A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more metal cones ( resonators ) instead of the wooden soundboard (guitar top/face). Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion instruments in dance orchestras. They became prized for their distinctive sound, however, and found life with several musical styles (most notably bluegrass and also blues) well after electric amplification solved the issue of inadequate guitar sound levels.
Resonator guitars are of two styles:
- Square necked guitars designed to be played in steel guitar style.
- Round necked guitars, which may be played in either the conventional classical guitar style or in the lap steel guitar style.
There are three main resonator designs:
- The "tricone" ("tri" in reference to the three metal cones/resonators) design of the first National resonator guitars.
- The single cone "biscuit" design of other National instruments.
- The single inverted-cone design of the Dobro.
Many variations of all of these styles and designs have been produced under many brands. The body of a resonator guitar may be made of wood, metal, or occasionally other materials. Typically there are two main sound holes, positioned on either side of the fingerboard extension. In the case of single cone models, the sound holes are either both circular or both f-shaped, and symmetrical; The older "tricone" design has irregularly shaped sound holes. Cutaway body styles may truncate or omit the lower f-hole.History
National tricone
The resonator guitar was developed by John Dopyera, seeking to produce a guitar that would have sufficient volume to be heard alongside brass and reed instruments, in response to a request from steel guitar player George Beauchamp. Dopyera experimented with configurations of up to four resonator cones, and cones composed of several different metals.
In 1927, Dopyera and Beauchamp formed the National String Instrument Corporation to manufacture resonator guitars under the brand name National. The first models were metal-bodied and featured three conical aluminum resonators joined by a T-shaped aluminum spider which supported the bridge, a system called the "tricone". Wooden-bodied tricone models were originally produced at the National factory in Los Angeles, California. These models were called the "Triolian", however only 12 were made and the bodies meant for tricones were changed to single cone models, but the name remained.
Dobro
Main article: DobroIn 1928, Dopyera left National to form the Dobro Manufacturing Company with his brothers Rudy, Emile, Robert and Louis, Dobro being a contraction of Dopyera Brothers' and also meaning "good" in their native Slovak language. They released a competing resonator guitar with a single resonator with its concave surface uppermost, often described as bowl-shaped , under a distinctive circular perforated metal cover plate with the bridge at its centre resting on an eight-legged aluminium spider. This system was cheaper to produce, and produced more volume than National's tricone.
National biscuit
National countered the Dobro with their own single resonator model, which had previously been designed by Dopyera before he left the company, while also continuing to produce the tricone design which many players preferred for its tone. Both the National single and tricone resonators remained conical with their convex surfaces uppermost; the single resonator models used a wooden biscuit at the cone apex to support the bridge. Both companies at this stage were sourcing many components, and notably the aluminium resonators themselves, from Adolph Rickenbacher.
National Dobro, Hound Dog, and Gibson
After much legal action, the Dopyera brothers gained control of both the National and Dobro companies in 1932, and subsequently merged them to form the National Dobro Corporation. However all production of resonator guitars by this company ceased following the US entry into the Second World War in 1941.
Emile Dopyera (also known as Ed Dopera) manufactured Dobros from 1959, before selling the company and trademark to Semie Moseley, who merged it with his Mosrite guitar company and manufactured Dobros for a time.
In 1967, Rudy and Emile Dopyera formed the Original Musical Instrument Company (OMI) to manufacture resonator guitars, first branded Hound Dog. In 1970 they again acquired the Dobro trademark, Mosrite having gone into temporary liquidation.
OMI was acquired by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1993, who announced they would defend their right to exclusive use of the Dobro trademark, which had come to be commonly used for any resonator guitar. As of 2006, they produce several round sound hole models under the Dobro name, and cheaper f-hole models both under the Hound Dog name and also their Epiphone brand. All have a single resonator, and many are available in either round or square neck.
Other National instruments
After the formation of the National Dobro Corporation, the term National was often used to mean an instrument with a non-inverted cone, to distinguish these designs from the inverted-cone Dobro . Makers particularly used it for single-cone biscuit designs, as the relatively elaborate and expensive tricone was for some time out of production. Players and collectors also used the term for the older tricone instruments, which despite their softer volume and rarity were still preferred by some players.
In 1942, the National Dobro Corporation, which no longer produced Dobros or any other resonator instruments, was reorganized and renamed Valco. Valco produced a large volume and variety of fretted instruments under many names, with National as their premium brand. By the early 1960s, Valco was again producing resonator guitars for mail order under the National brand name. These instruments had biscuit resonators and bodies of wood and fiberglass.
In the late 1980s, the National brand and trademark reappeared with the formation of National Reso-Phonic Guitars. As of 2006, they produce 6 string resonator guitars of all three traditional resonator types, focusing on reproducing the feel and sound of old instruments. Their other resonator instruments include a 12-string guitar, ukuleles and mandolins.
Playing
Resonator guitars are popularly used in bluegrass music and in blues. Traditionally, bluegrass players used square necked Dobro-style instruments played as a steel guitar while blues players favored round-necked National-style guitars, often played with a bottleneck. However, some contemporary players disregard these stereotypes and use resonator guitars in a wide variety of musical contexts.
A common cliché in cinema is to use slow slide resonator guitar music to introduce a rural scene set in the Southern USA, see Dobro for details.
Styles and positions
The resonator guitar is most often played as a lap steel guitar, and the more common square necked version is limited to this playing position. Square neck instruments are always set up with the high action favored by steel guitar players, and tuned to a suitable open tuning.
The round necked version is equally capable in either lap steel or Spanish guitar position. It may be set up with a variety of action heights, ranging from the half inch favored for steel guitar (making use of the frets almost impossible) to the small fraction of an inch used by conventional guitarists. A compromise is most common, allowing use of a bottleneck on the top strings but also use of the frets as desired, with the guitar played in the conventional position.
Many different tunings are used. Some square neck tunings are not recommended for round neck resonator guitars, owing to the high string tension required, which in turn requires the stronger square neck. Slack-key guitar tunings are most suitable for bottleneck playing, and conventional E-A-D-G-B-E guitar tuning is also popular.
In bluegrass music
The resonator guitar was introduced to bluegrass music by Josh Graves, who played with Flatt and Scruggs, in the mid-1950s. Graves utilized the hard-driving, syncopated three-finger picking style developed by Earl Scruggs for the five-string banjo. Modern players continue to play the instrument this way, with one notable exception being Tut Taylor who plays with a flat pick.
Tuning for the resonator guitar within the bluegrass genre is most often an open G with the strings pitched to D G D G B D or G B D G B D, from the lowest to highest. Occasionally variant tunings are used, such as an open D: D A D F# A D
Other notable bluegrass players include Jerry Douglas, Mike Auldridge, Rob Ickes, Mike Witcher ,Phil Leadbetter, Sally Van Meter, Andy Hall, 'Cool Rockin' Sammy Soldani, Dave Giegerich and Russ Hooper.
In country music
The resonator guitar was used in older country music, notably by Bashful Brother Oswald of Roy Acuff's band, but has been largely supplanted by the pedal steel guitar.
In blues music
The resonator guitar is also significant to the worl
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