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Asking again...

Hi all:

Still looking for some good, detailed info on building a reso CBG. Especially in terms of what you did for the "reso part". The parts used, the sizes, how they fit together. I've pretty much got the rest of the build under control. Any advice would be most appreciated!

Thanks all -

Chaplain Will

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Permalink Reply by Scott aka Farmer Ted on January 21, 2014 at 1:10am

Lots of things can be used for the resonator. CB Gitty sells Lowe cones (spun brass, copper, or aluminum reso cones) that work very well and look great.

Other reso's may be an upside down stainless dog bowl, a vehicle license plate, or any other metallic item that will fit on/in the box.

Lots of pictures here, which serve as a visual aid.

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Permalink Reply by Will T on January 21, 2014 at 2:36am

Thank you - most helpful!

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on January 21, 2014 at 1:15am

A paint can lid works well too. Just make sure the hole is not too big and the lid fits snugly since the lip is not very large.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on January 21, 2014 at 1:26am

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Permalink Reply by Yankee Dog on January 21, 2014 at 2:01am

I suggest you spend some time googling resonator guitar plans in general. It may take awhile to find a decent schematic plan, but they are out there. What you will find is that real resonator guitar have TWO "bowl" shaped pieces of metal that fit together and vibrate to give that resonator buzz.

The bottom bowl is supported by the guitar body only around the rim. I sumise to let it vibrate more. The top bowl rests inside the bottom and is held down mostly by string tension. You may see a fastner between to the two, but it looks to me like this is an adjustment nut. Not something to hold the two together. The top bowl usually has a bunch of cutouts. This is to let the buzz from the two pieces of metal out.

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Permalink Reply by Will T on January 21, 2014 at 2:35am

Thanks very much!

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Permalink Reply by Will T on January 21, 2014 at 2:35am

Thank you!

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on January 21, 2014 at 2:04am

If you are looking for that metallic sound in general, here is a Halloween themed CBG that my son in law built. It has a piece of sheet metal glued to the back side of the lid. You can see it in the mouth. It sounds a lot like a reso.

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/jack-o-lantern-3-string?context...

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Permalink Reply by Will T on January 21, 2014 at 2:35am

Thanks - I appreciate it!

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on January 21, 2014 at 2:56am

Here are my 3 resos all done with Lowe Cones. All sound demos are acoustic unless you see me plug in (only the copper cone guitar). All recorded directly off my smartphone.

You can see a fair amount of detail on the construction of each, but I don't give dimensions or specifications. Three guitars with the same type cone, but 3 pretty different construction techniques, stringing and character. Shows some variety.