Resonator strings

[bagman67]

So my company was acquired, and one of the new company's approaches to clearing outstanding liabilities was to give everyone from the purchased company a payout for their accrued vacation.  I had about three weeks on the books, so boom, here's a new paycheck-and-a-half I was not expecting.  Banking most of it, but as my mad-money purchase, I scored a Gretsch Honeydipper resonator guitar I've been drooling over (they're really very good and at an awesome price!) that should be here in about a  week.





This will be my first resonator, and my instinct is that it probably wants big, heavy bronze strings.  But I'm a n00b in this territory, so I'm interested in what you lot have to offer.  My guess is this is territory Stubhead has trod and I trust he will have wisdom to impart, but the rest of you are welcome to chime in as well.


I will of course post photos when I get the axe in.  Here's one to keep the curious informed:

peace


Bagman

 

[mrpinter]

Congratualtions on your score. According to Elderly Instruments, most people use a medium gauge (.013-.056 or close) bronze or phosphor bronze string on resonators. Don't want to get too floppy on open tunings.

As always, I recommend Thomastik-Infeld strings if you want the best quality in a long lasting string.

 

[bagman67]

Thanks, Mike - I work about 10 minutes from Gryphon (Frank Ford's shop) and I know they carry the Thomastiks.  I'll drop in and check'em out.

 

[Cagey]

Very few things sound as bad as me playing slide, so I've never had much of a hankering for such a fiddle. But, that looks like a nice one. What little experience I have with that type of thing says get at least medium strings, if not heavies, otherwise they don't put up much of a fight so you end up fretting the thing with the slide which never sounds good. You get stepping notes instead of glissando, and hear the slide banging on the frets. That's NFG.

 

[greywolf]

I use Elixir's on my bell brass Dobro model 20 .. they last a very long time , great tone and greatly reduced noise when playing slide.

 

[bbl4ck]

Very nice score Mr. Bagman...
I will definitely be following this thread to hear how you like this girl.
I have been wanting to try a resonator for a long time, but I am afraid my slide playing is much like Cagey claims his to be.
However, that is in a good price range, so I wouldn't be throwing too much $$$ to the wind.
Plus, it is a nice looking geetar and I really like the simple headstock.
Keep us posted and  :rock-on: