Rondo Again!: SX RG1 FR Resonator

I would be shocked if this were actually a good instrument.

* Price is too low -- it's far easier to make a viable low cost electric. Reasonable sounding/playing resonators in the $500 range are only a recent occurance.
* The copy says a lot of stupid things:
"Classic 'F' soundholes provide rich sound" It's the resonator, bridge, suspension and the like that are critical,
not the shape of the ports
"figured Curly Malapoka tonewood" It's undoubtedly laminated, which is good for strength, but does little for
tonal properties -- again, think resonator
*Quality cone, bridge and bridge set up are critical for a resonator guitar's tone. For that price, you are unlikely to be getting any of these. Note the copy says nothing about the actual resonator and bridge type, but has a lot to say about truly less critical details -- binding, f-holes, solid peghead

Unless somebody here who knows something about reso materials, construction and good tone can actually vouch for this model, avoid it. Think of it as a cosmestic reso.

If you are serious about buying a resonator guitar, educate yourself -- spend some time in the discussion groups dedicated to such, do a bit of web or (better yet) book research. And hit the stores to play various price range models. This last will help you understand that while one can get bargain electrics and various acoustics, decent resos start at a higher price point.

What, do you work for Rhondo music Mike!? :lol: J/K, you just post alot about their stuff. :wink: I've browsed their site a number of times, and they seen to have some good low-cost gear. Give us a review on that resonator if you get it.

Dan

gnease..no I am NOT serious about getting a resonator and I would NEVER consider paying much more than Rondo's price for my first one. This is just to get an idea if I would want to play one. Going to a store and playing one would be pointless for me since I don't know how to play one anyway. However to use as a cheap slide guitar this would be great. I have heard time and time again that cheap guitars can make for good slide guitars.

dntalb, no I do not work for nor know anyone that does work for Rondo. However, I do stand behind their products as does many of the members here (and on MANY other forums I frequent). Now I have never played any of the SX series guitars only the Agile and there are mixed reviews of the SX line. However unless someone has actually PLAYED this guitar anything said is only speculation.

gnease..no I am NOT serious about getting a resonator and I would NEVER consider paying much more than Rondo's price for my first one. This is just to get an idea if I would want to play one. Going to a store and playing one would be pointless for me since I don't know how to play one anyway. However to use as a cheap slide guitar this would be great. I have heard time and time again that cheap guitars can make for good slide guitars.

dntalb, no I do not work for nor know anyone that does work for Rondo. However, I do stand behind their products as does many of the members here (and on MANY other forums I frequent). Now I have never played any of the SX series guitars only the Agile and there are mixed reviews of the SX line. However unless someone has actually PLAYED this guitar anything said is only speculation.

Wow, a bit touchy there Mike. :shock: I was joking about you working for Rhondo, but I have heard you mention talking to "Kurt" , (I think that's his name), from Rhondo in some of your previous posts about their gear, (that would negate you not "knowing anyone that works for Rhondo"),and I thought you even posted once that he was giving you kick-backs from people who buy from here? Maybe I missread. I'll have to do some looking. Also, I NEVER said anything negative about their guitars, and have even posted in the past that my bassist owns an SX bass & loves it. I'm even considering a couple of their guitars. I'd have to side with gnease on this one though, as he sounds like he's played resonator guitars before, knows what he's talking about, and doesn't want someone who's out to purchase a resonator do it without the proper information. This guitar you posted might be the greatest thing since sliced bread, or it may be a piece of garbage. We don't know, and neither do you, because you don't own it, or have played it. Until you have, how can you defend it? Even the big name manufacturers can make garbage, not that this is, again, who knows?

http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?t=17493&highlight=agile

I apologize. My post was not intended to be touchy or aggressive. I guess it's just the mood I am in today. I'm sorry if I offended anyone.

No harm done Mike. We're all cool. 8)

Dan

Only as long as they make it left handed...

Wow what a price.

If I were going to play it (lefty), it would be as a dobro, with a steel. And in that case, I wouldn't even have to worry about the bridge/saddle being righty; if you don't fret it, saddle compensation isn't important.

What a price though man!

gnease..no I am NOT serious about getting a resonator and I would NEVER consider paying much more than Rondo's price for my first one. This is just to get an idea if I would want to play one. Going to a store and playing one would be pointless for me since I don't know how to play one anyway. However to use as a cheap slide guitar this would be great. I have heard time and time again that cheap guitars can make for good slide guitars.

.

