Alabama Resonator Guitars
dajan
Alabama brand guitars in my local music stores but I cannot find any
review information about these guitars on the web or the manufacturers
website.
Does anyone here have any experience with these guitars that they could
share or if you know of any resources on the web that you could point
me to it would be appreciated.
thanks in advance
d
Tony Done
Hi, we hardly get any posts to this group, and it didn 't show up on
my news reader, hence the delay in replying.
I'm sure it is an importer brand made in China, like many others. You
tend to get what you pay for in resos, and many of the cheapos are
fairly awful. If it is playable and sounds OK, it is likely as good a
choice as any other in the low end of the price spectrum,. I honestly
believe that you can get a lot better sound from a flattop at that
sort of price. If you really want a reso,"Regal" has a good
reputation and has been around for a long time.
What kind of music interests you? Dobro style resos, with a spider-
type bridge are mostly used for country style music, whereas National
(biscuit bridge) style are more often used for blues, both for playing
slide. Unless you have a p-articular playing style in mind, I don't
think they are as useful as flattops for fretted styles.
Tony D
Little Charlie
Tony have you checked out the Recording King brand? It's the 'new'
Johnson. RK tricones can be had new on ebay for $459. Decades ago the
US retailer Montgomery ward sold Recoring King brand in stores and
also via mail order..like Stellas and Harmonys....I've still got a
month to wait on my Nat..but hey life's a bitch..eh? (and then you
marry one)
Later on....
Little Charlie - Plays the Blues
www.soundclick.com/LittleCharlie
swangdb
> Tony have you checked out the Recording King brand? It's the 'new'
> Johnson. RK tricones can be had new on ebay for $459. Decades ago the
> US retailer Montgomery ward sold Recoring King brand in stores and
> also via mail order..like Stellas and Harmonys....I've still got a
> month to wait on my Nat..but hey life's a bitch..eh? (and then you
> marry one)
Thanks for the tip on Recording King, here is their web site:
I have a Rogue that looks like this, I wonder if they were made at the
same factory:
Tony Done
>
> - Show quoted text -
I've only seen their very inexpensive "cowboy" guitar, and they look
great for the money - I keep thinking about getting one to use as a
lap steel. Their acoustics generally seem to get favourable comments
Did you get a cutaway on your tricone?
Tony D
Tony Done
A lot of importer brands only seem to have minor cosmetic differences
- the metal bodies on Chinese resos all look the same to me. However,
having said that, a copper coloured (steel) Dean I tried recently
sounded a lot better then average for these guitars. Maybe a different
cone? Unfortunately the neck joint was collapsing, and though they had
used traditional tenon stick construction, the tenon stick was glued
in (yuck) and so badly made (cross-grained), that it broke under
repair. That guitar now has a short tenon that reaches only to the
front edge of the soundwell. I hope it holds up OK.
Tony D
Little Charlie
Yes I did ( or actually Mark did!) it is such a gorgeous piece Tony. I
have had a Johnson style iV begfore and it was pretty..this Nat looks
like a true work of art...it"s over $4K more just for the style IV
engraving(Chrysanthemum) ...over a style I. 3200 > 7500...holy crap..I
better get good fast!!!
Little Charlie
wrote:
The sales guy I emailed told me that Recording King is the "New
Johnson' and that both are now AXL products with (his words) Recording
King an eschelon above Johnson...
There are a couple Recording King tricone videos on www.youtube.com
Little Charlie
Hard to say..I had a style O Rogue that was damn good (when someone
else played it!!!) really it did great right out of the box.
Tony Done
>
> >> - Show quoted text -
>
> >I've only seen their very inexpensive "cowboy" guitar, and they look
> >great for the money - I keep thinking about getting one to use as a
> >lap steel. Their acoustics generally seem to get favourable comments
>
> >Did you get a cutaway on your tricone?
>
> >Tony D
>
> Yes I did ( or actually Mark did!) it is such a gorgeous piece Tony. I
> have had a Johnson style iV begfore and it was pretty..this Nat looks
> like a true work of art...it"s over $4K more just for the style IV
> engraving(Chrysanthemum) ...over a style I. 3200 > 7500...holy crap..I
> better get good fast!!!
