Building a resonator guitar

[Donald A. Fortune]

I posted a comment here and was a lil ahead of my self-- I just recieved the plans from Elderly for making a resonator guitar--
I have questions for anyone in the know--
1.. can the body be made the size of a dred. (i dont have another form to use)
2.. Is there any bracing used for the top and back (plans do not show any)
3.. The plans call for a 3-1/2 inch total body depth and the sound well is only 3. . inches tall .. does that mean that the top and back are 1/4 inch thick??
any help here will be appreciated and thanx in advance..
NOTE I have never built a resonator gyuiar before, although I have built flat top guitars ..
Donald

[FRANK]

what You Mean By flat top Guitars is electric solid body?Acoustic Guitars trend to have raidused tops and backs .Need a Mold I can Make You one Cheep $80 and if you are in CA your in luck you can drop Buy and I can Help you Build Your Gyuiar

[Donald A. Fortune]

Hey Paul- thanx for the offer but I live in NC and the commute would be such as that I would be late for supper LOL
as for the expression "flat top guitar" Im talkin like a Martin D-28 and such.
as far as making a form I dont have any problem making it, Im just too lazy to do it,
especially if I can make the body the size of a D-28.
I think if I did live close to you, I bet you and I could sit and swap stories tho :)
PEACE
Donald

[Neil]

A lot of Resonator wood bodied guitars are made from ply-wood, I have a Gibson Dobro Hound Dog and It is made this way with the overall thickness of the ply being about .25". Some makers now are building them more like traditional "Flat Top" guitars and those have thinner tops & backs but are braced much like a standard "Flat top" is.

Check the plans you bought does it call for ply-wood? If you don't use ply and even if you use thicker top & back I would still brace it.

There are great "discussions" around about doing resonator guitars out of ply-wood vs solid woods. I tend to agree with those that say that the "Box" is more or less like a speaker box and doesn't need the addition resonance you would get out of a standard guitar top and that most of the sound is coming from the cone. I am interested in seeing the outcome either way though, good luck!

[Donald A. Fortune]

Hi Neil- thanx for the comments -- The plans call for a laminated wood to be 4.8mm,However,
Im thinking of doing it in Mahogny bks and sides and a spruce top...
I will keep this forem posted on my progress as I go along, and if it doesnt come out the way I want it to then I will just hang it on the wall.....
Thanx again for the post-- be safe
Donald

[Bob Gaddis]

You can make the body any shape and depth you want. The sound will be affected by the volume of air and shape of the body, as well as the spider, cone, adjustment, etc., etc. The sound well is the important part. With a sound well, you don't need primary bracing like a normal guitar. Some builders are using additional baffles to control the sound. There are different schools of thought concerning the material for the sound well and what shape the holes should be. Some like poplar with round holes. Others like trapezoidal holes. I've never been particularly interested in resophonic guitars...they all sound pretty much the same to me. No flaming please.... I've played vintage spruce tops, plywood tops, maple, walnut, mahogany, koa. Each is different. I have several friends who own Harlow guitars and they seem to like the walnut versions. I think dobro pickers are as goofy as us banjo pickers about tinkering with their instruments.

[Donald A. Fortune]

Hi Bob- your thinking and mine seem to run on the same track-- My body will be
a dred size and the sides and back will be american wallnut with a spruce top..
I havet thought about the extra bracing as yet because the project is still on the drawing board..
Thanx for the imput, its appreciated-- be well and safe--
Donald