Then do yourself a big favor, Mike, buy a $150 laminated flat top acoustic and raise the action -- it will sound better than that reso, and will very likely be built better. Better yet, snag a lapsteel. For under $100 you can get a serviceable lapsteel that will provide a very acceptable sound and playing experience. I know you are big on Rondo, but I'm 90% sure that reso guitar is pretty much junk, as are most low cost resos -- including those budget models made by Fender. Resos look cool, and many manufacturers have decided to capitalize on that by putting out cheapo instruments that are not even acceptable as beginner guitars -- poor tone/timbre and construction that is not heavy duty enough to support the heavier gauge strings better suited to the instrument. A cheap resonator guitar is not representative of the real thing. It is more likely to deliver a discouraging experience. An inexpensive guitar -- especially an electric or well-made laminated acoustic -- can very well make a good slide guitar ... but not a cheap resonator.

Michael Messer's site is back up finally. The article is a little out-dated, but anyone interested in a cheap resonator should read this
http://www.michaelmesser.co.uk/tgm8.htm

I finally solved my chronic GAS problems with having 6 guitars of different sorts and been through a half dozen others. Some I take apart and rebuild and sell again, others I like and they are here for the long haul.

I just bought a Fender Deluxe and it is the cadillac of guitars compared to everything else I have been through. It is perfect in every way for me and it cost enough to solve my GAS problems for a long time.

To go with it I bought a Carvin Vintage 16 after reading Ricochet 'speak'/write so highly of them and it is equally awesome. Ricochet knows his amps and I wouldn't hesitate to go with one of his recommendations. This amp I saved $100 on, used 6 months, can't even tell it is used. Had to jump on it.

The only budget guitar I thought was totally awesome for the price and will stay around here forever and not need me to upgrade a single thing on it is my Samick Avion 3. Or maybe I just got real lucky with it and it got more attention being a left handed guitar and not thrown down the assembly line.

I think the moral of the story here is to instead of buying all these budget guitars, just buy something of quality instead and be done with it. Over the past few years I sure spent more on budget guitars buying and selling than I just did on my deluxe. I will need to grow into this guitar and try I will. Yes I could have been perfectly happy with an American for less money but then ya never know, maybe would have wound up ripping it apart to put in noiseless pickups and a pearloid pick guard, so I just got it overwith and went for the Deluxe without feeling guilty about it. 8)

As for making a reso into a lefty, with a single cone (of either spider bridge type like this one or a biscuit bridge), the only thing that'd need to be modded is the nut. The cone, with the bridge attached, rotates, so you can simply turn it around. The saddle is usually symmetrical. And where it is asymmetrically made with the notch flared out on one side, there's a running disagreement about which way to turn it, so it obviously doesn't make much difference.

Gnease is right that this is a very low end reso, but it might be surprisingly good sounding. I started off with a Johnson JR200 "Chicago Blues" that I talked Mandalay Music into selling me for $185 back in 2001. It really was a nice sounding instrument, and I miss it sometimes. Spider resos aren't that popular with blues players, but they've got a really nice tone all their own, with sustain comparable to a tricone and better volume. The tone is mainly in the cone, and if the cone's decent (the one in that Chinese Johnson was), it'll sound good.

Your local guitar store techs are likely to be totally ignorant about resos, so you'll have to learn to do all your own setting up, modding if any, and repair. It's not rocket science. These are made for folks who like to tinker.

Yeah, resos are used for slide a lot. If you want to get into that, pick up a cheap electric and raise the action like Gnease said. Schecter makes a really good guitar for the money. They are marketed toward the heavy metal community, but most sound good for any sort of playing. Check them out. Ibanez Artcore series are good as well if you want a hollowbody. Or, just get a plain old acoustic.

i gotta side with josephlefty here. cheap instruments are great (i own one that's less than $150, and the rest are in the $350-500 range.) but at some point if you wanna be serious, you gotta get the better quality gear if you can afford it. if you can afford to have 3 cheap strat copies, why would you do that when you could get a much better strat for the same money.

the way i see the cheaper guitars, they are for A) learning and B) making funky tones and experimenting with things like electronics, construction, tunings, other odd things.

once you get past the learning stage, there is no reason to continue to purchase these instruments unless you are on a strict budget. if you want a resonator, buy the BEST (sometimes, the most expensive, but not always) reso you can find. im sure Agile and SX and Rondo guitars are good, but they are hardly a workingman's guitar, IMHO. branch out, you are approaching the point where your skills warrant better gear.

i learned guitar on a CHEAP johnson acoustic that someone built from a kit. the neck fell off and i experimented with glueing it back on (yeah that went well...NOT!). so after playing that for 2 years, when it broke i needed a new one, and i realized that my skills were beyond getting another cheap acoustic, so i saved my money and bought the best guitar i could afford, which turned out to be my most excellent Martin DX1.

when i die, i want to be cremated with that guitar.

don't just get it cos it's cheap and it's made by Rondo. treat your hands to what they deserve and get a better reso.