I believe they also replace the cones with National cones. I have a Chinese made reso. Swapped the cone with a National cone. It made a substantial difference: moderately louder and warmer (less "tinny" sounding). I've also played a metal-body National. The National was superior, by far. There was still some hollow quality of sound to the Chinese uke, like kicking a trash can, that the National did not have. I've just described it in an extreme way for the sake of clarity, but I wouldn't say the difference was subtle either, it was apparent. Also, the neck and overall playability of the National was much better. The Chinese uke neck is fat. I believe Hot Rod also makes some adjustments to the nut and replaces the saddle with maple. All of this said, the Hot Rod will cost around $500, whereas a similar National will be at least three times that much. I got mine used, so even with the new cone it cost about $350. I wanted it to see whether I would like a National metal body reso over the long term. You might want to give it a try for the same reason, but I see that you already have a John Morton?
