Johnson JM-998 Brass Bodied 'O' Style Resonator

http://www.ecologos.org/9.htm
Johnson JM-998
Style-O Bell Brass
9-string resonator guitar

I installed a Quarterman cone and a new biscuit-bridge, which I shortened to produce an action of 2.5-3 mm, and use ghs .009 flatwound strings.

Laurie

N/A

Listen to the sound.

I want to add some comments to what others have said. Mine was used and while it looked in great shape, when I got it home it had a rather ugly buzz on some notes. The problem was traced to a brace inside that was formerly glued to the back of the guitar which had come loose. I simply reglued it with silicone seal and like magic the instrument came alive!

Tone was 9 but sustain was weak. I have not changed the cone as of yet but it sounds like a good idea.

But what I DID do was investigate making this guitar electric. I taped on an old silvertone pickups at the end of the neck and also glued the piezo element from a Radio Shack buzzer onto the biscuit. This is simply IT! The magnetic pickup just brings the bass notes alive (note this is with bronze-wound strings) but the characteristic highs of the resonator tone are a bit missing though not completely gone. Then you mix in some of the piezo and the tone just kills!. I dug up some chickenhead knobs to give it the old school look and I think I've found a winner! I'm describing it here because it's the low low price of the Johnson that allows you to start drilling and gluing without wetting your pants with worry. I noticed that Agile now makes a similar model with only a lipstick pickup and Brownsville makes one with only a piezo pickup. I think you'll find that to really get that down-home tone you'll need both. Johnson really has a winner here if you take time to make it work.

Setup was high and excellent for slide though I don't know if it was factory or the previous owner that set it up. Strings on this guitar (as well as most resonator guitars) were WAY too thin. It made the high string have next to no sustain and very weak sound. A new set of strings with a heavy high string brought the sound to life. Rating is for after a new set of proper strings. Finish on the neck is rather cheap looking, so even with a great setup it's not going to be a ten, but the wood on mine still looks pretty new even though the guitar clearly had seen some use before I bought it.

The guitar so far seems quite durable under heavy playing

I just wanted to share my experiences electrifying this guitar. The low price makes it a great candidate for such modifications.

998 with the non-script Johnson logo on the headstock. Purchased used and unmodified

Delta style. Using a heavy brass slide and fingernails. Changed the cone to a National looking for more sustain - it worked! Hard to tell the tonal differences without comparing recordings. Biggest challenge with the conversion was the biscuit. The National was too high ans i ended up using the stock biscuit and bridge. Getting the height and the string break angle is critical to acheive any benefits from the conversion. In the end, its worth doing.
My spouse says it sounds like three squirrels trapped in steel drum - Perfect IMO.
National provided superb service over the telephone (right down to the drawl.

Couple of minor dings provided by the previous owner. I can't find any flaws in the workmanship, fit or finish. Cover screws are soft & you need to be careful with overtightening or cross-threading.

I rebuilt the inside of an old O-type hardshell case using expanding foam to make sure it didn't get any more dings. I think it will outlast my time here.

No dealings with Johnson. National is a dream, they must realize thier parts are being used to upgrade knockoffs!

Playing slide for 5 years on crappy plywood guitars. Fingerstyle blues on a Taylor. The Johnson really delivers that biting sound and responds well to an aggressive style. Does alright with sweeter fill playing too, but you won't ever get the sustain a tricone has.

Nickel plated brass body resonator. Made in China in 2000. It's heavy - but I have a mid 70's Les Paul and they are about the same weight. I don;t find it too uncomfortable to sit for an hour or so and play it, but I would not like to be wearing it for prolonged periods of time with a neck strap. Rosewood fingerboard - quite dry. Came pretty nicely set up (action might even be a bit low for slide playing. Comfortable neck, Gotoh tuners, cheap looking, but quite functional. Included a case and light gauge strings.

Like other reviews it has good projection (it's loud). I will upgrade to the Quarterman cone as it lacks low end resonance. Otherwise it sounds just like you would expect a bell brass resonator to sound like. I've used it for slide and fingerpicking, and as a campfire guitar and it has performed very well. It has a nice 'banjo' quality on the high strings. Like I said above, it does lack volume and tone at the low end.

Seemed to have been set up quite well. Action was low, no buzzing, frets were comfortable (no sharp edges or other irregularities). No cosmetic flaws. Seems to have been put together quite nicely. If the Chinese can make guitars of this quality so cheaply I'm not sure North American's will be manufacturing anything in a decades time.

It's a brass body guitar. I every reason to expect that it will outlast me by some time.

