View Full Version : new Recording King
jambalaya
Feb-22-2012, 4:16pm
So, last august, someone fell on my good guitar and smashed it. I picked up my wife's mandolin and never looked back. I just fell in love with the mando. I've since gotten a nice lm-400 that is all I really need for the traditional mandolin sound I like, not to mention that it plays like butter thanks to Big Joe's Guitarworks. Anyways, about a week ago, my friends asked, "Don't we still owe you a guitar?" I told them I'd rather have this resonator, emailed them an ebay auction for one with a small dent in the back, they got it for $316 from an authorized RK dealer and I had it 4 days later. I wanted to share the story because I thought it was awesome that they took care of the old debt without me asking. the resonator is loud, but if ya pick it right it has a surprisingly sweet sound for lead lines and dark, bassy chords. It's totally different than the lm-400 of course and the action is a tad high, but it's a really interesting alternative sound and I'm really happy with it. It also allows me to cut through a larger mix of instruments without having to give up touch or feel in my playing to achieve the necessary volume, which is just what I was hoping it would do. It's going to be my party, campfire mandolin. Can't wait for summer.
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Jake Wildwood
Feb-22-2012, 6:42pm
Reso mandos are great and totally under-used. I'm still kicking myself for letting an original 30s Supro-branded National get traded out of my collection!
These Recording Kings tend to come very poorly set up from the factory,,, or not set up at all for playing... It will be worth your while to adjust the nut for comfortable playing... My nut was so high that it effected the intonation dramaticly and was in fact painful to fret. You will find info on proper set up on Frets.com if I recall, but mainly the nut has to be adjusted to lower the strings down to proper fretting hight. I suppose you could adjust the "bridge" also but I haven't tried to do that.
And I agree. These are really fun instruments. Someone compared them to playing a mandolin inside a metal garbage can... That seems a pretty accurate a description their sound.
jambalaya
Feb-23-2012, 8:23am
mine doesn't sound like a mando in a trash can at all. it's a different tone than a normal mandolin, but still surprisingly sweet.
chriss
Feb-23-2012, 2:29pm
These Recording Kings tend to come very poorly set up from the factory,,, or not set up at all for playing... It will be worth your while to adjust the nut for comfortable playing...
+1 to investing a lil $$ and time in getting it set up to your satisfaction. Or even doing it yourself, if you're handy, have small files, and know what you're looking for. Go SLOW if you do it yourself.
If you take it to somebody, and if you're happy with the action on your other instrument- bring the one your happy with along too, and say "please set THIS one up to play like THAT one does."
The BEST return-on-investment I've EVER put into ANY instrument(s) is SET UP. It's amazing how MUCH FUN you can have, for so little money. The setup might be $50-75. And it can make any and every instrument fun -- even the cheapest and most modest instrument out there can get so much better.
do it - do it ... I'm pretty certain you'll be really happy you did, just listening to how much fun you're having with it already.
emabee
Feb-23-2012, 2:39pm
Jambalaya I have one of these as well and I love it! i ended up buying a kentucky as well because i'm just learning and I found the resonator made it a bit difficult sometimes. I"ve read a lot of bad reviews on the rk resonators but I love mine, I've had a number of people comment on how nice the tone is.
Verne Andru
Mar-06-2012, 9:25pm
I have a Republic, which is the same as the RK except it has an adjustable truss-rod. Took quite a bit of fiddling to get it setup right, but the action is now super low and the sound super-sweet. Tons-O-Fun.
When I play my Recording King resonater full force my wife yells at me to "Close the window! You'll bother the neighbors!"...
She doesn't quite understand that that's the point.
I don't think I sould recommend one as one's only mandolin, but they sure do offer an interesting alternative sound.
MacStevenXIII
Mar-21-2012, 9:50am
I recently picked one of these up too. It's awesome. It's not a very common instrument and it really cuts through when you're playing with a full band. Definitely has it's own sound and is not for everybody.
