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Joined:
July 2004
Posts: 474
Location: Anchorage, Alaska | My wife is thinking about trying to play the guitar. She likes the idea of a slide resinator that she can play on her lap. Any of you folks play these? Any recomendations for on one that won't break the bank? |
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Joined:
June 2004
Posts: 365
Location: NC | To me sounds like what I believe to be a dulcimer..........maybe I am wrong. If I am right they are more like folk instruments I guess and sound good. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Technically, they're square-neck resonators. Check out FleaBay for competitive pricing. They tend to be somewhat heavy, especially with brass bodies. There are several makers of these instruments, Johnson & Regal, on the low end, and progressing through Liberty, up to custom makers, on the upper end. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Buy a 6-string lap steel. Imported lap steels can be had on ebay for around $100 or less & if you are lucky you can find a vintage Magnatone or Oahu or something for less than $200, which could be a good financial investment. Using this route you can find out if she can cope with the technique, without spending a lot. Be warned, Lap steel is a LOT harder than it looks. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | A friend of mine bought a resonator guitar a year or so ago called a Regal. I just called & asked him & he said he paid $79 for it brand new. He ordered it online somewhere. It ain't no National but it's not a half bad box. It should be a good way to find out if she likes slide. It came with a gizzit for the nut to change it from slide to regular.
Also, Paul is absolutely right (as usual) about slide being a lot harder than it looks. I tried it years ago & gave up. Too hard. Might be easier if she was only playing it like a zither I suppose. |
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Fly Guy
I started out playing a lap steel when I was 15 or 16 years old, I already knew a little about rythym guitar playing and I had my brother and a friend to play with so I could learn to play songs. I bought a Mel Bay book on technique and tuning etc. and used an open E tuning. It was called Hawiian guitar then and the Mel Bay book had Hawiian songs but we played country so I had to learn country steel songs and techniques.
What kind of music would your wife be playing? That is important in deciding what type of steel guitar to buy, if you and she like folk and country, a resonator can sound good and even a cheap one will have the Dobro sound. The most difficult part of learning is that a steel guitar is played usually like a banjo in that you use finger and thumb picks and can play rythym chords by thumb strum, fingers flex sorta like a mandolin chunk in bluegrass, the melody playing requires fretting the strings with the bar and sticking slides in there like hammer on and pulloffs on guitar, except it is easier as you are moving the bar back and forth anyway. If you think about it, you can see the possibilities of picking 2 or 3 strings for harmonic variations, double stops in fiddle jargon.
The Dobro is a fun thing to play if you can handle it and no harder to play than an electric lap steel, that is my only disagreement with Paul T., I would reccommend starting on a Dobro type as they are great sounding with no amplification needed. If it doesn't work out with your wife I gaurantee you will find someone who will want to play it after you have heard the sound possibilities.
Bailey |
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Resinator Guitar Question