January 10, 2009

Searching for the perfect (budget) resonator guitar

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rc2smAs the ancient proverb goes, “You do not choose a guitar, a guitar chooses you.” Ok, it might not be that ancient, but I heard it somewhere and it stuck. And so a guitar chose me one day as I walked into Smashing Guitars in Asheville, NC.

The Regal RC-2 was a shiny, nickel plated steel-bodied guitar begging me to pick it up. The sound was incredible, the action was perfect, and it played like a stick of butter. I had to have it.

Hopefully this article can help someone looking for a budget resonator guitar. Not having $2k to drop on a National (purrrrrr…), my options were limited. Ideally, $400-700 was my price range.

My criteria:

I play mainly blues slide, with some strumming as well, not too much soloing, accompanied by a harmonica, a kazoo, my foot stomping on the stage, and a capo.

The instruments I sampled

In my quest, I played the following instruments, all round-neck budget resonators in the $300-$800 range:


Here is my impression of the guitars I played

Fender FR-50
I played what I think was a Fender FR-50 at a guitar trader shop. It had a wood body, felt solid, played well, but didn’t have any grit or the tone I was looking for. It was the first one I played on my quest, and I knew there had to be something else. Plus, the Fender “F” logo holes really threw me off aesthetically. But for the cheap price it would make a better than average resonator.

Regal RD-40
The next two resonators I found were the Regal RD-40 wood bodied, and the Regal RC-2 nickel plated metal body. Both of these guitars looked beautiful. Never having played a resonator before, aside from the Fender, it was great to play slide and not have it hit any frets (I’ve been using my Martin for slide, but the action is too low).

I picked up the RD-40 first. The wood body had more of an acoustic guitar sound, but it also had that resonator twang I was looking for. I was impressed. It had a good warm tone, and I don’t remember too much more about it, because after I picked up the RC-2 everything changed.

Regal RC-2 Duolian
My first thought, especially looking at the price tag and the sheer beauty of the RC-2 was “no way am I buying this one, it’s too expensive and fancy, but I’ll pick it up just to see what it sounds like.”

When I strummed the first note in open G with a metal slide, angels rang down their songs from heaven, the skies parted, and the spirit of the blues rained down drops of Mississippi delta tone all over my body and soul!

Ok, so I loved it. It had that down and dirty blues sound I was looking for. I later found out that the duolian was what a lot of Delta blues players used waaaaaay back.

The RC-2 had tone, grit, bite, and it was smooth. The action was perfect, I was able to switch from open G slide playing to standard E strumming and still feel comfortable, i.e. the strings did not bite down hard into my fingertips. The action was of course a little high, to accommodate the slide, but it was still relatively comfortable to play chords a little ways up the neck.

It was also joined at the 14th fret to the body, and this will be an important factor. Just remember it was real easy and natural to bring that slide up to the 12th fret, as a lot of blues slide calls for.

The bridge was smooth on the fingers, too, as I did just a little solo noodling. It is definitely not a guitar to play blistering solos on, but it wasn’t so hard that It could not be done now and then.

The guitar was built solid and had a nice smooth round neck. It is heavy, but you have to expect this from a guitar with a metal body. There was a strap button on the bottom of the guitar but not on the inside by the neck

(Sidenote: Research & Metal Bodied Tone Perfection)

I walked out of the shop just craving to play the RC-2 some more. I went home to do some internet research, since I went into the store not knowing too much about them. I discovered that the wood bodied are favored by bluegrass and country players, the metal bodied by blues players. This made perfect sense to me, especially after hearing the grit and tone of the RC-2.

I then made up my mind that I’d get a metal bodied. The only thing that turned me off to the RC-2 was that shine… being a clean freak Virgo, the thought of polishing that chrome surface twice week was not making me happy. BUT MAN THAT TONE!!!!!

Regal Tricone RC-51
Next I found a Regal Tricone RC-51 at a local dealer. It had a good sound, but was joined at the 12th fret. The first time I tried to bring my slide up the 12th fret, I couldn’t reach it all the way. This was annoying. To be fair, it had a great sound and feel, comparable to the RC-2, but not having access to that 12th fret made it a no-go dobro for me.

Regal RC-1
The regal RC-1 looked the same as the RC-2, but had a gun metal finish that would be much easier to keep clean. It was also made of polychrome steel, and was not nickel plated. It was a little shop worn and had older strings and was hard to keep in tune because of this. It had that same swampy tone as the RC-2, but just a little more tinny, whereas the RC-2 had a lot of warmth to it.

The RC-1 felt like I was playing a cheap foreign made guitar, whereas with the RC-2 the body and neck felt very solid. The RC-1 almost felt like a toy compared to the RC-2, and the paint job also made it look and feel cheap. Budget-wise, if you had to settle for the RC-1 I don’t think you’d be disappointed. It is a solid guitar and had that swampy, dirty delta blues tone to it.

Regal RD-30 (black)
This black beauty ended up being in the running as one of my favorites. It had a clean acoustic sound, very warm, and played like a well made guitar. It felt great, looked great, but didn’t have that bayou twang.

