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Tri Cone Resonator neck at body 12th fret


jszfunk

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NRP makes a cutaway

 

2.jpg

 

The original tricones had the body joint at the 11-1/2 fret but it really doesn't matter if you are playing slide. One thing to remember is that most resonators intonate so poorly that you won't want to fret them above 12 and by rolling your hand you can slide past the body joint.

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My tricone intonates very well at the 12th Freeman. AND it's a 12 string, go figger! And the video to prove, on that 5 chord, I fret on the 12th..

But I know what you're talking about.

 

I've never seen a 14 fretter tri. You slide with the ring finger?

 

The intonation "proof" video

[video=youtube;GSFgjtu_qz4]

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My tricone intonates very well at the 12th Freeman. AND it's a 12 string, go figger! And the video to prove, on that 5 chord, I fret on the 12th..

But I know what you're talking about.


I've never seen a 14 fretter tri. You slide with the ring finger?


The intonation "proof" video

 

 

Neal, very nice and it sounded good, however by definition harmonics are alway perfect intonation and with slide you've got the ultimate compensator on your pinkie. Its hard to tell if the fretted notes are right on but they do sound darn good.

 

The reason I say that resos in general don't intonate well stems from several things - most of them have the saddle at exactly the scale length with no compensation or angle. Second, if you run higher action and/or heavier strings they go sharper as they get fretted. And lastly, since most of the time you are playing with a slide anyway it doesn't matter as you can just wiggle it around to get it right.

 

I've never seen a pure 14 fret tricone where the upper bout is pushed down to the 14th. There are a few single cones built that way - my Duolian is, but they are relatively rare and frankly I prefer 12 fretters. The cut is about as close as I've seen - it is possible that Republic also makes a cutaway tricone. I'll leave it to the OP to check that out.

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Freeman, you see where I fret at those upper frets, not slide, though that does come into play, and yes, harmonics are perfect. But mine seem to be very good up there fretted. Not perfect, but very acceptable. My 6 string National is like that as well.

 

Maybe I just got lucky.

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Thanks for the info guys. Nice Video too!!!

 

I am in the market for a resonator. I have had one in the past. It was a Dean Heirloom, and I thought it was very solid guitar and never had any issues with it. Sold it for some dumb reason.

 

Last spring I bought a Republic and I was pretty disapointed in it. The tone just did not "sound" like a full metal body resonator. At times it almost sounded like my acoustic. So I returned it. My Dean Heirloom sounded much better,IMHO.

 

I am looking to keep it no more than 600.00 and thats pushing it. I can't afford the high end stuff. I did play a couple of Regals over the weekend and I did like those. I have been looking at Recording King, but I can't find anyone local who sells them or at least to try them out. I have a friend who is a guitar snob and only deals with the high end name brands. He has suggested some, but out of my range.

 

I just did not know with the tri cone if it would be more difficult to access the upper frets with the neck joining close. I do understand by rolling your hand.

 

I am looking for something that will project with alot of volume and I really like the "clanky/steel pronounced tone" . I do not want anything subtle. When

you hear it , you should be able to tell what you are playing. Will the tricones give you more volume and the resonator type tone vs the others?

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Neal, I've never played one, but I understand the old National Steel String Instrument Company guitars had terrible intonation. The National Resophonics are as spot on as any acoustic I've ever played.

 

Jszfunk, I've heard people with better ears than mine say Tricones and Single Cones are the same volume, but the immediacy of the attack of a single cone guitar makes it appear louder. I don't know about all that. My single cone sure "appears" [is] considerably louder than my tricone. From reading the descriptions (more sustain, richer tone, more harmonics) I was sure the tricone was for me. Don't get me wrong, I love my tricone, but after playing a single cone for a while, I realized I'm a single cone guy.

 

If at all possible, play as many as possible to figure out what you like. Reading descriptions and listening to recordings only gets you so far. Resonators are best experienced!

 

To keep things cheap you may want to look at the "hot rod steel" reso's. As I understand it, the pac rim cheapo's are all basically the same and all need a bit of setup work to get them sounding/playing well. The "HRS" are imported and then set up by a reso guru in the states. Their wood bodies'd fit in your price range. I personally have never tried these (and I'd love a review). The seller is pretty highly regarded in hte reso world though...

