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Author
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Topic: Johnson vs Regal Resonators...any thoughts?
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Rick Schmidt
Member From: Carlsbad, CA. USA
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posted 15 October 2003 04:09 PM
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I'm here to admit that I know nothing about
what makes a decent resonator guitar. I'm on a really tight budget, but want to get a halfway decent sounding guitar for recording and small gigs. I also probably want to put a pickup of some kind on, so that might make up for what these cheaper axes might be ultimately lacking acoustically. I've been playing PSG and lap for 30 years and have recently got the "Dobro" bug. I've got a friend/dealer who wants to sell me a very inexpensive Johnson. He says it's as good as a Regal. How much difference does it really make at that level of instrument? Am I gonna regret spending my money on one of these at all, even though any more than $300 is way down my priorities at the moment?
Thanks in advance....
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Ed Miller Jr
Member From: Coldwater,Mi USA
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posted 16 October 2003 01:59 AM
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I've had great luck selling them in my store.
The only thing I reccomend is to replace the plastic nut with a bone one. Sure, a better cone and Ebony capped maple saddles will help but that can be done when fund are availible. Generally, every Johnson Dobro I've recieved has needed little tweeking to get a decent sound. |
Wayne Carver
Member From: Martinez, Georgia, USA
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posted 16 October 2003 07:40 AM
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The Regal RD45 is suppose to be about the best of the cheap resos. I have one and am satisfied with it. The only other brand I got to try was a Fender and it didn't even sound like a reso. |
Jesse Pearson
Member From: San Diego , CA
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posted 16 October 2003 08:55 AM
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I have a single cone Johnson Reso that has Hawaiian stuff sandblasted on it. I use .014 on up to .058 on it for strings. The body is made of bell brass. It is still stock and I use a SM57 to mic it, sounds great that way and you get all of the true Reso sound the way it is suppose to sound. I play it in Open G and Open D for delta blues, mostly bottle neck. I have busked with it downtown without micing it and it makes money but takes alot out of you this way, the SM57 is a great sounding and cheap way to mic it. If you put a pickup on the biscuit, your still not gonna get the true Reso sound that micing will give you. The very low end Johnson dobro's don't sound good to me at all, but the bell brass guitars are one of the best values out there IMHO. |
Michael Johnstone
Member From: Sylmar,Ca. USA
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posted 16 October 2003 06:54 PM
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I'd get a Regal or a Flinthill(same guitar)way before I got a Johnson - way better workmanship and much better stock tone and volume.It's a much better platform for a guitar you might plan to upgrade. The Johnson Tri-Cone is OK tho but it also could use a cone upgrade.I recently got an all mahogany squareneck Regal RD-45 w/Quarterman cone/nut/bridge conversion. It sounds real good to me and is much louder than the stock OMI 70s Dobro D-60 my friend was loaning me - it blows it away quite frankly. I picked up a Fishman transducer at Scotty's this year at the Beard booth for around $75 so now I've got about $500 in the thing and it sounds about as good as it needs to sound for me for the forseeable future. Now all I gotta do is learn to play it..... -MJ- |
R. L. Jones
Member From: Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA
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posted 16 October 2003 08:45 PM
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The best one I`ve found in that range is the epiphone ,,they are made by Samic.
it is a Gibson product ,, But they are great
R. L.
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Rick Schmidt
Member From: Carlsbad, CA. USA
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posted 16 October 2003 09:07 PM
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Thanks for the input guys! I guess now it's a done deal...the guy with the Johnson is gonna trade it straight across if I play a one and a half hour gig on PSG with his band next week. I'd say thats a pretty darn good deal from my standpoint. Yahoo! I just so happened to see another Johnson today in fact, and it seemed good enough for now. Now I'm off to write another newby thread about reso multiple tunings.  How often is that done? |
Mike D
Member From: Phx, Az
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posted 17 October 2003 07:32 AM
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Well, Regal has the old and highly regarded name, but Johnson has the implied association with the famous Bluesman, plus the 'carnal' thing given the slang term often used for the male member. ie, I played with my Johnson all night long." 
Overall, take these budget jobs as individuals as I've seen very good, and horribly bad examples of each. |
Grant Johnson
Member From: Nashville TN
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posted 17 October 2003 08:30 AM
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Oh, If I had a dime for every Johnson Joke!
It ain't easy being a Johnson!
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Andy Zynda
Member From: Wisconsin
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posted 17 October 2003 02:28 PM
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When I was shopping for a reso, (cheap) I tried:
Epiphone, Regal, Johnson, (Metal and wood) roundnecks, Fender, Samick, and Dean.The Johnson squareneck wood reso blew all the rest out of the water, including the Johnson Metal, and roundneck woodie. Just lucky? Who knows. I have had vintage reso owners comment on the sound that comes out of that cheapo Johnson.
2 cents...
-andy-
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Andy Volk
Member From: Boston, MA
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posted 18 October 2003 07:10 AM
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I'd recommend the Regal with the Paul Beard upgrades. But really, if at all possible, I'd find a way to spring for a higher quality instrument. You'll be very glad you did in the long run. |
Jesse Pearson
Member From: San Diego , CA
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posted 18 October 2003 10:30 AM
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Quite frankly Andy, I don't see how my Johnson could get any better for the sound you get when it's got a mic on it. How owning a pricier instrument is gonna make a person happier when the reality is once you reach a certain point on the sound and sustain that is put out on a Reso, which is not a complex sound, it's in your hands and talent you have developed that is gonna make the difference. Pricey instruments don't make the player and never have. Johnson is a good example of how a bunch of different factors are producing great sounding and playing Reso's that are very affordable. I drive an old truck and could care less about owning a shiny new truck that I would have ta trip out on because of all the money tied up in it. If you have the money to burn on costly stuff, more power to ya, but it's not gonna make you a better player in the long run or sound any better, tho you'll probably pick up more babes in a shiny new truck than in a old beat up one. |
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