Mule tricone and it's absolutely amazing. But it imparts a flavor that doesn't work with everything I do. It's magnificent for fingerstyle, fingerpicked chords, and slide, but strumming it sounds too brash for the material I play. I vastly prefer my traditional wood acoustics for those songs. Perhaps a wood-bodied resonator would be a good middle ground.

I also wouldn't want to re-tune my Mule back and forth from standard to open tuning whenever a song required it. Mine stays is open-D full time.

[gfirob]

I use my round neck National (a 1930 Style O) only for fingerpicking with metal picks, and this makes a difference. I wouldn’t strum it except for occasional effect. Your Michael Messer is probably fine if you get the action fixed. Some people set up a resonator guitar with high action so they can play it with a slide and just with fingers, so maybe that’s what happened to your guitar. Depending on the gauge of your strings, if you are a regular guitar player, it should play the same as an acoustic guitar if set up right.

Slide is another story, but of course they are great for that. I would say a first choice would be a good vintage National and after that a new National Resophonic. All the Chinese versions are a step down, though I can speak to the Messer guitars because I never played one but I understand that is the one to get if you want a Chinese guitar (for budget reasons). A tricone will have a more versatile and nuanced sound, but they are usually quite a bit more expensive. I can’t speak to wood bodied resonator guitars because I never had one.