KenHan Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 Hi all, I've got a couple of acoustics that I really don't use, and at the same time I would love to have a resonator / dobro style acoustic ... Can I convert a regular acoustic to a resonator ? if so .. what do I need ? .. I get confused browsing on stewmac .. there seem to be alot of gadgets, but I don't know what is the required stuff. Money is tight, and the acoustics I have are not something that I could sell, because it is "no name" stuff ...but still kinda good to play. I am not familliar with the style/techniqueue to play a dobro, so I figure I would like to go cheap, and if I like it, and get decent sounds out of it I will go for a "real" dobro/resonator guitar when I can afford it. Also another question, are there any pedals that emulate the resonator sound for electric guitars ? thanks a bunch and have a great day //Kenneth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tirapop Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 Stewmac's trade secrets has a resonator conversion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 I have built one ”resolectric” and one thing to consider if converting an ordinary acoustic into an resonator guitar the amount of downward pressure that you will get on a flat top construction. Most acoustic necks don’t have enough (if any) neck angle and a resonator will need a slightly higher bridge to create that downward pressure compared to an ordinary acoustic. That is what caused me problems anyway. But hopefully there is someone else that can tell you more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeUK Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 I converted and old 3/4 scale acoustic a couple of years ago. I choose the national style reso kit so some bits may be different for the dobro kit The biggest problem for me was the scale length (length between the nut and bridge). You need to ensure there's enough body length in the acoustic so that the resonator bridge (under the chrome cover an sits on the cente of the cone) end up at the same distance/position as your current bridge, otherwise when/if playing normal guitar, notes will not stay in tune as you move up the fretboard. And obviously you need enough body to fix the the cone, chrome cover and tailpiece at that position. I got round this cause I wanted to change the freboard anyway - and used an ebony blank and fretted it to suit the new scale length. Hopefully on a full scale acoustic you shouldnt encounter this prob - but measure up just to make sure. I measured + took off the old bridge and cut out the circle for the resonator cone and cut a smaller circle from the scrap to fill in the normal acoustic soundhole. You have to use wood filler or epoxy to fill in any gaps so you'll never have a perfect looking wood top unless your very skillful + lucky or do as I did - painted all the body (+ neck) with a solid colour (Mine's gloss black). You need to build a soundwell in the body which is a round wooden frame which supports the resonator cone. I made mine with 2 scraps of hardwood jigsawed and routed with the correct dimensions to support the cone at the correct height - being 2 pieces made it easier to fit them through the hole then glue into position. The soundwell height is critical - it has to support the cone edges inside the body but the top of the cone which supports the biscuit bridge (on nationals), has to be just above the guitar body so that with the bridge is in position the strings are not too low or high above the fretboard. As I said before - these points are for a national reso conversion - they may not all apply to a dobro conversion. Here's another stewmac link for building a resonator which may give you more info. resonater kit instructions. http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/i-5290/i-5290.pdf Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenHan Posted January 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 Thank you very much for the help! I think I've not really grasped the difference between a resonatorand a dobro .. I thought it was the same thing, and just "nicknamed" DOBRO after the company that made them .. hmm.. Dobro and National Steel, didn't they used to be the two leading companies manufactoring Resonator guitars ? Or did I get this completely wrong ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeUK Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 Thank you very much for the help! I think I've not really grasped the difference between a resonatorand a dobro .. I thought it was the same thing, and just "nicknamed" DOBRO after the company that made them .. hmm.. Dobro and National Steel, didn't they used to be the two leading companies manufactoring Resonator guitars ? Or did I get this completely wrong ? Thats right - both companies produced (+ still do) resonator guitars but with a slightly different looking design. Also national are more famous for the metal bodied ones + dobro for the wooden bodies. you can buy resonator kits in either dobro or national style - the difference is mostly cosmetic. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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