Dear Dan,
John is another resonator master who can play like I described of Stafford, not many with that kind of skill. He did a Brazilian record with Kirtley some years ago on Reso and he has sent me many private recordings over the years that are really good. Stafford did his recordings with a lighter setup, using the nylon basses like Chet and Nato did. I'm not sure what strings John used but he may have used this setup as well, Its been a long time, there is another reso player out that way named John Mackey, also a very good player.
As for sustain.
The cones are quick in response. the energy is release quickly upon attack. But the magic to getting endless sustain is vibrato. Nato had the greatest vibrato I have ever heard. I think it is safe to say his skill in that area had a big influence on Chet's inclusion of greater vibrato with his left hand, which is how you get that sustaining, ringing, sound they produced.
The heavier the biscuit the more sustain as well. You can remove the biscuit and put a weight under it to see how to like it, I recommend the double sided foam tape 3M makes. you should hear a difference.
Paul McGill
DAN SAGE wrote:Thank you, Mr. McGill, from a lifelong fan. May I second your comment on Mr. Stafford. He also used your guitar on at least one more CD "SOMEWHERE IN TIME". It includes a version of Maria Elena on your guitar, that in my humble opinion, is better (more beautiful), than the original, and may never be surpassed. I bought all three of his instrumental CD's from his website.
If you expound anymore on this topic, may I ask you, if you know anyway to increase the sustain on your magnificent instruments, so that it is a little longer? Does the depth of the guitar's soundbox (body/volume), or its construction have anything to do with the length of the sustain?
I thought my guitar, that was made by you, might be misadjusted, until I took it over to Mr. Standefer's house, and he played it, and a miracle happened. In his hands, it sounded just as good, as the one you made for him. (I think, it also might have helped to be directly in front of it, instead of attempting to play it, and listen to it at an angle).
As for the biscuits I measured, they are all made by Del Vecchio, at about the same time. They are spares, that I extorted from them (with help). I was WRONG!!! I got the bicuits and a cone out, and they do indeed appear to fit the top of the cone, like a hat. The OUTER ring on the bottom of the biscuit does indeed appear to contact the ANGELED surface of the top of the cone outside of the flat part on the top of the cone. It may compress enough with the downward pressure exerted by the strings, so, that the inner flat ring on the bottom of the biscuit, also contacts the flat spot on top of the cone???. The dimension/width of this flat ring is the difference, between the second and third measurements I listed in the second set of measurements. This would seem to raise all sorts of questions about the preciseness of the biscuit's machining, and if a bad sounding DVR might be immensely improved by a biscuit that fits properly. The bottom of the biscuit's inner wooden ring is essentially level with the bottom of the outer v shaped ring on the outside of the biscuit. Who knew? Definitely, not me!
As always, I could be wrong on anything I express, except maybe about the quality and the presence (cutting sound) of Mr. McGill's guitars.
Dan Sage