The action on mine was pretty high too, I filed the bridge and nut down a little and it helped, still not exactly the ideal height but for now it's ok. I just can't get over how sweet these things look.
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Verne Andru
Mar-23-2012, 11:37am
If you're finding the action high [because of the neck relief] you might want to try lighter guage strings. These are a longer scale, so normal strings put a lot of tension on the neck, which may cause excessive relief without a truss-rod or other neck reinforcement.
I went with GHS Ultra Lights. These work perfectly on my Republic.
MacStevenXIII
Mar-27-2012, 9:11am
If you're finding the action high [because of the neck relief] you might want to try lighter guage strings. These are a longer scale, so normal strings put a lot of tension on the neck, which may cause excessive relief without a truss-rod or other neck reinforcement.
I went with GHS Ultra Lights. These work perfectly on my Republic.
Thanks for the tip, I'll try em out.
I am using light strings on my Recording King resonater and have not experimented but the main thing for me was to get the original Chinese strings off it.
I have had it for about five years and have had no problems with it, sound or quality-wise. In fact i have been kind of amazed at the fit and finish of all those metal parts. I have no complaints... It is a rawkus instrument and that is what I bought it for.... Quite satisfied and love the "mother-of-toilet seat" headstock. Once I adjusted the nut so the action was reasonable, it played fine. My neck relief was not a problem.
I don't play out with it much but this summer I hope to and I would be surprised if I don't get some comments.
MacStevenXIII
Apr-05-2012, 12:52pm
If you're finding the action high [because of the neck relief] you might want to try lighter guage strings. These are a longer scale, so normal strings put a lot of tension on the neck, which may cause excessive relief without a truss-rod or other neck reinforcement.
I went with GHS Ultra Lights. These work perfectly on my Republic.
I popped a set of these on it and it helped out, thanks!
It brought the action down a smidge more and the lighter guage obviously makes it a bit easier on the fingers. Thanks again for the tip.
WayneLetang
Jul-19-2012, 10:31pm
Been thinking about getting one
Rob Meldrum
Jul-22-2012, 7:25am
Doing your own set up is a great way to get your mandolin playing just the way you want. Email me at rob.meldrum@gmail.com and I will send you my ebook on how to set up a mandolin - it's free for all mandolincafe members. Over 400 sent! With a $5.00 investment in a set of auto feeler gauges you can accurately measure the action at the nut and then I show you how to use the same feeler gauges to make custom nut files to adjust the nut height. I also show you how to measure and adjust the action up the fretboard, adjust the bridge/saddle, intonate the mandolin, and more. email me and then let me know what you think.
Rob
folks sometimes compare the Recording King resonater with the old National resonater mandolin which when new cost much more.
I have never had the opportunity to compare them by playing them next to one another but i would suspect the National might be better tone wise. I would certainly love a National but cost-wise the only one I can afford is the Recording King.
I would rather dreive a Mercedes Benz too, but for me a Ford will have to do.
Verne Andru
Jul-22-2012, 2:33pm
folks sometimes compare the Recording King resonater with the old National resonater mandolin which when new cost much more.
I have never had the opportunity to compare them by playing them next to one another but i would suspect the National might be better tone wise. I would certainly love a National but cost-wise the only one I can afford is the Recording King.
I would rather dreive a Mercedes Benz too, but for me a Ford will have to do.
Back in the 30's and 40's everything cost more new. In fact it wasn't until the past 20 years or so that the price of music gear has plummeted. But modern manufacturing processes has also given us much better built gear, so we are getting better for less.
The old Nationals were/are nothing to write home about. Most have necks that are warped and twisted and things like fret slots were done by hand - often not all that well.
Quality-wise I'd say a new RK or Johnson is going to be at least on par, if not better than an old National. The Republic ups the game a bit by adding an adjustable truss-rod. Other than that, it's a brass body with an aluminum cone. Some may argue cone's are inferior on the new pac-rim stuff, but I've found nothing wrong with mine.
Wax prophetic all you want about the "good old days," but, as I remember them, we had to make do with much less that cost a lot more.