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considerably louder than my tricone. From reading the descriptions (more sustain, richer tone, more harmonics) I was sure the tricone was for me. Don't get me wrong, I love my tricone, but after playing a single cone for a while, I realized I'm a single cone guy.


If at all possible, play as many as possible to figure out what you like. Reading descriptions and listening to recordings only gets you so far. Resonators are best experienced!


To keep things cheap you may want to look at the "hot rod steel" reso's. As I understand it, the pac rim cheapo's are all basically the same and all need a bit of setup work to get them sounding/playing well. The "HRS" are imported and then set up by a reso guru in the states. Their wood bodies'd fit in your price range. I personally have never tried these (and I'd love a review). The seller is pretty highly regarded in hte reso world though...

 

 

I'll second a lot of what Mike says. I own three resos - a very old spider bridge Dobro that has absolutely terrible intonation - I'm going to guess that fretted notes at 12 are a half step sharp. I have a 14 fret biscuit bridge Duolian with a NRP cone in it - it is loud, clanky, nasty sounding. The 14 fret neck means that it has a narrower nut and more rounded fretboard - I don't like this and someday will trade it for a true 12 fretter. The 14 fret body also means that the upper bout is smaller - if you listen to clips on Nationals site of 12 vs 14 fret you'll hear slightly less depth to the sound. In my humble, a 14 fretter is better if you are mostly going to play fretted, a 12 is better for slide.

 

My tricone isn't fair to compare - it is a home made wood bodied thing. I believe that it has much more sustain than the biscuit but not as much as the spider. The wood takes away a lot of the brash metallic sound - if I play it gently its almost acoustic sounding, played hard it still has the reso bite. When I built it I cheated the cones slightly farther from the nut than normal so the intonation is somewhat better.

 

Jsz, you really need to play as many as you can. The common feeling about any PacRim reso is that it probably has a decent box, but could use setup and maybe better cones. This is what both Republic and Beard do - the basic guitar comes from Asia but they are setup domestically. Frankly I have never been extremely impressed with Dean or Rogue or Regal or Fender or any of the other inexpensive resonators right out of the box.

 

As far as volume and tone - my humble take is that single cone biscuits are probably the loudest and have the shortest attack and sustain. Because they have more cone and bridge mass, a tricone has longer sustain, but still are pretty metallic sounding. Spiders have the long sweet sustain that we associate with bluegrass music - I think that comes from both the bridge design and the baffled wood bodies.

 

Good tricones are going to be expensive. I think I've got around $200 in cones, tee bridge, and coverplate for mine - if your budget is $600 that doesn't leave much for the box. Get out and play them, got to the NRP website and listen to different models, and let us know what you get.

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Thanks again for the info. It's hard to find stores here in Indy that carry resonators and if they do,pretty limited if they do. National are great I am sure, but I would have to give them my first born!!

 

 

I've never played a Republic but they get mixed reviews on some of the reso forums. They do make a couple of cutaway tricones - still 12 fretters but with access to the top of the fretboard.

 

http://www.republicresoguitars.com/clarksdale-special-204.html

 

Some people have reported bad setups and a few QC issues, but for the price they are pretty attactive.

 

There is also the new "Hot Rod" resonators - again, I don't know anything about them and they are getting mixed reviews. Don't know if they make 14 fret or cuts - here is a link

 

http://pickinparlor.nationalguitar.com/_HOT-ROD-STEEL-IS-BORN/blog/2470665/51645.html

 

Here is a forum where resonators are frequently discussed

 

http://bigroadblues.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3

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It bears repeating, but one of your quests is volume, and a single cone will have that over a tri-cone. If you really desire a funky nasal loudness, a spider bridge will give you that "it's definitely not a flattop" tone.

 

A tricone has a sweetness unmatched in a single cone though, imo. I have 2 singles and one tri, but all Nationals. As mentioned the Republic usually need some set-up, but having played a few of those (well set-up), I must say that even the "Resolian" all metal parlor is unmistakeable as a resonator, bummer yours was a dud.

 

Mike McGee, heard that about the old ones as well. Played an older one at a local shop here recently and.... lets say I like the newer ones. Intonation is as spot as a good acoustic to my ear.

 

You may want to check this out, a basically new National Delphi for 1200.

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236546

You'll spend 6 on another, dislike it, sell it for 5, get another one for 6, dislike after awhile, sell it for 5..... you see where I'm coming from there;).

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