>
> Little Charlie - Plays the Blueswww.soundclick.com/LittleCharlie- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
<g> If you put the Johnson and the National side by side I think you
would see the difference easily enough, and hopefully alos hear a
difference. Geniune engraving doesn't come cheap, the Donmo guitars
made here in Oz are a nice compromise, the guy biuld guitars, and his
wife is etching specialist, so you can get a nice custom-looking
guitar for a not-outrageous price.
That's a danger in fancy or exotic gear, you have to live up to it.
Which is one reason why all of mine is rather plain and fairly ugly,
like me.
Tony D
Little Charlie
I have never disputed that Nat's were not fine. My bitch has been that
for the 'thousands' one saves on an Asian reso that they (the Asian
resos) are not -that- bad. In fact Tony..there is a Nat tricone vs
Republic tricone side by side comparison on youtube..you better take a
listen before it's too late to change your mind! I watched it over and
over and even knowing beforehand the two brands being compared it is
nothing even close to a "day and night" or an "oh wow!" experience. I
can tell you that to my tin ear I sure did NOT hear several thousands
of dollars worth of better sound, tone, sustain or anything else form
the Nat. With that said I am happy to be waiting in line for my Nat
style IV..make no mistake..but if I had to pay for it myself I would
go for the Asian tricone..the $2500-$7000 sound difference just isn't
there. And while I'm on a roll..I would just remind myself, yourself
and others that the National 'mystique and mojo' goes a long long ways
to predisposing someone to be able to "hear the difference" favoring
the Nat in a side by side play-off.
OK Tony..you turn it around in E from the IV and then I'll come
in..OK? Later....
Little Charlie
wrote:
And..with a pro setup on -any-Asian reso, style-O,Duolian,tricone...it
will play as well, look as good on stage, and thrill everyone in the
audience (and even much more importantly) the player equally to the
Nat...IMHO..I'm gonna find out as i am ordering as a beater reso the
Recording King tricone for $459....I might even make a video titled
"$500 Asian tricone vs $7500 Nat tricone" as Chet Atkins always
preached...
"If it SOUNDS good then it is GOOD" I don't care...it really makes no
difference, if I could somehow get a sweet reso sound from a used
Kotex..then I'd switch my moniker from Little Charlie to the Kotex
Kid. OK it's time to hit a few licks on this new APX700...it plays so
well I have postponed my plans to get it setup and add a bone nut.
Tony Done
>
> >>> >> - Show quoted text -
>
> >>> >I've only seen their very inexpensive "cowboy" guitar, and they look
> >>> >great for the money - I keep thinking about getting one to use as a
> >>> >lap steel. Their acoustics generally seem to get favourable comments
>
> >>> >Did you get a cutaway on your tricone?
>
> >>> >Tony D
>
> >>> Yes I did ( or actually Mark did!) it is such a gorgeous piece Tony. I
> >>> have had a Johnson style iV begfore and it was pretty..this Nat looks
> >>> like a true work of art...it"s over $4K more just for the style IV
> >>> engraving(Chrysanthemum) ...over a style I. 3200 > 7500...holy crap..I
> >>> better get good fast!!!
>
> >>> Little Charlie - Plays the Blueswww.soundclick.com/LittleCharlie-Hide quoted text -
>
> >>> - Show quoted text -
>
I firmly believe that in metal resos most of the tonal difference is
in the cones, and that if you don't like the sound of your inexpensive
reso, you can get it close, and quite possibly the same as an
expensive one by swapping the cone and doing a good set up. This just
how I view cheap electrics, you can upgrade the pickups and maybe
hardware, do some setting up and have an instrument that plays and
sounds just as good as an expensive one. - Getting cheap electrics to
play and sound good is a recent interest of mine.
However, I don't think this is true a wood body resos. I have never
found an inexpenive one trhat came within spitting distance of my
Estralita for volume, tonal complexity or sweetness. I also put a lot
of time and money into upgrading my Epiphone Biscuit. I bought it
originally because I thought it had promise, and then replaced the
hubcap-weight cone with a Nat. Res. and hardened the soundwell with
superglue, among other things. It sounded a *lot* better after my
efforts, and I had no troiuble selling it, but it wasn't close to the
Estralita. I think what it comes down to is that metal is metal
whether it be Chinese or US (likely sourced overseas), but the quality
of timber laminates used for the body and soundwell materials varies
greatly. - And this shows in the final product. In fact I think the
Nat Res wood bodies (and those of other high end makers) are made from
veneered aircraft grade baltic birch ply - good stuff - and mine has a
metal soundwell, not wood.
