Resonator plans ?

[Howard Williamson]

Can anyone point me to a wood bodied resonator plan that they like. I'd like to try one of those as my next project.
Thanks.

[Michael Lewis]

If you can get your hands on a real one, even in terrible condition, I think you will learn more than from a plan.

The other thing is to make a drawing once you have all your hardware (machines, cover plate, cone, tail piece, etc.). A side view is the most important but a top view is also helpful. Put every part in the drawing, then you will know what has to go where once you begin the construction process. For someone who has not been through the process of making a particular instrument I find making the drawing tremendously helpful the first time through.

[Keith Ambridge]

I used this free info on StewMac

http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Buildin ... honic.html

And this is what I produced



I did other web research but I stuck to the dimensions for the body and I love it!

[Howard Williamson]

Hey, thanks for that !, she's a beauty !
I did a search for "Resonator guitar plans" on their site and that didn't turn up for some reason.

[Keith Ambridge]

Here's a picture of the inside,
I thought getting the neck stick right would be easier before the back was fitted!

[Dan Pennington]

Paul Beard sells very nice plans for reso guitars:
https://www.beardguitars.com/Merchant2/ ... ry_Code=BB

And kits for wood body resos. They are a nice way to start. Here's mine in process.

[Darryl Young]

I bought the Beard plans as a friend wants me to build a squareneck resonator for him and they are good. With that said, what investigating I've done indicates that their isn't enough soundhole area on a Dobro style instrument. I'm considering using a 14 fret body instead of a 12 neck body as the upper bout is smaller so the ratio of body volume to sound hole area is improved (or at least in my opinion improved). I'm also considering using a single soundhole instead of two smaller soundholes but that may depend on how large an area I can get with a single soundhole. I'll probably use a 00 sized body but I had rather take some of the curve out of the waist which adds volume to the body but I'm thinking it would fit against the players body better. Also, I may join the neck to the body at the 13th fret to position the resonator more in the center of the 00 lower bout.

The body will be claro walnut and I'll glue a Claro Walnut over a 1/2" plywood to make the top and forego a soundwell and probably no soundposts either. Then I'll bolt the neck to the neckblock like a traditional guitar (no mortise/tenon) and no neck stick inside the body. Then the back is free to move as on a guitar so I can tune the air resonance and the main resonance of the back.

[Freeman Keller]

Howard, as you probably know, there are three basic resonator configuration and they are quite different in construction. The one in the StewMac link is a biscuit bridge - they are most often made of metal but can also be wood. The 9 inch cone sits in a little well that suspends from the top by one inch. Here is a picture of a metal bodied one showing the cone well (and neck stick with mushrooms).





This would not be that hard to add to a normal flat top guitar - but as Michael suggests, get all of your hardware first and do a careful side view of the cone, bridge, neck angle. Also, there used to be some articles in the MIMF archive about how to add a cone well to a flat top.

Second kind is the spider bridge - the is what the Beard plans are for. The cone well is completely different and the neck stick ends at the edge of the well. Here is a picture of a 1932 Dobro spider





Lastly is the tricone - again, almost all are metal body (and there is a great long article in the archives) but I built one out of wood. I used a normal bolt on neck which has held up fine. Here is the cone well



and the finished guitar



Each kind of resonator has its own sound and while there is some overlap, the spider is often played lap style. I don't have plans for any of them,but I do have lots of information and would be happy to help you.

[Howard Williamson]

Freeman, Thanks, those pictures help. Yours is a beauty too ! What kind of wood is that ?

There's lots that I don't know. Looking at those Stewmac plans with no side view and no depth dimensions left me with more questions than answers. I've ordered a book through Amazon on resonators.
I'm not going to do anything just yet. Looking in the catalogues, all the hardware really starts to add up. I need to learn more about them before I start ordering hardware and cutting up wood.
I do think resonators and playing with a slide are very cool though !!!

[Alain Lambert]

This site has a lot of plans and info.
http://www.gitarrebassbau.de/viewtopic. ... =6&start=0

There are resonator bracing plans for top and back if you scroll down.

[Keith Ambridge]

Howard,
when I get back home after the holidays I will post the dimensions that I either guestimated or got from elsewhere to go with the StewMac article.

Keith.

[Freeman Keller]

Howard,
when I get back home after the holidays I will post the dimensions that I either guestimated or got from elsewhere to go with the StewMac article.

Keith.

And I'll do the same for my tricone and the other ones.

Freeman

[Andrew Porter]

Alain - I get a malware warning about the

http://www.gitarrebassbau.de/viewtopic. ... =6&start=0

site?

