Resonator question

[walrus]

I'll use the eBay ad below for the photos of Guild's new resonator guitar. My question is about the square neck - am I to assume this should be played on your lap? Can you play it in a "regular" playing position with that neck?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Guild-R-33E...e-/321123620070?pt=Guitar&hash=item4ac47594e6

walrus

 

[adorshki]

I'm gonna stick my neck out and say yes I think they're targeting that narrow and specific niche of guys who play 'em like a lap steel, or the guy I saw last night in a traditional country band who had one on a strap around his neck so it was still "face up" for slide work.
Dunno, maybe slide technique allows you to play a neck like that in the "regular" manner too, but it seems like it would be tough on the fretting hand..
I seem to rememeber when they were introduced that the set up is so high that it's obviously intended for slide work.
But I also think that was just one of 3 new resonator types.

 

[bluesypicky]

Can you play it in a "regular" playing position with that neck? walrus

No you can't.
Al is right on both counts. So his neck is still attaching his head to his body, which for him is good news I would think.
I never really understood it either... why get a guitar that you can only play like a lap steel? Go all the way and get a lap steel or get a round neck and hit the slide on your guitar that you can still play like a guitar!... But I must be missing something. It happens to me a lot.

 

[Bill Ashton]

It was my impression there were two or three models of the Guild resonator-style that were to be played like a dobro (square neck, high nut) and only one that had a standard neck.

You need this one, Pascal, to get your Furry-Lewis-thing going on...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-GUILD-R...173&pid=100009&prg=1088&rk=2&sd=321123620070&

 

[Jeff Haddad]

As mentioned, square necks are set up with a high nut strictly for slide (bar) playing - what used to be called "Hawaiian-style". Even without the high nut though, the neck would be unplayable for "Spanish style" - fretted or bottleneck. Also, there may not even be frets, just fret lines on the fingerboard. I guess it wouldn't be a fingerboard then...

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

Simply put, a squareneck has to be played lap style. A roundneck is meant to be played Spanish style, but you can raise the action way up and play it lap style, although the roundneck is not as strong as the squareneck and can't hold up to some gauges and tunings.

 

[SFIV1967]

It was my impression there were two or three models of the Guild resonator-style that were to be played like a dobro (square neck, high nut) and only one that had a standard neck.

Correct. Only the R-30 is a round-neck resonator guitar, the other 3 are square-neck resonator guitars.
http://www.guildguitars.com/instruments/?gtype=acoustics&series=Resonator+Series
Ralf

 

[Bill Ashton]

At LMG III there were a bunch of them coming out of final production/inspection, but I was not able to find a round neck...did stumble on a cut little Fender concert-size, though... =)