Regal RD-38 (cream with gold hardware)
This was the best sounding guitar out of the whole lot at this shop. Looks-wise it was… well, as tacky as a cream colored guitar with gold hardware should be. It also had a new set of strings, which I’m sure added to the crystal clear sound. It was easy to tune, and just had a great, clear, impressionable sound to it. Plus there was a flaw in the paint job and he was letting it go for a ridiculous price. If I was looking for a wood-bodied resonator, it would have been a toss up between these two.

Johnsons

I played several Johnsons while I was there:

To be honest I was not impressed by any of them. They would be adequate for someone just wanting to noodle around and play at home. A professional musician would quickly outgrow these and would be dying to upgrade in a hurry.

They were a cheaper than the Regals, a good beginner resonator. I won’t even go into that much detail since they just didn’t amaze me.

I will mention that the Johnson Bottle Slide Triolian had a 12th neck joint, which threw me off just like the Regal Triolian. It was the most beautiful Johnson they had, but I just had to have access to that 12th fret!!!

Final Verdict

In the end, I kept going back to the RC-2. I researched other instruments online, seeing a few higher quality resonators that were in the $800-$1200 range, but I didn’t have that money to spend.

I also looked and looked for a metal bodied resonator that was not shiny like the RC-2, but they are hard to come by. I found a few on the net, but I am just not the type of person to order a guitar sight unseen. Each guitar is unique, and you really should play it before you buy it.

All this time the RC-2 just kept calling me back. So I made up my mind to go play it again and make an offer on it. I picked it up, and after playing all of those Johnsons and the RC-1, there was no comparison. It was all about the tone at this point, and the RC-2 had it all.

I made an offer, and took it home. It came with a nice black locking case. The action in the store was even set up perfectly, so I was able to take it home right then. I bought a stand, and he threw in the slide I was using, a chrome metal slide which looks nice with the chrome metal of the RC2.

Bringing it Home

I came home and jammed on my new baby, and there was a little buzzing in the strings. So, I decided to put on a new set. I read one review where someone opened up their RC2 and there was electrical tape inside, holding the cone in place, which is BAD and really affected the tone. I took off all the strings, removed the cover plate, and the cone. No tape, thank goodness.

(Note: When you change resonator strings, change them one at a time, since the strings keep the biscuit cone and bridge in place. Taking all of the strings off at once risks the chance of the bridge being misplaced when you put it back on. Make a mark on one side of it so you know you put it back on right! And just eyeball it to get it back on as straight as possible.)

With the new strings, the buzzing was gone, and it sounds so sweet! It’s like playing candy covered in butter and money.

As a footnote, some say to upgrade the cone to a Quarterman cone, which will take out a lot of the banjo-like tone of the RC-2. I have not looked into this yet, but I will say that when I opened the guitar up, the cone seemed very lightweight, and almost flimsy. I imagine a better made cone would improve the sound. It is also recommended that you get a good setup, which will make the guitar shine even more.

(I’ll mention that my other guitar is a Martin 000-16rgt acoustic with a LRBaggs pickup. Not to show off my gear, but just to say that I’m picky when it comes to gear, and if I’m going to get something it better be made well and sound good.)

I hope this article helps anyone looking to buy a budget resonator guitar. I was very happy with my purchase. Please feel free to comment on this article, if it was helpful, or if I left anything out.

June 9, 2008

When clients get burned

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The following is a true story. Names have been changed.

I’ve had many experiences as a freelance web designer, most good, some not. But even the worst don’t compare to my experience with “Bob” and his seemingly single-handed attempt to give web designers everywhere a bad reputation. He did a great job of taking people’s money and ruining not only their websites, but their perception of the web design industry. In the end, that was the only thing he was good at.

“Bob” and the damage done

Bob worked as a freelance web designer for a group that helped small businesses get online. They hired him to do several small to medium sized websites for their clients. I was hired to work for the same group after he was apparently let go, and my first few jobs were to fix what he broke. He was still in business at the time; now I believe lawsuits are pending, and I hope for all of our sakes that he gets run out of the web design field for good.

How Bad Was It?

After working with several of Bob’s former clients, I started to get the bigger picture. Complaints about Bob ranged from hysterical to downright creepy: Calls at 8pm at night to discuss the project. Other phone calls never returned. Showing up at a client’s place of work and ranting about the power-hungry government.

The worst was a client with a shopping cart. After taking their money, Bob set the shopping cart up under the trial period special that the cart company was offering. When the trial period expired he was nowhere to be found to turn the cart back on.

One of the best questions I received was “What are your office hours?” I responded, “I work a typical day, 9-6, why?” “Well, Bob would call me at 8pm and want to talk until midnight about my website, and that was just crazy!” I told them, “I’m finding out from you and other clients that there were a lot of things about Bob that were not…” (Both of us in unison) “Normal!” This little joking conversation helped to put the client’s fear aside for the time being.

Read more

June 7, 2008

2 years later, our wedding is still a hit!

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My wonderful wife Amanda and I were married on top of a cliff at Chimney Rock Park, Chimney Rock, N.C. It was an intimate 20-guest gathering, and the word on the street is that it was an event not to be forgotten (sorry for tooting our horns, but it was a lot of work to put together your own wedding (ask Amanda!) and we are gracious for the response!).

