what are those steel guitars called?

excellentbadger
excellentbadger Posts: 18
edited April 2006 in Musicians and Gearheads
what are those guitars called that are like made of steel, like stone uses on black on LATG and on the front of that dire straights album....know what i mean?

im trying to explain one to my friend in a text message and when i say steel guitar he thinks i mean a normal steel string acoustic. annoyance
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • nickydean
    nickydean Posts: 40
    I believe you mean a Resonator guitar like this:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resonator_guitar
  • excellentbadger
    excellentbadger Posts: 18
    yea thats it, thanks!
  • nickydean
    nickydean Posts: 40
    No problem, you're quite welcome.
  • Pacomc79
    Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    unless you're talking about Stones Rusty Tele. That's a James Trussart custom rusty steelcaster.

    But yes, Resonators can be made with brass bodies and some are fully chromed.

    You can get a tricone or duolian.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • enharmonic
    enharmonic Posts: 1,917
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    unless you're talking about Stones Rusty Tele. That's a James Trussart custom rusty steelcaster.

    But yes, Resonators can be made with brass bodies and some are fully chromed.

    You can get a tricone or duolian.

    Have you ever seen James' Resophonic? It's a cross between his Steelpaul and a resonator guitar...you can mix the sounds together.

    If I had 5 grand to burn, I would burn it on that :)
    new music: http://www.myspace.com/blackbirdsymphonique

    old music: http://www.myspace.com/slowloader
  • The Lurker
    The Lurker Posts: 25
    Yeah, those are usually called resonator guitars-- they were developed back in the early 1900s, before the electric guitar was invented, in an attempt to make a louder guitar that could keep up with big bands jazz stuff. Some have all-metal bodies, others have wooden bodies with metal elements built into them. Some of the more common names are Dobro (after the Dopyera brothers, who developed the idea), National, etc. Some of them have square neck profiles-- like a 2x4 board-- because they were intended to be used as lap steels, others have regular guitar necks. The sound is something of an acquired taste-- you can't really get them to sound like a traditional acoustic guitar.

    Gibson owns the Dobro brand name now, by the way.
  • Jeremy1012
    Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    I love the resonator that Jerry plays on AiC's Heaven Beside you video
    "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead, I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land — every colour, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike — all snored in the same language"

Categories