Beaver Creek guitars? (Thinking about it)

[zontar]

Anybody here have any experiences with Beaver Creek guitars?

I've been to a few stores looking for a lower priced resonator, and I keep running across Beaver Creek, they seem well made, and the tone is good. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience though as to how they hold up.

There's one I can get for $299 (w/o case--just a cheap nylon gig bag. None of the guitar cases they had fit the guitar.) It's got a Nato neck, which I'm not sure about.

I'm not in a big rush, and I've considered some other brands, but this seems to be in the lead right now.

So either any stories about Beaver Creek, or any other lower priced resonators would be welcome. I'm looking at getting one for fun to use mostly for slide work.

Thanks,

[fraser]

i saw some beaver creek ukeleles that seemed pretty nice. for theyre resonators, id figure as long as the fretwork looks decent, and the neck is not all messed up, youll be good for that price.
resonators dont need any fancy wood, they just need a good cone and bridge assembly, these are easily and affordably upgraded.
my concern would be the neck- id inspect it carefully to ensure itll hold up.
i have a china made epi biscuit that is a real good bang for the buck. (they retail about $450-$500)
the epiphone steelbody sounds real good and is solid, but is about $650
i have one of those johnson dobros, was $250 at the little shop on front street thorold- they still carry them- sounded good, but i prefer the biscuit bridge over a spider, and the neck on the johnson flew apart like a hand grenade, useless after only a few days, but im a bit rough lol.
nato is mahogany if i remember right- same as my biscuit
fits perfect in a standard folk-sized case.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/fraserkaro/4guitars2.jpg

[zontar]

and the neck on the johnson flew apart like a hand grenade, useless after only a few days, but im a bit rough lol.


Now, how exactly do you mean that?

I ask because I looked a one of their guitars as well.
But the Beaver Creek one felt better.

There are still some other options out there. And I'm not rushing into it.

As for Nato--It's sometimes called Eastern Mahogany, but it's my understanding that while it is similar to mahogany, it really isn't.

[fraser]

Now, how exactly do you mean that?


it struck a hard surface on one corner of the headstock, the tuner there bent a bit- but the neck cracked about half of its length, the fretboard popped off, peeled like a banana.
after a lot of clamping and gluing i made it playable for about 3 months, then the truss rod jumped out of the back of the neck.
was a nice sounding guitar, but was built like a toy- this was 5 years ago, theyre certainly making better guitars now-

[laristotle]

...and the neck on the johnson flew apart like a hand grenade, useless after only a few days, but im a bit rough lol.


Hey fraser! Would you part with the guts of
that reso? I'm looking to convert this (http://www.guitarscanada.com/Board/showpost.php?p=73606&postcount=5).

[fraser]

hi larry-
ive been thinking of giving it to you since the garbage heap guitar thread, i had a few ideas for it, but now im back to work ill probbly never do anything with it- its been sitting around for 5 years already lol

[laristotle]

PM'd http://www.giveupalready.com/images/smilies/cool2.gif

[Grenvilleter]

I just saw the Morgan Monroe black voodoo resonator guitar with a square neck , spyder bridge. That thing kicked butt in the tone and volume dept. Limited lifetime warranty. They make a round neck as well I believe. List price around $400.00. Very hard to beat in price, tone and warranty/quality. For slide guitar playing (blues) however, you probably want the biscuit type bridge. Not as much punch from them however. 3 models/colours to choose from. The Black Voodoo (which is obviously black), a vintage sunburst and a quilted maple model. The quilted maple is a few bucks more.
Across the board, the Morgan stringed instruments are considerably superior to the Beaver Creek line IMHO only.
Johnsons used to be crap but since Greg Rich has become a prominent figure in the Johnson/ TML line, their quality has increased significantly.
Just some more options for you to consider. :food-smiley-004:

[zontar]

Thanks for the extra info. I am definitely looking for a round neck. I haven't seen any Morgan Monroes around, but I'll check them out online and see if anybody in town has them so I can test drive one. I really liked playing the Beaver Creek ones I've tried.

Up to now, as far as guitars under $500 go, I've also tried a Fender (okay, but not sold on it), and some Montanas (apparently distributed by Adamas--but I haven't been able to find anything else on them.) However, I wasn't too impressed with the Montanas I've tried, so they're pretty much off the list.

I plan to go out to do some test driving later today or tomorrow.

[zontar]

Well, no test driving yet--other responsibilities came up--but I have already jammed today, to check out a new sound board. Maybe this week. So if anybody has anything to add, I'm listening.

[Mike MacLeod]

Try a real National just so you know how far away you are from the real thing.
It ain't subtle. I know a chap who spent $1300.00 (discounted price) on the fancy Johnson Tricone with the engraving (It looked like it was done with a finishing nail) He played a real National and bought it in 10 minutes. The other one is desperately looking for a home.

At least if you know how far you are, then you can make an informed decision.

[fraser]

i dont find the fenders to be all that great- not bad, well built and sound ok, but i wouldnt want one- i did try a montana, seemed cool, but the same store had some other montana stuff that seemed really cheap.
as mike said, yeah a national would be the way to go- but a $500 guitar with a national cone and biscuit( less then $100 upgrade i believe) will get you 90% of the way and save you a ton of bucks. no way id spend that kinda money on a name and the added prestige of a "made in usa" tag.
the beauty of the resonator is that it neednt be a great guitar- so long as the cone is good, and the biscuit or spider is not cheap plastic.
i was going to upgrade the cone on my epiphone but there is no need- the stock aluminum cone barks just fine.
remember the biscuit style bridge and single cone types will have less sustain than the spider types, a factor you may want to consider when shopping.

