Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on May 27, 2011 at 7:47pm

 

Hi Mike,

I'm no Reso-CBG expert, but the way I look at it is there are two major classes of Reso-CBGs: those that use standard reso cones and those experimental designs that use just about everything else under the sun in hopes of achieving that "reso-sound". As an example of a standard cone, consider Old Lowe's cones shown in the following photo.

The most sure-fire way of achieving that sometimes elusive "good old reso sound" is to go ahead and buy a reso cone and install it in a large wooden cigar box. Old Lowe's are one of the easier ones to install. After cutting the hole, just drop in the cone and screw it down to the sound board with a dozen wood screws. Once the rest of the CBG is complete, string it up with a wooden biscuit placed in the middle of the cone followed by a bridge piece. Tune it up and you're ready to jam! Other cones may not be as easy to install, but none the less can give you that "good reso sound". Here is the list of cone makers/sellers that I have compiled:

 

Resonator Cone Makers/Sellers

• Mike Lowe (Old Lowe) High quality 6" brass or aluminum cones for CBGs ($25.00)
• Republic Guitars Make a variety of sizes, including a 6" one for ukuleles ($25) and nice cover plate ($30) that work well for CBGs
• National Reso Phonic Guitars Cones for Ukes and CBGs ($60)
• Delta Resonator Cones (UK) Cones for Ukes and CBGs (£40.00)
• Pete Moles (Molanator Guitars / Tasmania) Aluminum 'Molo Cones' for full sized guitars
• Slunky53 on E-Bay Cones for Ukes and CBGs ($59.00)
• Klangbox (Austrian) 4.7" (12cm) brass cones for smaller cigar boxes ($18)
• Ben Moor's (Roosterman) Homespun Candy Cones for CBGs

Note 1: Plus Shipping Charges

 

For experimental designs, your chances of achieving that good old reso sound will be a lot more "if-ier" to say the least. This is not to say you won't end up with an interesting sounding instrument, but you probably will have more design hurdles to cross before you get some good results. There are a number of builders at CBN (Cigar Box Nation) that are well known for their experimental reso designs. One person that comes to mind is 'Bairfoot Cajun'. You should go check out his photo collection. The other thing to try is to search on the words "reso" and "resonator" using the search engine built into the CBN website. Here's an interesting thread regarding experimental Reso-CBG designs: link to thread.

 

There are 3 or 4 discussion groups in CBN where the topic of Reso-CBG often appear. These include:

• CBN Reso Group #1: How Loud Can We Make It?
• CBN Reso Group #2: How Good Can It Sound Unplugged?
• CBN Reso Group #3: Super Advanced Cigar Box Guitar Building
• CBN Reso Group #4: Home Made Resonator Boxes 101

The last group listed is my discussion group which was originally intended for discussions on basic wooden soundbox building for those who don't have easy access to cigar boxes. But, my misfortune use of the word "Resonator" in the groups name has opened it up to a number of Reso-CBG discussions, and as a service to users I put together a link page into other places in CBN where Reso-CBG members can get their questions answered. Most of the information provided here in this reply is from this 4th discussion group, but most Reso-CBG experts haunt the other three discussion groups.

 

Well, good luck in getting your questions answered. And happy building...

 

-Rand.

Permalink Reply by Sean Laffey on May 28, 2011 at 4:38am

In resophonic guitars a  resonator is a cone of metal, usually aluminium, which  vibrates when the strings are struck. The cone amplifies their vibraton and the guitar sounds louder.

 

Palm Guiatrs ( google for them) in Amsterdam have a wonderful collection of vintage resonators, I was captivated by a resophonic tenor guitar there last year, the 3K price tag was a major ouch, but boy did it  sound good.

 

Homemade Resonators in CBGs might be flogging a dead horse, the air space and  top size of a CBG might be too small to get something very loud out of a resphonic cone, but it might produce a pleasing effect. Then again you might hiot lucky and you might get extra volume and that sound you are looking for

Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on May 28, 2011 at 1:31pm

Thanks for your input, Sean. It's got me thinking some more...

The best resonators tend to be large, very thin and made from light weight metals like brass or aluminum. A heavy stainless steel hub cab or bowl won't make as good a resonator as similarly shaped object made of thin aluminum. However, many volume issues that occur with poor metal resonators can be overcome with piezo pickups and a good amplifiers. Also, some builders prefer to build their own boxes around the larger resonators rather than be limited to the dimensions of most cigar boxes. Some cone makers like Republic, National also make 9.5" cones for full sized guitars, and if you want to build a good sounding Reso-box guitar with large acoustic volume, then buying a 9.5" cone and building your own box around that is another sure fire formula for success. But 9.5" cones tend to be very expensive, and a good point of compromise is a 6" cone in a large cigar box with some kind of amplification (minimally piezo, but perhaps a combination of piezo and magnetic pups).

I'm planning on buying a couple 6" cones this summer when I return to the States so I can try them out in instruments I build this coming year. Until then, much of what I said is based on hearsay (or what I've read) and some experience I have with building canjos and panjos.

-Rand.

 

Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on May 28, 2011 at 1:39pm

Thanks for your input, Sean. It's got me thinking some more...

The best resonators tend to be large, very thin and made from light weight metals like brass or aluminum. A heavy stainless steel hub cab or bowl won't make as good a resonator as similarly shaped object made of thin aluminum. However, many volume issues that occur with poor metal resonators can be overcome with piezo pickups and a good amplifiers. Also, some builders prefer to build their own boxes around the larger resonators rather than be limited to the dimensions of most cigar boxes. Some cone makers like Republic, National and Delta also make 9.5" cones for full sized guitars, and if you want to build a good sounding Reso-box guitar with large acoustic volume, then buying a 9.5" cone and building your own box around that is another sure fire formula for success. But 9.5" cones tend to be very expensive, and a good point of compromise is a 6" cone in a large cigar box with some kind of amplification (minimally piezo, but perhaps a combination of piezo and magnetic pups).

I'm planning on buying a couple 6" cones this summer when I return to the States so I can try them out in instruments I build this coming year. Until then, much of what I said is based on hearsay (or what I've read) and some experience I have with building canjos and panjos.

-Rand.

P.S. Sorry for the second post, but I ran out of editing time before I could add "and Delta" to the original posting.

Permalink Reply by Mike Whisenhunt on May 28, 2011 at 2:53pm

Thanks for the info, guys. You cleared it right up for me. Don't think I'm to the point to try adding a resonator cone to any of my upcoming builds just yet. Not that I'm intimidated, just not there yet.

 

Thanks again for the links, Randy.

 

Mikey