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Author Topic:  Square vs Round
Joe E

 

From:
Houston Texas
Post  Posted 29 Feb 2000 8:34 pm    
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Other than the obvious difference in the neck, is there any difference in the guitar? Difference in styles? Waiting for a round neck to come in and thought I would ask. My original thought was for bottle neck slide, but after buying a PSG I may try a bar and more traditional approach to dobro music.

Joe
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Pete Grant

 

From:
Auburn, CA, USA
Post  Posted 1 Mar 2000 12:01 am    
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A square neck, because of its mass, will usually give you more sustain.
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Dave Boothroyd


From:
Staffordshire Moorlands
Post  Posted 1 Mar 2000 12:43 am    
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Standard guitarists can't play them, so fewer people want them, so they are cheaper (or should be!)
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Andy Volk


From:
Boston, MA
Post  Posted 1 Mar 2000 5:48 am    
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My two pennies ... As Pete says, in general a square neck will add sustain but several other factors also fit into the equation such as body depth, type & thickness of wood. With acoustic Hawaiian guitars, Weissenborn style instruments have a square hollow neck which tends to skew towards a more cello-like sound with the high end kind of floating on top. The solid neck Kona design tends to emphasize the upper mids and highs. Square neck resophonics have a much broader tonal response across all frequences and long sustain, IMHO as opposed to the twangier
round necks. Notes die faster on a round neck but may have a more immediate spike.
Neither is better or worse - it all depends on the type of tone you prefer and what music you want to play.

[This message was edited by Andy Volk on 01 March 2000 at 05:48 AM.]

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Eric Stumpf


From:
Newbury, NH 03255
Post  Posted 1 Mar 2000 6:16 am    
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Scale length has to be factored into the tone equation as well. Many of the round neck resonator guitars have a 26" scale; square neck guitars are generally shorter scale (24.5" on average). Longer scale often provides a better tone but at the cost of reducing ease of bar slant execution.
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Mike D

 

From:
Phx, Az
Post  Posted 1 Mar 2000 6:46 am    
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As to the long scale roundneck. I've seen this mentioned a few times but I've yet to actually SEE a longer scale on a round neck. Squarenecks are usually 12 fret guitars and the new crop of roundnecks tend to be 14s so this may be creating a false impression of a longer scale but they are the same scale length. Most in the 24 1/2-25" length. I've got '33 wood body National with a 25 3/4" scale and I've yet to see any other resonator with a scale longer than it.
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mikey


From:
New Jersey
Post  Posted 1 Mar 2000 11:10 am    
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I have to admit, I am so used to playing a 12 fret guitar, that a 14 drives me nuts...for that reason alone I avoid 14 fret guitars even for spanish play, (except electric)...when my hand hits the body, I know I'm at 12
Aloha,
Mike
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Mike D

 

From:
Phx, Az
Post  Posted 1 Mar 2000 4:11 pm    
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Ditto Mikey. I play slide on 12 fret resonators and I'm now making a 12 fret 000 for standard playing. I need all the help I can get and having everything in the same spot really does help.
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Andy Alford

 

Post  Posted 1 Mar 2000 8:39 pm    
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The Great Oswald who brought the Hawaiian Guitar to the Opry played a prewar Regal- Dobro Dobro with a round neck.These are still the most sought after wood Dobro's ever made.He used a nut to raise the strings.
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