[Jim McConkey]

Probably a false positive. I get no warning, and that is a reputable guitar building site that has been around for quite a while.

[Freeman Keller]

OK, here are some measurements taken from my two factory built resonators. The are quick measurements so they might vary by +/- 1/16



1932 Dobro type 27. This was their cheapest model (sold for $27 new) - birch plywood body, spider cone, round neck, 12 frets clear, slot head. Upper bout - 10-5/8, lower bout 14-1/8, waist - 9, body length - 19-5/8, depth at heel - 3-3/8, scale - 24.5, nut 1-3/4+, string spacing at saddle 2-1/4, fretboard radius - flat. Didn't measure the cone well rim depth.

1980 Dobro Duolian. Bell brass body, biscuit cone, round neck, 14 frets clear, paddle head. This is very similar to a 14 fret National type 0. UB - 10-1/4, LB - 14-1/8, waist - 9-3/4, length - 18-1/4 (this is a 14 fretter, remember), depth - 3-3/8, scale - 24.5, nut 1-11/16, saddle spacing 2-1/16, fretboard radius - 16. Cone well rim depth is 1 inch as is my tricone.

If anyone is interested I can also post the specs of my tricone build - it is roughly an OM size body but fairly deep (4 inches) and only 12 frets clear.

I am sure that the OP knows what type of resonator he wants to build and how he will play it, but let me add some random thoughts.

- You can play a round neck lap style but it will slide around. You cannot play a square neck Spanish style. Hawaiian music was played on square neck tricones - I've never seen a square neck biscuit.
If you are in doubt, build a roundie - you can alway add a nut extender to play lap.

- If you want a true bluegrass dobro you want spider bridge, square neck, wide flat fretboard, action about 3/8 from end to end. Since you will string it heavy (16-56) and tune the bottom 2 strings up, I would build a neck stick. Do not glue the fretboard extension down (put two flat head screws under two of the dots) - you will need to change the neck angle to set action. The break point of the saddle will be exactly 2X the distance to 12. You can use a traditional cone well like my photos or a short well with some support sticks - resonator forums have lots of discussion about internal construction. Slot heads have the advantage that you can turn the tuners to face up - much easier to tune the guitar while it sits on your lap.

- If you plan to play Spanish style fretted, slide or a combination you want a round neck, either spider or biscuit or tricone depending on sound. If you will be 90 percent fretted consider a narrower radiused fretboard like my Duolian, however if you will be mostly slide I think a good compromise is 1-3/4 at the nut, 2-1/4 at the saddle and maybe 20-24 inch radius. Set the action just a hair higher than you would a normal acoustic but don't get carried away - maybe 0.080 on the high string and 0.090 or a little more on the low. I cut the nut slots close to the zero fret line. If your strings are basically flat you don't need super high action and it will be easier to fret.

- most resos have no compensation - the saddle is at 2X the distance to 12 and is straight across. This works OK for slide but will play pretty sharp when fretted - particularly up the neck. If you are going to play strictly fretted add some compensation.

- I used a bolt on neck on the tricone with a screwed down f/b extension. You don't have very much leeway in setup so you may have to move the neck. Neck sticks are traditional and recommended for high string tension guitars.

- when laying out your body start with the center of the cone and the location of the 12th fret - unlike an acoustic you don't get to move the bridge around at the end of the build. Also calculate the neck angle, cone height, cover plate and hand rest carefully. If its wood body, allow enough meet around the cone well for the screws.

- buy the best cones you can - thats what makes the sound. National "hot rods" for a biscuit or tricone, Quarterman or Beards for a spider. I've got a Paul Norman carbon fiber biscuit in mine - probably a waste of money over a good maple one. Ebony topped saddles in both the spider and tricone.

- build a "standard" size guitar that will fit a normal case. Most resonator cases have an indentation for the coverplate and palm rest as well as the tailpiece. A square neck needs a square neck case. Because my tricone is an odd ball I had to have a special case built which was not cheap.



Lastly, here is a build thread for the koa tricone. Not saying this is the best way to do it but it worked for me (fwiw, I called out the action at 0.090 high and 0.100 low, but I lowered it a bit after that)

http://bigroadblues.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11037

[Keith Ambridge]

Howard,
If I remember correctly the dimensions missing from the free StewMac stuff were the body depth.

I made mine 75mm at the heel and 95mm at the end block. The scale is 625mm.

By the way, as this was an experimental build, I made the soundboard and the back from 6mm plywood with no bracing.

Anything else, just ask.

Keith.

[Doug Shaker]

I'd love to see what the inside of a National Resophonic Tricone looks like. Does anyone have a photo they could post?