Resonators

Could I ask for some real world advice on the quality of reso ukes.

It strikes me that they seem to fall in to two camps price wise. First there are the likes of Ashbury, Recording King and Goldtone which seem to be about £250 in the UK, but then there is a HUGE leap in price to the likes of National and Beltona with very little at all in between.

Are those entry models really quite poor sounding compared to the top end. I personally find it quite frustrating there is nothing filling the middle ground, price wise - say £500?

Thoughts?

Thats the way irt was a year ago when I bought mine. It was either a Mya-Moe for $1500 plus or a cheapo. I got the cheapo Regal but then had it upgraded with Waverly tuners, a Schatten pickup and Worth Clears with an unwound low G. I call it the Frankenreso. If it gets upgraded again, it will get a National cone.

Barry I've got the Recording King, but I've only played it a few times as it's very slippery to hold and it doesn't stay in tune for long. But as for the sound..for the price I thinks it's worth it's money.

I recently acquired a Kala concert size reso-uke. I guess it would be at or near the bottom end, but I am happy with what I got for the money. It's like holding and playing a regular concert uke except the action is a little high...for "plucking" I suppose and I am plucking the h..l out of it and loving it. No one will have to wonder if it's a resonator or not...it's loud. Nice sound clip on Kala's web site. It's like a beginners reso...not sure if I even want a high end one yet. I'd buy it again...new models have a tailpeice, so no cut strings on cover plate.

I went the similar route as MrEWorm. I bought a Recording King and before I ever played one note I took it apart and replaced the cone ("High Country" type cone spun in England), replaced the tuning pegs, dressed the frets a bit, and put Martin M600 strings on it. Great sounding and playing instrument!
There was a Big Rusty on FMM that caught my eye yesterday though..........

This might be a bit iconoclastic.... but....

I have often wondered what the advantages of a nylon strung resonator are? I can appreciate the wonderful sound of a Dobro or a Reso with steel strings (indeed I have a cheap Dobro myself I keep threatening to master ) - but do nylon strung resos really cut it?

Barbablanca said:

This might be a bit iconoclastic.... but....

I have often wondered what the advantages of a nylon strung resonator are? I can appreciate the wonderful sound of a Dobro or a Reso with steel strings (indeed I have a cheap Dobro myself I keep threatening to master ) - but do nylon strung resos really cut it?

Click to expand...

For strumming, picking and bending it sounds great.
If you want a reso for sliding, fogedaboudit. It doesn't slide well. I have a lap steel uke with reso from Mya-Moe that you can slide on.

Yeah, slide wasnt my intention. Just like the idea of the twang for blues picking

Best reso. I've played is a John Morton. Custom handmade in Washington St.http://www.jmorton.us/index.html

I too think it's sad that there doesn't seem to be a mid-range option in resonators but I understand the reasons - still doesn't make it an easy pill to swallow.

I don't have any experience with the resonator ukes (aside from the coffee-can resonator I made myself out of a Mainland concert) - but I do have experience with guitars and the difference can be summed up in one word - tone.

Cheap resonator guitars sound cheap, raspy, and annoying. Expensive resonator guitars sound lovely. It's hard to quantify or measure the difference between a resonator cone that sounds like an irritating "ball bearings in a tin can" rattle and one that, while still having that metallic quality, sounds more like someone rubbing a bell.

Much of the reason that there isn't a "middle range" in the resonators is because there simply isn't room for error in construction of one. First, the resonator doesn't lend itself to "hands off" mass manufacturing. Good resonators are expensive for the same reason that good cymbals are expensive - they are carefully hand-tuned and that takes time and skill. Then, everything must fit perfectly. The resonator cone must be seated perfectly in the sound well with even pressure all the way around the rim. The bridge or spider must seat perfectly on the resonator cone. Again, all of this requires hand-fitting by a skilled worker. If you don't fit the cone to the soundwell perfectly, and the biscuit or spider to the cone perfectly, then you've just turned even the most expensive cone into a rattle-o-matic.

My "coffee can resonator" was a bit of fun but there is no way that a project like that is really going to sound like a real resonator, and I didn't expect it to. It's still fun to play a little ratty blues on once in a while but some day I'm going to have a real Mya Moe concert resonator.

John

I'v got a Recording King and really like it. Nice sound, good action, and cool looks.
I had the same model several years ago and sold it. This newer one is noticeably better.
Both had terrible tuners, I upgraded my current ones.

I tried to find it, but probably wont....I read an article a few years back about "tuning up" inexpensive resonators. One of the things it stressed was removing the cone and cover plate and checking for high spots and leveling them, insuring the cone rested perfectly on it's surface and the same for the coverplate. They pointed out that all parts must fit precisely in order to get the best sound you can from the components. So, in addition to installing a higher quality cone and better tuners, one can, if inclined to disassemble the instrument, check all tolerances and improve the fit of all critical, sound producing parts. Maybe I'll work up the guts to take my new Kala apart and try this.......one day!

I often wonder why certain brands never seem to get mentioned. Is there an Emily Post or Amy Vanderbilt Book of Etiquette regarding which ukuleles are acceptable and which ones are not even to be mentioned ? From Australia comes the DonMo Galvo. From New Zealand is Steve Evans' Beltona. From England is Pete Howlett and Stuart Wailing. A friend who does not lack for discretionary income had a tenor with a bari neck built for him. We were comparing his Beltona to a Galvo. He offered to trade for the sound of the Galvo. The single nod of the head to the side from my music teacher-wife nixed that trade. The Johnson/Recording King is a close copy of Steve's early brass resonator, except it is a little more shallow so the cone lacks the depth that the original Beltona Brass has. Making a different attachment point for the strings makes a significant difference in sound. It is very easy to do if anyone is interested.