Resonator Tele

[Tedecaster]

Don't know if you guys saw this photo when it was posted yesterday by Resotele.




A very cool guitar. I am totally smitten. Has anyone else done one of these?

[amx1]

i saw it, first thought was WOW!!!!!

[Tedecaster]

I think I'm going to have to make one and move it right to the top of my project list

[Jack Wells]

Aw shucks ............... beat me to it. I should have mine finished in a few days.

....................................

[Tedecaster]

Boy, you are always one step ahead of the pack! I'm going to have to pick your brain about this one!
From my one day research it looks like the Dobro cone/plate is too big, are you going with National parts? Will the cone just sit on a rabbetted lip? I don't really know much about resonators though I know a few really good players. What have you heard about the diiference in sound between the biscuit bridge and the spider set-up? What are you planning for P/U's? I'm sure I'll think of more.

Letting the lacquer cure on my Pinecaster, I'll probably assemble it soon.

[Jack Wells]

I'll be using a biscuit bridge cone. Spider bridge cones and coverplates are larger and hard to fit to a Telecaster body. Resotele's also appears to be a biscuit bridge type. I'm using the same coverplate. The biscuit cone sits on the ledge at the bottom of the well. Mine will have a Telecaster neck pickup and a McIntyre feather pickup mounted on the cone. Two volume pots and a stereo jack will allow blending the pickups or separating them.
My coverplate is 10 in. in diameter. The cone is 9 1/2 in. in diameter.
I'll probably post construction pictures when it's finished.

[Tedecaster]

That's going to be one cool guitar. I'm assuming you located the cone based on the scale length. Is there any way to fine-tune intonation? How far off the bottom of the rout is the seat for the cone? Spin the biscuit, maybe? I am envisioning a more-hollow,Thinline constuction with a LP-style switch on the upper bout and a Gretsch style vol knob on the horn. But I do have a really heavy northern ash body I started years ago that might work great. That cone rout would lighten it right up! Will yours be stereo, because of the two types of P/U's?

[WonderCouncil]

Oooh I'd love to make one! A few years back I had a Danelectro U2 that I converted to a reso using a pie tin and some other junk. Worked pretty well but never got the contact mic to work the right way. Maybe I'll get back to fixing it up.

[Mike Simpson]

The other guitar player in our band has been playing a Resocaster that he made for years. I keep meaning to make one myself... I bought an old National Tele copy that I was going to put a cone in but it twangs so good I left it alone.

[Jack Wells]

I'd sure like to know where he got that short tailpiece.

[Tedecaster]

Check-out these.

http://www.beardguitars.com/tailpieces.html

I don't know if they are shorter than what you have, but they look fairly short.

[Jack Wells]

Those tailpieces are all the long type.

Note the short tailpiece in the above guitar.

[natsteel]

Not the one in the pic - but this is a short reso tailpiece ,
available from: Allen Guitars

[Arhooliegeorge]

Very nice, but don't your car look silly with only three hubcaps?

[bebopalula]

...the Saladmaster.

[Mike Simpson]

Originally Posted by jwells393

Those tailpieces are all the long type.

Note the short tailpiece in the above guitar.

I beleive he made that one by modifying a National tailpiece.

[Telecaster_Todd]

Thanks for the inspiration. I've been wanting a resonator for years. I think I'll start with a Squire Tele and rout it outusing resonator bits from Stew-Mac or so and see how it turns out. Here's my Photoshop Prototype.

[Shepherd]

Originally Posted by Arhooliegeorge

Very nice, but don't your car look silly with only three hubcaps?

LMAO

[jkingma]

I've got one on my List of Things to Build... I have all the parts... just me the time.

[Jack Wells]

Here's the build thread for mine.

Resonator Tele ........ My Build