Resonator Guitars

Today it is hard to believe that there was life before pick-ups and e-guitars and, moreover, it´s even more difficult to believe the logical problems musicians were forced to face without them: Guitars of that day and age (usually small 0-forms) were not loud enough to play with wind instruments or pianos.

In 1908 the Dopyera Brothers immigrated to the US and founded the National Company in Los Angeles with George Beauchamp, Adolph Rickenbacker and others. Their aim was quite clear. They wanted to build a guitar which was extremely loud, so that it would no longer only be used as an accompanyist, but as a solo instrument. John Dopyera experimented with a lot of different resonators and different materials. The first playable draft, inspired by Beauchamp, was a horizontal guitar, with a horm looming out of the rear end like a gramophone. Beauchamp used this instrument for a short time, but the sound features were - let´s say - limited.

In 1926 John Dopyera patented the Tricone; the first resonator guitar was born. The three resonators consisted of aluminium and were connected to each other by a t-bridge where the strings ran across. The resonator was put in train by the vibrations of the strings (practically like speakers). The body was made of brass. George Beauchamp suggested to build a Single Cone version, but John didn´t like the sound which is why they seperated and went their own ways. Beauchamp patented the Single Cone and John Dopyera left the company to him and founded the Dobro Company (Dopyera Brothers). The Dopyera Brothers also built Single Cones, but with wooden bodies that made the sound softer.

The story continued when one of the Dopyeras left the company and overflew to National. Beauchamp then left the company in 1932 and the Dobro Company and the National Company merged. At this point everybody was building guitars for everybody. There were resonator guitars with the one name and with the other and at the same time they were producing for Regal, Harmony and Gibson. So it was a total chaos! When America joined in the Second World War in 1941, metal that was needed to build resonators became scarce, as it was needed for the arms industry.

Today there is a suggestive classification by Bob Brozman. Brozman differs between:
1. Tricone or Single Cone
2. Squareneck or Roundneck
3. Body of German silver, brass, steel or wood
4. Solid or slotted headstick
5. Neckbody connection at the 12th or 14th fret

The secret of a good resonator guitar lies in the choice of the material and furthermore in the manufacture of a good resonator and body. That´s not as easy as it sounds, as a resonator must be made of very thin material to be able to vibrate and still bear the high string pressure. Another teaser is the neck-body-connection. The company National Resophonic which took back up production in the 80s is keeping this construction detail top secret. Exactly this connection is significantly responsible for the sustain charcteristic of the guitar. To put it in a nutshell:

The following resonatior guitars have the following features:
1. The brass and steel models are the loudest.
2. Brass sounds softer than steel.
3. Tricones have a softer and more sustainable tone than Single Cones.
4. Resonators with wooden bodies are more sustain, but unfortunately they are also the most gentle.

If you read the first part of this summary, you´ll think the resonators have lost their authorisation in the day and age of the electric guitar. It´s not like that! Due to its´ various types it is quite multiple-purposed, playable in normal guitar atmosphere, at full open-tunings, with picks or with slides. Unlimited possibilities are opened for country-soloists, Hawaii-lovers, fans of country-blues and all guitarists who want to try out something different for a change.