My wife picked out a nice guitar online for me from about 1/2 dozen links of various stringed instruments that I did not have yet that I provided her. I had to stare at this box beside the tree for weeks. I had long deduced it to be one of the 2-3 resonator choices based on box size. It was either that or the world's biggest mandolin. :lol: :lol:
At any rate, I ended up with the one I had wanted the most, and, my first Rondo Music guitar. It's an "SX RG1 CE FR NA Resonator ", as the site says, and here's the specs on her. http://www.rondomusic.com/rg1cefrna.html
I found the thought of having a humbucker on a resonator rather puzzling. It seems like it would kind of defeat the purpose, but it doesn't sound all that bad. I've posted a clip mic'd and a clip using the pickup.
Mic'd http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11317384
Pickup http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11317380
I had a bit of trouble getting in sync at the beginning of the one with the pickup it sounds like. It does get better, though. :)
And of course, the picture.
My Review? Too early and I know too little about these things fro a proper one, but I'll say a few things.
The not so good.
The neck joint looks rather shoddy.
I really don't know based on the specs exactly how much, if any, of this guitar is solid wood. It sure does look pretty, though. I can't take that away from them. I can't see into the f-hole that well, but there does appear to be wood grain on the inside of the back. Maybe it is solid in more of it than I thought. (?)
The strings were awful. Corrision was abundant. This was really no big deal as I would have changed them buy now anyhow. I went from 9's (I think) to 12's.
The Good.
All of the knobs and tuners seem like they're in good shape, which has not always been the case with budget brand guitars. That's even true with budget brand guitars sold by bigger name brands that brag about QA. This one's hardware is in as good shape as any I've gotten via the online route.
I had no idea if there was any intended tuning from the factory, but this one is in G now. Action being high for slide (I think), this had no problem slotting in that spot. Especially after putting 12's on it. Putting 12's on this and getting rid of the 9's reduced a lot of the noise factor. It sounds crisp and clean now. Well, as much as one could.
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Hey, Roy :D
Wow, tone sounds great both ways! 8)
I wouldn't worry about quality or construction.... Adds to the flavor of a slide guitar :wink:
And yeah, it sure is pretty!
Love the 'Easy Rider' poster in the back!
Ken
"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway
"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles
Very nice!!!!! I love my reso!!!
I'm guessing it lamented. Most wood resonators are. You don't need the body to make
The sound, just support the cone.
As for action.... Ya that's a tough one. High for slide, low for fretting...it's a trade off. I got new nut files for Christmas, so I will be cutting down the biscuit on mine to lower action
Paul B
Congrats! Two different sounds but both are good to me.
Enjoy!
Nice one Roy! Sounds good too! My reso sits in the corner and gathers dust. Have fun!
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
I love resonators. yours sounds really nice for an inexpensive model.
it looks great in the picture.
Thanks, guys. I'm enjoying it so far. I'm glad she got (or we chose?) the one with the pickup. While not classic, it is cool sounding. 8) 8)
One thing I can't stand is going up a size or two (or three) in strings on an acoustic guitar. I even wore those painful to wear glasses. Every chink, clink or tink had me, my wife and the dogs flinching. No breaks. phew!
I was afraid that this was going to be one of those guitars that just never like to stay in tune. Not only did new strigs fix that to a nice extent, it also got rid of a lot of string flappy noise.
Paul, the biscuit on mine appears to have a ton of room to allow for adjustment. The slots are more like little nicks. They cut the very least they could get away with. To an onlooker that may seem chincy, I think it's great. If you have a pre-defined notion of how high or low you want the strings, they give you the room to do it by maxing it out on the top side. File down to choice. I think I'm leaving it where it is and leaving it at open G, too. It will be interesting to see how far down I go if/when I decide to do it. I've got an electric that I have half way between normal and jacked up for slide. One of the hidden virtues of a Floyd Rose bridge is the ability to set it up ten ways to Sunday. I guess if I ever leave that in one place an decide that that's, that, I'll attack this one with actual measurements in mind.
Nice one Roy! Sounds good too! My reso sits in the corner and gathers dust. Have fun!
Long, boring winters, spare pickups, spare electrical components, gobs of know-how and beer. all the ingredients to turn it into a resonatorocker. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
dogbite and others, do you keep yours in standard tuning, open, bounce around or other?
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Roy, I should have mentioned that my reso is a squareneck. I play it lap style. my tuning is high bass G (open G).
I tried one of those out in Virgina last Summer. I liked the slide the shop keeper lent me to play it. the whole thing worked and sounded really well. any advantage to square for doing it lap style?
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
My reso just has little nicks in the biscuit. If I play it like a standard guitar and strum too hard the low E jumps the slot. I have seen where people retrofit them with Tele neck pickups. I have had mine all apart. There was some crap rattling inside and I figured it was a great time to see how it worked and adjust everything. Mine is a Rogue. Not bad, got a little fret buzz around the 12th fret on a string or two. It has a little dent too from where the golf clubs fell over and hit it. :roll: I think I got 13's on it but they need changing. Actually the tail piece just snapped on it one day while it was sitting there. Put a new one on it for like $5. Should fool with it again sometime. Maybe try11's or 12's on it.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Well Im guessing most resonators sold are played bottleneck style, or lap style. So they set them high, and let the buyer dial it in. And TR... mine is spending way to much time just sitting also. I love bottleneck.. but at this time I focsing on realy getting the basics of normal playing down before I mess around with it. So there is sits... Thats why I decided to just go ahead and cut the biscut on mine. I figure down the road when I want to do slide agean, ill replace it..[with a nice cone also]
Long, boring winters, spare pickups, spare electrical components, gobs of know-how and beer. all the ingredients to turn it into a resonatorocker.
dogbite and others, do you keep yours in standard tuning, open, bounce around or other?
Thay have a lot of add on ones out there, and I saw a vid where someone added a strat one to the cover plate.
So Roy.... Time to start digging through Youtube for all the Chris Whitley vids!!!
Paul B
I tried one of those out in Virgina last Summer. I liked the slide the shop keeper lent me to play it. the whole thing worked and sounded really well. any advantage to square for doing it lap style?
Roy.
since I play lap steel so much I decided to get a squareneck reso. of course I want a roundneck too.
both kinds lend themselves to the music you want to play. I was influenced by a great player, Mike Auldridge.
oh, my exact tuning is GBDGBD low to high.
Thanks for the names, guys. It gives me something to look for on youtube. :)
oh, my exact tuning is GBDGBD low to high.
Does the square neck make the guitar better able to handle tight tunings like yours? I'm running DGDGBD, and it made some unsavory noises getting there. :|
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Oh that looks nice! Id love a reso!! Have fun!
If I go blind guide me. If I go deaf shoot me
http://mymusictree.blogspot.co.uk
not sure Roy. the string gauge is important when deciding a tuning.
my reso creaks a bit when tuning. the metal cone seems to amplify things.
I guess it is doing what it is supposed to.
one must be careful of the amount of pressure on the biscuit. that's what I was told.
