A resonator cigar box guitar uses a metal resonator rather than the box lid to amplify the string sounds. It has a louder volume with a lot of sustain and can be designed to be played as a standard or lap-style guitar. They are sometimes called dobro instruments after the inventors, the Dopyera Brothers.
How Does A Resonator Guitar Work?
Instead of the bridge sitting on a wooden saddle on the box lid, the bridge sits on a support on a spun metal cone or even a metal dog bowl or paint tin lid at its most basic. The cone is is a special shaped piece of metal designed to amplify the sound. Although it’s called a cone, it’s not shaped quite like a cone you would expect in say an ice-cream cone. It’s more like a bowl with a flattened base. The cone sits in a hole cut in the box lid.
It’s common for cigar box instruments to use one cone although six stringed resonator instruments can have three cones.
Single resonators often have something called a biscuit bridge which is a round flat piece of wood to support the bridge. It sits in the middle of the cone which has a slight dip to accommodate it. This kind of cone gives the guitar more volume and more sustain than a standard instrument, but there are other types of resonator that give more sustain. These are beyond the scope of most home builders and include tricone and spider resonators where a metal spider can sit over the open bowl shaped cone to hold the bridge.
What Does A Resonator Cigar Box Guitar Sound Like?
A resonator cigar box guitar is naturally louder and plays with longer sustain than a standard acoustic instrument. They almost sound like they have a small amplifier attached as not only is the sound louder but it has a different sound as if the amp has applied some kind of effect. This different, more “twangy” sound, comes from the fact that the vibration of the strings is transferred to a piece of metal rather than wood.
That said, the wooden body under the cone of a cigar box guitar makes a warmer sounding instrument than some of their all metal six stringed counterparts.
Can I Buy A Resonator Cigar Box Guitar Kit?
CBGitty are now selling a kit to make a resonator cigar box guitar https://www.cbgitty.com/kits-guitar-kits-amp-kits-more/hubcap-howler-resonator-guitar-kit-authentic-blues/
The hubcap howler kit comes with everything you need including not only the cone itself, nut also a pre fretted neck and a flat pack box to make. There’s even different hubcap covers you can add on to further customize your instrument.
How Can I Make A Dog Bowl Resonator Cigar Box Guitar?
A cheap DIY resonator cone can be made from an upside down metal dog bowl. You need the kind that has a lipped base with a bowl that is suspended. This is inserted upside down into a hole cut in the box of the guitar. The hole needs to be just big enough to hold the bowl so that the lip of the base prevents it falling through the hole.
Are Resonator Cigar Box Guitars Hard To Play?
Adding a resonator makes the guitar no harder to play than a standard cigar box guitar. It is possible to play them with or without a slide in the standard position or as a lap steel instrument.
If you are not used to playing with a slide yet, it will take a bit of practice to get proficient. It’s really worth making sure you have a well-fitting slide both lengthwise and diameter size. You can use a piece of medical tape, craft foam or felt stuck inside a slide that slips off your finger.
I’ve written a beginners guide to slide guitar in this article
Playing lap style means placing the guitar body flat across your lap and playing from the fret board side only, fretting the strings with the slide pressed down from above. This is a very different style of playing because your fretting hand does not sit behind the neck as it usually would when playing guitar.
Are Resonator Cones Hard To Make?
Although some cigar box guitar builders use preformed metal dog bowls to make dog bowl resonators, it’s possible to buy a resonator designed specifically for a cigar box guitar from a cigar box guitar specialist.
These are made from a piece of round metal which is spun on a lathe ( hence the term spinning a resonator cone) and shaped as it is spun into a 3 D shape like this:
If you have a lathe and are confident at shaping 3D shapes, then by all means have a go at making one by attaching a flat circle of metal ( or something like a paint tin lid) to your lathe and shaping it with tools. Working with metal on a lathe is not quite the same as working with wood.
I think you would be better served buying at least your first cone for a resonator build so you can look at the shape of the cone in detail. It’s not something I will be trying to do myself, but it’s fascinating to see the cone come to life.
Is The Guitar Itself Different For A Resonator Cigar Box Guitar?
Although a hole must be cut in the box for the metal cone, the rest of the guitar is the same as a standard cbg in general. The neck needs to be rounded at the back and the action will usually be average height ( about 2mm or 0.08 inches at the 12th fret) so that it can be played with or without a slide. If the action is set a bit higher, the frets do not cause buzz when playing with a slide.
It is possible to have a fretless instrument with the frets just marked rather than having metal fret wires installed. For an unfretted instrument designed to only be played with a slide, the action will be higher (3-4mm or up to 0.16inches at the 12th fret).
If the guitar is to be played as a lap steel with a slide, the neck is often square shaped, rather than rounded at the back. This also gives the neck extra strength.
The resonator itself is installed in a standard rectangular box shaped body. Make sure that the hole is big enough to let the resonator sit in the hole without falling through.
Do I Need Different Accessories To Play A Resonator Cigar Box Guitar?
In addition to standard picks, you might like to try out a thumb pick. The resonator guitar sounds more like a banjo, so you may like to try out some fingerpicking.
You can buy special resonator strings if you like. These are heavier gauge strings if you want to experiment with your usual brand of strings.
Some players like to use a bottleneck slide. This is a glass slide cut from the neck of a beer or wine bottle. You can buy these ready cut to save cutting yourself as you try to make one.
Other Resonator Designs: License Plate And Hubcap Cigar Box Guitars
There is a kind of resonator cigar box guitar called a licence plate guitar which uses a metal licence plate or similar as a kind of resonator instead of a wooden box lid. This gives a different-toned instrument since it is the vibrating metal that amplifies the sound of the strings when played acoustically.
Some builders make hub-cap instruments where the whole of the wooden box body is replaced with 2 car hubcaps placed together to make a hollow rounded box shaped body or 1 hubcap with a wooden back added.
Can I Amplify My Resonator Cigar Box Guitar?
Even though the instrument is naturally louder than a standard cigar box guitar, you may still want a louder volume or to use effects.
Installing a piezo pickup under the bridge is probably the easiest way to amplify the instrument although magnetic pickups can also be used. Because there is a lot of metal involved in these instruments, they are a bit sensitive to feedback so you need to be extra careful with grounding of magnetic pickups.
Why Would I Choose To Play A Resonator Cigar Box Guitar?
- If you like to play the kind of music that would benefit from a longer sustain without using an amplifier, this could be a good choice of instrument for you.
- It is well suited to slide guitar.
- It is popular with blues and bluegrass players.
- It sounds a bit like a banjo so you can use what you’ve learned on cbg to play something that sounds like you’re playing a banjo.