Home › Forums › Guitar Techniques and General Discussions › Taj Mahal’s acoustic guitar – really unusual!
- This topic has 8 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 2 months ago by Marty V.
-
CreatorTopic
-
February 20, 2018 at 12:51 am #93167
This is the most interesting acoustic guitar I’ve seen in a while:
Sunjamr Steve
-
CreatorTopic
-
AuthorReplies
-
-
February 20, 2018 at 1:35 am #93168
It’s probably a National Reso-Phonic Tricone
A more affordable version: Republic Tricone
-
February 20, 2018 at 3:29 am #93174
Yeh, Marty, it looks like you’re totally correct. I’ve never heard of these before. After a bit of Googling, it seems most of them are metal bodies, and quite heavy – to the point where it’s hard to hold them on your leg. Although I guess the main reason you don’t see so many of them is because of the cost: around $4000 US.
Sunjamr Steve
-
-
February 20, 2018 at 3:29 am #93173
I’m having breakfast with the sun shining and listening to Taj Mahal’s haunting guitar melody. What a fabulous syncopated number, thank you Steve for this posting.
Richard
-
February 20, 2018 at 6:16 am #93182
Yeh, Marty, it looks like you’re totally correct. I’ve never heard of these before. After a bit of Googling, it seems most of them are metal bodies, and quite heavy – to the point where it’s hard to hold them on your leg. Although I guess the main reason you don’t see so many of them is because of the cost: around $4000 US.
Resonators are definitely heavy guitars — although there are wood versions of them too. Not exactly the same sound, but similar. Steel, the metal ones aren’t so heavy they’re unplayable, it helps to be sitting down.
One thing to consider about these guitars is that you can’t palm-mute with them — there’s a cover over the bridge (the bridge floats on a fragile aluminum cone, so you don’t want to press on it!). But they’re especially used for playing slide guitar, so that’s not as much of an issue.
The Tricone is different from the standard biscuit bridge resonators, so maybe it doesn’t have that issue (I’ve never played one). Also note that there are also Dobros out there, which have a different sound (they’re usually wood guitars — they have the twin sound holes).
The National Reso-Phonic brand is kind of surfing on the fame of the original National brand — sort of like the new Gibson company has done with the Gibson brand.
But you can find plenty of good-quality similar guitars, like the Republic line. More higher-end were the Amistar line, which were really beautiful, nicely made (in the Czech Republic) guitars. Here’s one that sold on Reverb recently
-
February 20, 2018 at 12:55 pm #93185
Beautiful. I guess I think about them like I think about dogs: I love them, as long as other people own them.
Sunjamr Steve
-
-
February 20, 2018 at 2:13 pm #93188
Beautiful. I guess I think about them like I think about dogs: I love them, as long as other people own them.
There are parlor versions too! That’s my preference — I just sold my Republic Miniolian (since I don’t play slide and I don’t like guitars lying around unplayed)
But if I’m ever in the market to pick up a new one, I’ll get one of these
But you might like one of these
-
February 20, 2018 at 3:13 pm #93190
Beautiful. I guess I think about them like I think about dogs: I love them, as long as other people own them.
Quite a good bit of reading on ..Wiki.. about resonator guitars, the must be quite a loud animal if the had to compete with other instruments..
..Billy..
-
February 21, 2018 at 2:40 am #93195
Beautiful. I guess I think about them like I think about dogs: I love them, as long as other people own them.
Quite a good bit of reading on ..Wiki.. about resonator guitars, the must be quite a loud animal if the had to compete with other instruments..
They’re definitely louder than a normal acoustic. But they’re really most interesting for their sound, which is unique in the guitar world and cannot be emulated.
-
-
AuthorReplies
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.