Shiny Objects Of Desire

I definitely have an obsessive personality. Back in the day, I used to have a basic steel-body resonator guitar which had a decent action and which sounded the business. I sold it for next to nothing when we moved back to the UK from the States. Stupid, stupid thing to do. If you have a nice guitar, don't sell it. If you need some cash then sell a frikkin' kidney, instead... you have two!

The other day Tim dropped the hint that maybe the birthday equivalent of Father Christmas... or the Tooth Fairy... whatever, might have a shiny surprise in his sack this year... presumably I have to be a good boy to qualify for such treatment?

I absolutely love steel-body resonators, both in terms of the way they look and their distinctive metallic sound. I really want either a genuine Dobro (now owned by Gibson) or a National tricone. Either one... I'm not fussy. The only problem is the price. I have a sneaking suspicion that the ol' birthday budget may fall short of the wedge required for such esteemed brands. Nevertheless, my obsessive personality has had me scouring the 'net for shiny, shiny guitars.

For those who don't know, resonators were first conceived as a way of mechanically amplifying guitars so that they could be heard above louder instruments, such as horns, or to cut through background noise in clubs. They never really established themselves due to the advent of electric guitar technology. Resonators look similar to acoustics as far as body shape goes, but in fact they work in a very different way. In regular acoustics, the vibration of the strings is transferred to the body of the guitar which vibrates in sympathy, generating the sound. In resonators, the string vibrations are transferred via a saddle to one or more aluminium cones, which act like speakers. The body of the guitar is effectively the speaker cabinet. Single (large) cones will be louder, whereas multi-cone models (eg a tricone) tend to have more resonant harmonies and hence give a richer sound with more sustain.

Ach, you know, I wouldn't even mind a non-USA brand like Amistar. They make some very pretty toys!