Topic: duco finished resos

[unezrider]

hello friend,
come summer time, i've been thinking about looking into a reso. the majority that are in my area, & i am able to get my hands on, are various cheaper foreign made brands. some look better than  others, but they all sucked. some more so than others. i've had the opportunity to play a few vintage ones that sounded really cool. but the necks & action were at a point that fretting @ the 5th fret or higher was real work - if not impossible. I also had a chance recently to play a national delphi w/ the cool-looking duco finish. it played really well. i found the nut spacing to be very comfortable too - but the sound was way too warm & muted. it didn'tgrowlat all.
so i've been doing a little research & have come upon conflicting view points. for example, i see bob brozman says there is no difference in sound between the duco & non-duco'd delphi, where on the littlebrotherblues.com it is explained that there is indeed a difference in sound. the difference mentioned, by the way, echoed my experience w/ one.
i was wondering if anyone here has played enough resos & could give their opinion on this issue.
& sort of a side issue, has anyone played a republic resonator? i see them on ebay a lot. like i said, my experience w/ the cheaper ones leaves me in serious doubt here. i read the lengthy post on igs, but that really went no where in answering any questions.
thanks guys,
chris

[Richard]

I suggest you take a trip to Michael Messer's website he has road tested many guitars and is very knowledgeable regrding genuine Nationals plus his forum holds lots of info and opions on it all..........

www.michaelmesser.co.uk

[unezrider]

thanks for the link, richard.
looks as if he's also coming out w/ his own models soon, too. http://michaelmesser.proboards7.com/index.cgi?board=talkingblues&action=display&thread=1203817419&page=1
more to look into.
i may have been confusing the duco w/ the powder finish, by the way. not sure if thats the same thing...

[bighollowtwang]

This is a "Duco" finish:

http://www.vintagenationals.com/DelphiGold-facL-national-gu.gif
http://www.vintagenationals.com/DelphiDuco-faceR-national-g.gif

It's not the same as a powdercoat finish. As far as differences in tone go, I think the cone, how the bridge saddle slots are cut, the neck angle, and overall setup (which is very variable on the imports) is what really makes the sound vary in individual guitars - the finish, on a metal bodied guitar (assuming we're talking about paint as opposed to nickel plating or chrome plating) is going to have a nearly imperceptible effect on tone.

[unezrider]

big hallow,
i was confusing the two. the national delphi i played had the powder coating on it. it just seemed to lack any real bite. i've never had a chance to play the 'vintage steele' model of the same thing to see if there is a tone difference from the finish or not. (the duco, by the way, really is cool looking - imo).
chris

[NevadaPic]

I had a National Delphi for awhile but let it go pretty much for the same reason you cited.  It is unlikely that the finish has much effect on the tone of these guitars.  I was reviewing the National Resophonic website this morning however and listened to the soundclips associated with the 'baritone' models of their offerings.  They are tricone, longer scale, 13 fret to the body and more like what I had in mind for a steel or brass-bodied guitar.  I don't think they are giving them away though...  I don't know how much they cost but probably more than what I might want to pay.

Pic