First, our good friend and wedding officiant, Rev. Georgette Cressend, has launched her own website at http://www.livingaslove.net with the help of her web guru, Joan Renton.

As our testimonail for her puts it:

“Our wedding simply would not have been the same without Georgette as our officiant. Her kindness, compassion, and tenderness is expressed wonderfully through her beautiful, poetic words and spiritual presence. I highly recommend her to anyone wanting to enhance their special occasion!”

– Amanda and Jon

Second, HGTV has a feature article on us on their website about DIY weddings! Amanda put so much work into the wedding, it’s good to see her get a little publicity for it. Here is the link for our “Cliff-Top Nuptuals” article!

June 7, 2008

Work In Progress

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Well, it’s that time again… blog updates! I love to update the look of my blog every year or so, to keep it fresh.

The theme of my blog is “Work In Progress,” simply because that’s what my life seems to be these days. Projects linger forever… artwork takes months to complete… songs take time to write and record… yet nothing ever feels “done.” Maybe it’s because of the digital medium being so easy to make changes to. Maybe I’m really obsessive about my work. Maybe I’m bored.

Who knows. Keep reading, hope you enjoy.

July 31, 2007

The most important business of all: yours

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Life running your own business has its ups and downs. The ups are great, the downs, not so great… unless you develop a plan! When business slows down, it’s time to market yourself.

The strange thing about marketing is that it might not pay off immediately. You need perseverance and a lot of patience to make it work. I started freelancing three years ago, and word of mouth helped tremendously for about the first year. Then things started to slow down. Read more

January 19, 2007

Logo and web portfolio additions

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What a busy season it has been! I hope everyone has had a great holiday and a prosperous beginning to this new year.

I’ve posted a few new websites and logos in the portfolio sections. I’m busy at work on several new websites that will be posted soon. Here’s a quick view of a few new pieces:


Thanks everyone for reading my posts and visiting the blog. If you are a new visitor, please feel free to drop me a line. Oh, for out-of-town visitors, you can finally put a face to the name on the about page.

Thanks!

Jon

January 19, 2007

Excellence Awards

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It always feels good to get a little something back after putting together a website, whether it be an award, a highly satisfied client, or lots of traffic for a client site. Well, this is definitely a highlight of my work as a web designer and developer so far.

Last year I had the opportunity to work with San Francisco companies Shepard Associates and VelocIT to build two websites for a medical device company using DotNetNuke (DNN). I was responsible for HTML/CSS production of a series of templates that were incorporated into the DNN content management system, which was custom built by VelocIT. I also ran a two-day on-site training session for the client to use the CMS, and produced a lengthy instruction manual on the CMS for the client.

Earlier this year, the client’s websites won three WebAwards from the Web Marketing Association. Shepard Associates, VelocIT and I worked tirelessly to develop the websites, which consisted of a consumer oriented site (Essure.com) and a site directed toward professionals (EssureMD.com). Highlights of these sites include geolocation, a WSYIWYG CMS for the client, and an online training section.

November 17, 2006

Book Review: CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions

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CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions
Andy Budd with Cameron Moll and Simon Collison

CSS Mastery, written by Andy Budd with Cameron Moll and Simon Collison, is perfect for all levels of CSS users; from novices to experts, there’s something in the book for everyone to learn.

CSS is short for Cascading Style Sheets, which, when used with HTML, gives web developers more control over how pages are displayed. It also allows the developer to control global styles with one file. For example, if you need to change a color or column width on 100 pages, simply change the CSS file and you’re done. CSS is a very powerful tool, and current trends in web design and development show that it will replace table-based designs.

The foundation of great CSS skills lies in constructing meaningful markup, i.e. code. I can hear many WYSIWYG web designers screaming, “NO!! Not HAND-CODING!!!” While Dreamweaver is great at visually creating table-based layouts, CSS requires a bit more hand coding… ok, a LOT more hand coding. But the rewards of learning this layout method are far greater than the drawbacks. Easy to manage sites, better search engine optimization, faster loading pages and more accessibility are just a few reasons you should be designing with CSS.

Anyone can jump into this book without any knowledge of CSS and learn quickly (putting all fears aside), but a little knowledge of HTML, XHTML and CSS will certainly help in grasping the key concepts outlined. Read more

October 25, 2006

New Coding Service Introduced

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I’m introducing a new coding production service as of today. It’s a “slice and dice” coding service that allows busy web designers and agencies to hand over layered design files to me, and I will translate them to xhtml/css table-less layouts with our without php includes. Turnaround times are pretty quick, and prices are very competitive. I’ve already been doing this regularly, and thought it would be a great vendor service to offer to agencies and designers.

If you are interested, Meebo me over there to the right, or email me.

September 28, 2006

Centered Tabs in InDesign

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Here’s a solution to a problem I’m sure a lot of designers run into. Imagine you are laying out document, any length or number of pages, and in the flow of text, there needs to be a 2-column list of services. For example, “We offer the following services: Service 1, Service 2, Service 3… Service 8.” There are a few ways to approach this. Read more

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