I've always wanted a one of these guitars, but had a hard time justifying the price of a Dobro or National. It's perfect for me and what I do. I'm an amateur musician, I play for friends and do some home recording, and this is just the ticket. The price I got it for was just too good. I would not pay more than $350 for this guitar, but anything less than that and you've got yourself a deal. I love it, and would definitely replace it if stolen, lost or damaged.

I purchased the Powder coated brass Bodied resonator from my guitar tech, who owns a small music store, for $325 - I couldn't tell the difference (tone wise) from the more expensive resonators in the Johnson line, and the price couldn't be beat.

Works great for acoustic blues, fingerstyle, and fair for lap playing

Factory tone is LOUD but monotonous (yes, pun) Quarterman cone replacement a must

It's a beautiful instrument. However, the factory installed tuners were cheap looking and their quality was poor. Actually, poor is a compliment. I couldn't wait to get a set of grovers installed.

Solid and built to military specs - could double as a lethal weapon if needed. My band members are reluctanct to lend me their instruments because I drop them and bang them - and I have indeed lived up to my rep and dropped and banged this baby - still looks new.

my guitar tech is the repairman - he is great

I'v been playing 40 years - blues/jazz/folk - professional early on and serious amateur with a great day job for last 30 y. Have had a Chicago style blues band for last 22 years - recently got tired of the same old and we all switched to acoustical blues. Currently own a fender strat, a Fender 1954 music caster, Ovation custom, yamaha classical and yamaha fretless electric bass, Ovation mandolin, Gibson Les Paul custom, several harmonicas and a dog. Also have a home recording studio. I've owned Guild and Martin guitars acoustical guitars in the past. I purchased the Johnson because of the price ($325 new, from long-time guitar tech) and volume. hated tuners, sound was loud but flavorless. I followed the advice given by others and I did the Quaterman cone conversion. I also replaced the tuners with Govers. Did not do the biscuit bridge replacement, though (didn't want to wait an extra couple of weeks for the Luthier to be able to do the small amount of work needed to fit the bridge) - and the change in tone was plenty fine - Tone approximated a Gibson Hound Dog round neck owned by one of my band members (who paid $ 900 for the privilege). I use medium weight strings with a .15 for the high E, and this cleans up the rattles nicely. No problem with the action. Slide sounds clear and fingerstyle chords are no problem aven up high.

I use a combination of a generic shure mic and a Dean markley contact pickup for amplification when playing clubs. The contact pickup picks up the high frequencies and the shure the lower ones. I'm considering getting a Highland feather pickup in the near future.


Overall rating -before the conversion and new tuners - 5
After conversion/tuners - 8-9
Great value even if necessary to spend 125 bucks for necessary doo-dads

Chinese product probably made by people who get a lousy salary. The neck is not nice to play and have a cheapo finish, the frets are sort of sticky. Not nice. The cone inside were awfull so I got another one.
The tuneres were not very good. Overall the guitar looks nice. Poor quality all in though

No richness no power no soul. When the new National cone was in place the guitar got a lot better.

Set up was too low for slide guitar.

The neck does not look like quality, the rest of the metalguitar is probably very good.

I've been playing slide for 5 years now. Im a happy amateur.

A cheap guitar but no good sound. For slide guitar you can get a used seagull acustic that will sound a lot nicer than this. Nationals cost 3 times as much but they are good value for money. This one is not worth 700 usd.

If it was stolen ? Well I'd get another resonator guitar.

If you want to play slideguitar get a (used) high end resonator like Donmo, National, Fine Resophoncs, Beltone or Continenetal. They are bloody expensive but Cheap resonators sound awfull. You get better slide sound from a western or electric guitar in the same pricerange. I'd recommend a used Seagull or even a Seagull 12 stringer. They have pretty good sound for slide and other purposes.

You can hear resonaotr guitasrss on Nationals homepages also Donmo and BEltona. I recommend National. I admit it's expensive but hey its value for money.

This is, as indicated in other reviews, a Chinese-made instrument. Quality of craftsmanship and materials is quite good, however. No neck binding, and fret position markers are probably plastic. Neck is thick compared to regular wooden acoustic guitars, and the fretboard is flat, as I would expect on an instrument intended primarily for slide playing. I bought mine mid-2003. The nut width is 1 11/16", perfect for fingerstyle playing, in my opinion.

I wasn't satisfied with the original sound. It was okay with slide, but sounded too banjo-like when fretted, and the bass strings in particular sounded rather wimpy. As recommended by other reviewers of this guitar, I replaced the resonator cone with a National 9.5" resonator, and I'm now happy with the sound. I'd rate the sound 5 with the stock resonator, but 8 or 9 with the National.

