Educate me on Resonators.

Icelander53

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What are the pros and cons of a resonator ukulele? I just saw a video on the new Kala resonator for $299 and it sounded pretty neat.

What I'd like to know is are they hard to play in any way compared to a regular uke and do they take special care?

I must admit I just like the look of them. It would be fun to own one if they work well.

Here's the video I watched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4aMDo4RGp0


Are there any others in that price range that folk here like?
 
All ukulele resonators I've seen or owned are single cone, with a biscuit (it acts as a saddle). That means the strings press on the biscuit (a wooden bar) and that vibrates a spun aluminum cone, which creates the sound (a bit like a speaker cone). Some sound is bounced around inside and escapes through any soundholes. The effect is a metallic and bright. An all-metal body tends to emphasize this and add some sustain.

The cones are thin and - if you disassemble the uke - easily dented or bent. If you don't, then they're fairly easy to maintain. Don't let your cat or dog sit on the cone if you remove it (voice of experience...).

There's a cover plate over the cone, mostly to protect it, but it can also muffle the output a bit if it doesn't have a lot of holes or space for the sound to escape. You can often remove or alter it (replace it with one that has bigger holes) to get more sound. Just be careful not to damage the cone.

Some care has to be taken when changing strings because the biscuits are usually held on by pressure, not glued or otherwise fixed in place. Some cones have circular areas on top that allow the biscuit to be moved around quite a bit, so use a marker to note where it sits first, so you can return it to that location after restringing.

You play them the same way you play any uke or guitar (unless it's one designed for steel slide as some guitar resos are).

The sound can also be altered by changing the biscuit. A lot of them are rosewood, some are maple, some are two-part. Using ebony can really brighten up the tone. I want one myself to experiment with other biscuit materials like Tusq and brass.

Only problem I've ever see with uke resos is that the nylon strings are anchored in a metal tail or cover and there's pressure on the intersection. This creates a potential breakage point. To avoid this, get some plastic wrap (the shrink wrap used for narrow-gauge electrical wire is perfect) and slip a small section on the end of each string so the metal presses on it, not the bare string.

it may be possible to use metal strings on a reso uke, but I haven't tried it myself.

See my review and some pics:

www.ianchadwick.com/ukuleles/republic.htm

The volume and quality of the sound depends on the tension on the biscuit. Which suggests that a tenor is the best size because its strings have the most tension. As the owner of a tenor reso guitar, I can attest that four strings son't provide the same depth and richness that six do because they can't put the same pressure on the biscuit. I personally don't think a concert-scale reso uke is as good sounding as a tenor. Same problem: not enough pressure. (Curiously, I think the opposite happens with a banjo uke: a tenor applies a bit too much pressure to the saddle>head, and unless the head is large (10") it sounds too brash: a concert or baritone banjo uke sounds better).

I've been trying to buy a Kala reso myself, for six months but can't find one - and the new Kalas are not expected in Canada until at least August. Maybe longer. *sigh*
 
That was a very good review you did and a lot of info here. Thanks for taking the time. I appreciate it.
 
My National concert sounds great, I think the quality of the cone makes at least as much of a difference as strings and tension. I saw Del Rey perform recently and she was playing a Phillips soprano that sounded wonderful.

Reso's are not for everyone, but I think a large part of that depends on the type of music you enjoy. I am a big fan of 20s and 30s music and finger picking sounds great. I almost never use mine if I'm going to be doing a lot of strumming though.

I change a single string at a time so that I don't have to worry about the biscuit going out of alignment. Although on the National the biscuit is screwed to the cone so movement is less of a problem.

If you want to experiment with biscuits, a new one from National is only $10 so they are a reasonable thing to play around with. I hopefully have one arriving today.
 
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In the world of resonators, you get what you pay for. A National, Phillips or Mya-Moe reso will blow away one from the Chinese manufacturer.
I tried one of the Kala concert size that were out a year ago and was not impressed. I had a Chinese built metal bodied Regal and spent a lot of money installing decent tuners, new biscuit etc and never get it to sound like I wanted.

I'm expecting to receive a Big Rusty tenor resonator (National Cone inside) ukulele via USPS very soon. I'll update on that once I have had a chance to mess around a bit.
 
In the world of resonators, you get what you pay for. A National, Phillips or Mya-Moe reso will blow away one from the Chinese manufacturer.

Haven't tried (or ever seen!) a Phillips, but I've encountered a number of Nationals and Mya-Moes and this is very true. Generally I find the all-metal Nationals to have the best tone for solo playing; the wood-bodied resonators always seem kind of muted to me.
 
Hold out for the new model. It is also an "improved" model with bigger cone, which is why it sounds much better than the initial model. I have the concert.....wsth I'd have waited for the new tenor model, but had no way of knowing. I think the new one sounds waaaay better.
 
as far as I know, Mya-Moe uses National resonators. (at least they used to. I saw a Video where Gordon was building a reso and he said they get them from National).
 
Mya Moe does use National resonators. I've got a metal resonator and its way too heavy for me to enjoy playing it. I once tried a custom Ohana at NAMM that blew me away; it wasn't anything stock though. The cheap Kalas and other wood resonators that I tried were all pretty meh. I just bought a Big Rusty, which uses a National Cone, off the marketplace and I'm curious to see how I like that. I had a chance to try a Beard resonator, and it was better than the Kalas but I wasn't excited by it.
 
Resonators are an acquired taste that is sometimes not really very completely acquired. I don't own a reso uke, but I do have three reso guitars. One is a square neck lap Goldtone beard six string (spider cone), one is a square neck lap custom McKenna 8 string (spider cone) and then there is my National Estralita round neck (biscuit cone). Oh, wait... I also have a resonator acoustic bass.

The Goldtone is great for bluegrass and Celtic music. The 8 string fills the same bill with added versatility and the National is pretty much a Delta Blues machine. I stare at the reso bass from time to time.

I guess my point is that reso instruments, which were originally conceived in order to compete with big band instruments prior to electric amplification, did (and do) more than simply cut through the mix. They introduced a tone that is unique to most and a bit brittle to some. Where the reso cone tone is desired in order to convey a feeling or message, they are hard to beat. As a general purpose instrument, they can be a bit much if they are all you have available to play.

In my view, the pleasing nature of a resonator cone exists within a somewhat narrow window of musical styles and tonal range. And, it is not easy to walk that line with a sub par cone. Some of the least pleasant musical experiences I have had were with an inexpensive reso in my hands. On the uke or mandolin front, the only reso instruments that I have played that I felt that I could live with as an only instrument were Nationals. It is possible that other manufacturers who use National cones could make my cut, but a significant factor in reso tone quality goes beyond the cone and into body construction and, on that count, I don't believe that any builder tops National
 
I plunked around with some in a store, and they had a metalic sound that I didn't care for. And, though I don't know how often it's nessecary, messing with one's innards sounds like something I don't want to attempt. They're cool looking, but not my cup off tea.
 
I find that my reso works best on old blues songs and some
rock and roll stuff;for everything else, I use my other ukes
which are traditional wooden builds!
 
Personally, I love the sound, but agree it's not always right for every song. But when you have a group session or jam, having a reso in the mix really adds a nice overtone.
 
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