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Subject: "Old style parallelogram?"
Date: Tue, 05 Nov 2002 17:43:17 +0000

Hello--

I'm searching for a resophonic guitar slide style, square neck. I'd like to know what the term "old style parallelogram" means when referring to the make-up of the Tenneesean and the other guitars you sell. How does this resonator compare in sound to the newer types of resonators?
Perhaps you havae a brochure on this.

Thanks,
Van Potterton


Greetings Van,

This is referencing the soundwell which is a circular wood frame that surrounds the resophonic cone system...

Old Style Parallelogram: This is referencing the angle that the soundwell is positioned.

On a standard soundwell for dobros, you'll find them standing straight up connecting the back of the instrument and enclosing the vibrations emanating from the resophonic cone. The standard resophonic soundwell, not on the cot, also has soundholes drilled through them...

What's a Parrallelogram? The Parrallelogram is like a square...and you take the square...and the top left-hand corner...along with the bottom right corner (opposite corners) and pull them right to left...this creates the Parrallelogram. It's a hole cut out of the maple soundwell...and the shape of the holes is a parrallelogram...this allows the sound to resonate much clearer with brighter sound...if you consider that there's less area for the sound to travel within, this most definitely affect the sound...and as is true with smaller guitars or archtop banjos, a clearer brightness would be achieved.

Normally you would see a round circle for a standard soundwell when looking at it from the top...in the case of the Parallelogram, you'll see that the sides are straight yet the openings are different.

Sorry, we do not have a brochure explaining this...however, if you do have further questions, feel free to e-mail us or check out the Crafters of Tennessee website..Mickey

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Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2002 21:01:43 -0500

Hi Mickey -

I'm glad to see (and hear) the Tut Taylor Tennessean represented on your videos page now. Although I've been playing pedal steel for a bit over 3 years, one doesn't do bar lifts, hammer-ons & pull-offs on pedal steel so I really couldn't put the TT Virginian I tried thru its paces! Right now I'm practicing on a small-body Takamine steel string with an extension nut - sounds more like a Weissenborn than a resophonic, unfortunately.

As far as the instrument to get, I'm divided between the Paul Beard Birch/Cherry models and the Tut Taylor Virginian. Although I should probably try to run the computer audio output through some decent speakers to get a better idea of the sound - the Beard seems to have a more "modern" sound - just a bit more edge. On the other hand, I've been a Tut Taylor fan for 25+ years and he never has any problem getting an edgy tone from the "old-time" instruments he prefers.

What would be your opinion between the two (sorry, I bet you hate getting asked questions like this)?

Thanks again for your assistance. Look forward to hearing from you soon.

David Bradsher

Greetings David,

You know, I just finished Part II of a Dobro video series where I included both the Tennessean Tut Taylor and the Paul Beard models. I was quite surprised upon playback (through my production monitor with studio level speakers) when the Taylor really seemed to hold its own. And, the edgy tone you're referring to, was most definitely a prominent feature on the Taylor...this would be a real toss-up...I like both of these Dobros...however, I'm having a custom built Beard made for my main instrument. And, I have tremendous faith in everything I've seen of Paul Beard's...I currently own one of his Road-O-Phonics and am very pleased with it in every respect. Paul is focused on "attention to detail"...even his tuning machines are not mounted in the standard fashion; he uses threaded inserts to accommodate the screws so that the screws are not drilled directly into the wood. Wow!

Let me know how I might further assist you...Mickey

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