There are many colours of good tone, but I think that there is also
out-and-out bad - eg National-style wood bodies with less volume than
a cheap flattop and a dull clunky tone. It would be very interesting
to play your new Style IV side-by-side with my Beltona. I think yours
would be louder than mine, and maybe brighter but not as smooth
sounding. Absolutely not a case of better or worse.
I'll have a listen to those comparison vids. The sound of resos is
very deceptive to the player because of their very strong forward
projection - my Beltona sounds a lot brighter from the front - and it
wouldn't surprise me that many inexpensive ones sound good from the
audience side. - But a lot a player choices in guitars comes down to
their satisfaction rather than that of the audience. I've also been
arguing recently in rmmga that maybe we should pay more attention to
notes and less to sounds, so I'm not willing to argue in favour of
searching for exquisite sounds, especially if it comes at the expense
trying to play better.
End of long ramble.
Tony D
Little Charlie
Let me skip to something toward the end of your post Tony
-----------------
... we should pay more attention to
notes and less to sounds, so I'm not willing to argue in favour of
searching for exquisite sounds, especially if it comes at the expense
trying to play better.
-----------------
Well I suppose I could agree with that. Doesn't that conflict with
your efforts to improve the sound of your guitars as you've posted
through the years old man? I'm not ridiculing. This last post of yours
Tony seems to be back peddling somewhat from your "Nat's -always-
sound the best" battle-cry to "notes are more importanttant than
exqusite sounds." Again Mr Tony I'm not ever going to ridicule any
player or luthier that is striving for better sound. I think better
sound inspires players to new heights. Really I think they are
inseparably interconnected.
Maybe I should drop back into RMMGA and see what those aristocrats
are saying lately.
ALSO...the cone quality on Asian resos has risen dramataically the
past 2 years or so. Factory reps i have telephoned and emailed, bac k
then, have verified new cones starting shipping in that past
timeframe.
ALSO..Tony your remark about non-Asian reso manufacturers may
outsource the metal bodies from Asia? Again I' m not picking an
argument BUT if Nat does that it would I bet be a very highly guarded
secret by National Resophonic...it may well be true ..I have no idea.
What are you basing that on anyway?
Tony Done
> On Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:10:20 -0700 (PDT), Tony Done
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >> >>> >> - Show quoted text -
>
> >> >>> >I've only seen their very inexpensive "cowboy" guitar, and they look
> >> >>> >great for the money - I keep thinking about getting one to use as a
> >> >>> >lap steel. Their acoustics generally seem to get favourable comments
>
> >> >>> >Did you get a cutaway on your tricone?
>
> >> >>> >Tony D
>
> >> >>> Yes I did ( or actually Mark did!) it is such a gorgeous piece Tony. I
> >> >>> have had a Johnson style iV begfore and it was pretty..this Nat looks
> >> >>> like a true work of art...it"s over $4K more just for the style IV
> >> >>> engraving(Chrysanthemum) ...over a style I. 3200 > 7500...holy crap..I
> >> >>> better get good fast!!!
>
> >> >>> Little Charlie - Plays the Blueswww.soundclick.com/LittleCharlie-Hidequoted text -
>
> >> >>> - Show quoted text -
>
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Oh, I do have a conflict between what I do and what think I I ought to
do, and my comments reflect these insecurites. I say one thing and
still do another. I am very interested in sounds, but I recognise that
this can be a distraction from, or maybe an alternative interest to
good playing. Or maybe the technical stuff sustains me when I lose
interest in playing. Many would agree with you that the two are
inseparable (and I think I would be wrong if I disagree)d, but you
look at some of the Youtube vids of wonderful music on ordinary
instruments and realise that there can be a sparation. How about "how
much good guitar music would there be if all guitars were uniformly
clunkers?" Probably a lot less than now, and styles would be
different, but the cream would still rise to the surface.
Tony D
Little Charlie
I agree with all that Tony...I was thinking about this thread today
and it is so true that the likes of Bob Bozman or Stefan Grossman
could make any reso (Asian or Nat) sound glorious. I still recall some
30 years ago after I had been playing about 8 years. I thought I 'was
good' and a friend came by and played my Goya GG-174 acoustic I had at
the time and I have to tell you my jaw hit the floor! Lesson learned
for me..it's the musicain 90% and the instrument 10%. Listening to him
play I heard stuff from that axe I neverr heard before..a real eye
(and ear!) opener!!! Later ...