[zontar]

Try a real National just so you know how far away you are from the real thing.
It ain't subtle. I know a chap who spent $1300.00 (discounted price) on the fancy Johnson Tricone with the engraving (It looked like it was done with a finishing nail) He played a real National and bought it in 10 minutes. The other one is desperately looking for a home.

At least if you know how far you are, then you can make an informed decision.

Mike--do you have or know of any?
Maybe I should call.

I have played a National before, although it's been a while, and so I am aware of the difference. But they're not an option, nor are they likely to be one for the foreseeable future. Unless you know of any deals or I come into unexpected money, etc.

I'm looking at getting one for personal use--just for fun. If I was going to play it professionally or publicly--I'd look at spending more.

And fraser--I was just looking up info on upgrading cones as well. That may be the way to go.

So far I've avoided going back for the Beaver Creek guitar, and still have some places to check out. It's fun when you get a blank stare when you ask about resonators...

While I'm looking at getting one for fun, I do want to be sensible and discerning about it.

Thanks guys.

[fraser]

zontar, tried a pair of dobro brand resos today- hound dogs- a square neck and a roundneck. mahogany body, spider bridge with f holes. excellently put together and sounded great, better thn my biscuit. they were $449. if you see one, try it out-
http://www.gibson.com/en%2Dus/Divisions/Gibson%20Original/GibsonDobros/Dobros/

[zontar]

That low a price?

I haven't seen any here--but I haven't been to every store (yet)

Unfortunately other responsibilities (although many of them enjoyable--so I won't complain about those ones) and weather has put a damper on some of my expeditions. I've found however, from phoning around and dropping in, a lot of places don't stock resonators of any sort-or if they do, it's a limited selection (1 or 2.)

But next weekend looks good.

Thanks for the update.

[zontar]

Well, this search has potentially taken a turn.
I came across an Eastwood guitar today--the Delta 6.

I definitely need to sleep on this. It's an ES-335 type shape, with a resonator and a p-90 type pickup at the neck. I've seen them before, but never tried one until earlier this weekend. It's also got a bridge piezo and a control to blend the sound from one pickup to the other--full P-90, full piezo or different amounts of each. It sounds great--I tired a slide on it, and loved it. I'm not rushing out to buy it immediately--but it may have jumped to the top of my list.

The tough thing is, it's not exactly what I've been looking for, but it is close. The only thing is-if I did get it--will I still want a normal acoustic resonator? Will this take its place? I also want a semi hollowbody--and this sort of takes that place--will it just be a compromise?

So like I said, I definitely need to sleep on this.
Unfortunately the store I saw it at didn't have any woodbody resonators to do a head to head comparison, although they did have a Roland JC amp (which is what I use), so I could get a good idea of the amplified sound of the Delta 6.

Anybody have any experience with Eastwood guitars?

Here's the Delta-6
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/cflstampman/delta6.png
And here's what the Eastwood website says about it-
Specifications

Model Name: DELTA-6

History
Based on the early 1960’s Mosrite Californian, this affordable resonator guitar has a lot to offer. It’s got that steely resonator guitar sound for the blues with a Piezo bridge and it doubles as a standard electric with a P-90 in the neck position. Two guitars in one!
Colours: Sunburst, Cherryburst, Greenburst, Black, Trans Red, LH Sunburst
Body: Laminated Maple
Neck: Bound Maple, SET Neck
Fingerboard: Rosewood, Dot Markers
Scale Length: 25 1/2" (648mm)
Width at Nut: 1 5/8 "
Pickups: P-90 Neck, Piezo Bridge
Switching: Blend Pot
Controls: 1 Volume, 1 Tone, 1 Pickup Blend
Bridge: Floating Wooden Bridge, Trapeze Tail
Hardware: Gotoh Style Nickel/Chrome
Strings: #9-#46
Case: extra
Unique Features: Spider Resonator Cone with Piezo Bridge pickup
Suggested Retail: $489.00 US

This has now partially drifted out of the acoustic range--so I'll probably ask this elsewhere too.

Thanks.

[tenyrsgon]

I'm not sure about the resonators, but I have a Beaver Creek 12 string guitar. Everything seems to be fine (fretwork, neck etc..) and it produces a half decent sound. For the priced I payed it definitely was not a waste.

[zontar]

I've noted it elsewhere, but I tried some Epiphone resonators on the wekend--the 6th string intonation on each one was horrendous--and it was about the same--so it probably wasn't a fluke.
The sound was okay--but not quite what I was looking for.

I saw A Dobro that was nice, but it was more than I'm planning on spending. But I'll keep an eye o it--see if the price comes down, and see if I can talk them down.

I also tried a Dean Chrome G--which has a pickup a piezo and a blend knob, not bad--but the blend control wasn't obvious. And there's something about Dean in general that I'm not sure of. I thought the Dean was a bit overpriced for what it is. They do have other resonator models on their site. Anybody ever try a Dean resonator?