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Guitar 101: Resonator Guitar | Blog

Apr 13, 2022

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What you're thinking of is called a resonator guitar. The disc of metal you can see on the outside is actually a covering and underneath there's an elaborate amplification device that lets the guitar make a distinct sound like no comparable.

 What Is Resonator Guitar?

Resonator Guitar Origin

In the mid 1920s, guitarist for steel George Beauchamp asked luthier John Dopyera to design a better guitar to remedy this issue. Together , they founded the National firm and created the first guitar with resonators. It was named the National Tricone, the instrument included three cones of aluminum. It became widely popular among steel guitar players, who utilized tone bars and slides to glide over the strings.

Dopyera later left the National and established the Dobro company along with his brothers (Dobro was a portmanteau word for Dopyera Brothers and also means "goodness" in their native Slovak). The company developed a completely new form of resonator guitarthat was a single cone and was significantly cheaper to build. This model became so popular that even today, most people use the terms "Dobro" as well as "resonator guitar" interchangeably.

 The different types of Resonator Guitars

There are several varieties of resonator guitars which differ in which resonator is used and whether they come with a round or square neck, as well as the material of the body.

The type of resonance

Biscuit resonators have a single metal cone that is convex and faces towards the outside. The cone has a smaller circular piece of wood at its middle, which is known as the "biscuit," to which the bridge of the guitar is attached. The notes that are produced by a biscuit resonator are punchier, but they don't have a lot of sustenance.

The spider resonators have one cone. It's turned upside down, which means that its concave side faces the outside. The bridge of the guitar sits on top of a metal structure that resembles an elongated spider web. It transmits waves to the outside of the cone. Resonators made of spiders have a long sustain but don't produce as much volume as biscuit resonators.

Tricone resonators have three small cones, which are connected through a T-shaped steel bar that supports the bridge. They provide a great blend of volume and endurance but they're more complicated and expensive to construct as compared to single cone models.

Neck Shape

Resonator guitars can have the option of a square or round neck. Round square guitars are perfect for playing the instrument like an ordinary guitar, or with the hollow slide with your fingers.

Square neck guitars aren't comfortable to play like traditional guitars. Instead, they are designed to be played as an electric lap guitar by placing the body on your lap and a solid tone bar within the left hand.

Body Material

Some resonator guitars are made of wood, with just the resonator portion made from metal. Others have a body that's made entirely out of metal. Wood-bodied guitars produce a warmer and less abrasive tone, which is similar to how a standard acoustic guitar might sound. Metal-bodied guitars, on opposite, feature a much brighter, sharper tone.

 Different types of Resonators Guitar Music

The resonator guitar sound is usually associated with music genres like blues, bluegrass and country. Country and bluegrass players generally utilize square neck guitars. They perform them similar to lap steel guitars. However, blues players use round neck guitars, and play them in the conventional posture.

 How to Play a Resonator Guitar

If you're playing a square neck guitar, the only way to play it is to place the instrument on your lap and use it like an steel guitar. You'll hold a solid tone bar with your fretting hand and slide it over the strings, while playing the guitar with your fingers, or using fingerpicks.

If the resonator guitar you have features a neck that is round that you are able to play like a lap steel guitar or hold it just like a regular guitar but play it with the slide. Slides are hollow tube you wear onto one of the fingers of your fretting hand and move across the strings. Other fingers are able to be free to play the strings, and make chords.

In either case the best option is to set your guitar in open tuning. This way, even when you're not fretting any of the strings but are merely using the tone bar or slide, the strings are still able to produce a pleasant toned chord.

Is a Resonator Guitar Right for You?

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