Shaftsbury Resonator

This is another Japanese copy of a more famous quality guitar. Again, it caught my eye in a guitar shop in Birmingham City Centre. In those days, resonator guitars were very rare indeed, and it was the first one that I had ever seen "in real life". These days, there are many resonators available, ranging from quite inexpensive all the way to cloud cuckoo land. Anyway, it was £45. I was approaching my 21st birthday, and when my parents asked what I wanted, I said I wanted this guitar. They were reluctant, they couldn't see why anyone would want more than one guitar, but they agreed to put £30 towards it. I put the rest.

When I bought it, I asked if they would give a discount for cash, and was truly amazed when without even looking up the bloke said "ten percent for cash mate". So I got it for £41-50. Once again, it is an attractive guitar that falls short of the volume and tonal quality that I would like. But, it was a 21st birthday present from my late parents, and I'm not getting rid of it.

In December 2007 after using it at the Teignmouth Jazz Festival, and being disappointed with it's sound, I decided to get a friend and associate who is both a formidable blues guitarist and a luthier, to replace the cone with something with a better sound. Follow this link to see before and after pictures.