Delta Blues guitar sound: Is it a 12 string or a resonator ?

[JCJ]

Hi. Been listening a lot of delta blues lately. In some songs there's this strange guitar sound, sounds kinda mettalic, but it also sounds like some kind of 12 string guitar, but with only the doubled same pitch strings, creating a chorus-like, ringing-resonating sound. What is it? i cant remember an exact song in wich i heard it, maybe Lonnie Johnson or other. Is it just the sound of a resonator guitar? I've read that sometimes this old blues players also detuned their guitar on purpose, to achieve this ringing sound

 

Any ideas??

[PAC]

Try this site and scroll down to the Style O 12-string resonator:

http://www.nationalguitars.com/styleo.html The sound clip might give you a clue.

[Freeman Keller]

 

Hi. Been listening a lot of delta blues lately. In some songs there's this strange guitar sound, sounds kinda mettalic, but it also sounds like some kind of 12 string guitar, but with only the doubled same pitch strings, creating a chorus-like, ringing-resonating sound. What is it? i cant remember an exact song in wich i heard it, maybe Lonnie Johnson or other. Is it just the sound of a resonator guitar? I've read that sometimes this old blues players also detuned their guitar on purpose, to achieve this ringing sound Any ideas??

 

 

It could be either (or even both, there were a few 12 string reso's made). Great 12 string players include Heddy Leadbetter (Leadbelly), BBQ Bob, Jessie Fuller, Willie McTell and maybe a few others.

 

But many of the olds blues guys were playing resos (however Robert Johnson never did and I don't think Lonnie did either). Often they were tuned to open G or D, which will give the doubled octave sounds, and most often played with some sort of slide (Blind Boy Fuller was a notable exception - he played his Style O in standard tuning without a slide). And yes, sometimes they down tuned to match their voice, but sometimes, like RJ they uptuned for the same reason.

 

The primary reason for a resonator was it pure volume - they were the first true amplified guitars and for a blind blues guy playing a street corner the volume was welcome. But they also have a nasty funky metallic sound that really seams to fit the blues. You really need to tell us the name of the song and the player to know for sure

[JCJ]

The song is called When you fall for someone that's not your own by Lonnie Johnson

[Freeman Keller]

Don't know the song, but according to this

 

http://www.earlyblues.com/blues_singers.htm

 

Johnson did play "Martin 00-21, 1942 Gibson J-100, a custom-made Mexican 12-string" but not a reso

 

As an aside, we often think of the old blues guys playing crappy guitars, but there are some pretty fine ones here. I'd like to believe that they played what fit their music.

[Johnny66]

 

Don't know the song, but according to this http://www.earlyblues.com/blues_singers.htm Johnson did play "Martin 00-21, 1942 Gibson J-100, a custom-made Mexican 12-string" but not a reso As an aside, we often think of the old blues guys playing crappy guitars, but there are some pretty fine ones here. I'd like to believe that they played what fit their music.

 

 

Lonnie Johnson could afford good instruments, being one of the most famous and influential of players in his time.

 

Although blues romanticism will have it otherwise, Lonnie Johnson was far more important to the blues than Robert Johnson.

[VonBonfire]

As was tampa red

 

....johnson reworded a bunch of songs tampa red was doing ten years prior to him even cutting an album. The influence was apparent.

[Johnny66]

 

As was tampa red ....johnson reworded a bunch of songs tampa red was doing ten years prior to him even cutting an album. The influence was apparent.

 

 

You mean Robert Johnson 'reworded' Tampa Red, not Lonnie Johnson - right?

 

Robert Johnson begged, borrowed and stole from everyone. There's many books, and CDs, that happily trace where his material came from.

[JCJ]

It seems like i found the answer:

i was looking in youtube for lonnie johnson vid's (there are a couple of good ones, but he's playing electric) and found a guy who plays lonnie's songs on a 12 string. As he says: "In those days Lonnie always played in drop D or G, there's much debate about that. When he played a 12 string guitar he often removed several strings, which ones, well there's also much debate about that too. I play it in drop G (DGDGBE) and use 10 strings."

heres the vid if anyone's interested