The National resonator drops right in, but is slightly higher than the stock resonator. Also, the National biscuit/saddle is higher. I first put the stock biscuit that came with the guitar on the National Resonator (even that requires shaving down the saddle), but subsequently installed the National biscuit, which improved the sound even more. The National biscuit is higher quality, made out of harder wood, and the disk portion (as opposed to the saddle) is thinner than the one that comes with the guitar.

So to get the best tone, in my opinion, replace both the resonator cone and biscuit (they're sold together) with the National cone and biscuit. You'll need to shave down the saddle about 1/8" (a little more on the high E-string side) so that the strings will clear the cover plate. I recommend keeping the action as high as possible without the strings touching the cover plate.

The sound with the National resonator cone and biscuit is excellent for blues: quite loud and robust, with rich overtones, good sustain, and pleasing bottom end. As on most acoustic guitars, you'll get noticeably better sustain, especially on the bass strings, with a fairly heavy brass slide, as opposed to glass or porcelain, if you can get used to the extra weight and avoid banging the neck.

Mine was set up well when I received it. Fairly high action, just right for slide. Body is brass, with smoot, flawless chrome-plated finish. I got the wild rose engraved model, which is in my opinion very cool-looking. No finish flaws of any kind on mine.

It's been in my home the whole time, so it hasn't been road-tested, but it appears to be quite durable.

I haven't tried to contact the company.

I've been playing for over 30 years. This guitar is an excellent value, especially if the resonator cone and biscuit are replaced with National components. I got a nice-looking and good-sounding metal-bodied resonator guitar (including the National resonator) for under $500, about 1/3 the cost of a new low-end National. Looks like the price has gone up $100 or so since I bought it, but it's still a great value.

This one is probably from 2000 or 2001. It was hanging in the shop window for a long while, and every time I walked by I'd start drooling, and finally my wife surprised me with it as a gift...go figure.

Features are the same as all the other reviews. Don't know what the neck is made of, but it's a beautiful, dark, smooth and solid-looking wood and really pleasant to play on. The fretboard on the other hand is kind of patchy looking--maybe just color variations, second-grade rosewood.

Since I love the neck and the look of the box, I give it a 8...it's got all the features you'd want from a resonator...(well, they had a tri-cone model in the window after this one...)

I'm still learning, I can't say I have a style. Been playing fingerstyle (John Hurt) but also trad fiddle music on it, both sound good. I've played both with metal fingerpicks and with bare fingers, with the fingerpicks the sound just rolls out, very nice combination. With bare fingers the sound doesn't get enough definition on this guitar (but that might just be me). I don't play slide...yet. Right now it's tuned to open D, and it's tons of fun.

I love listening to other (better) guitarist play this thing--I like watching their fingers itch when they first see it too! The sound is quite aggressive when played loud--a nice kind of overdriven sound. I've tried Martin Bluegrass strings on there, helps to brighten up the sound...

You don't buy a guitar like this to play Simon and Garfunkle music. It's for pretending you're sitting on the couch on the front porch of your shack looking out over your private swamp...

Action's good, no complaints there. Intonation is good too. I haven't adjusted anything. The neck seems perfectly attached. And this thing never goes out of tune. No problems with the frets (but I'm not so sensitive there)

The bridge is made of a thin piece of lightweight-looking wood...makes me worry! Occasionally a string seems to buzz off of there, but that always goes away.

Overall, I think the quality's pretty high for a resonator at this price point.

Like I said, that bridge...One day some over-eager guitarist is going to grab the thing and start whacking away at it (like my brother-in-law) and I'm convinced that bridge is just going to snap...doesn't look all that easy to replace either...It looks like flimsy wood that will wear down pretty quickly. On the other hand, it's been a year and a half now, and no problems yet. The rest of the guitar is quite solid

I expect nothing. Maybe the dealer who sold it will take care of me if there's every a problem. Maybe.

I played for a few years, then stopped playing for much longer. Now I'm back to playing again...this time it's for the rest of my life. I like eclectic guitars--I've got an old Hofner archtop, that's my baby, and an old Gibson Melody Maker, which is getting replaced by a cheapo Asian Gretsch sparkly thing ripoff...
I wouldn't get another if this guitar was stolen, it doesn't really fit what I like to play (although I play clawhammer banjo too), but I do love the sound and the look of the thing. On the other hand, one day I'll sit down and learn to slide, and then I'll be happy to have it...

I got this guitar in the summer of 2001, and I think it's six months to a year older than that, as it was hanging in the store for quite some time.

The guitar was made by AXL in China.

The body is nickel-plated brass, that is engraved with the "Wild Rose" pattern. The neck is some unknown (to me) sort of wood, with a dried out piece of wood for the fretboard.

The saddle is wood that looks like balsa or something, the nut is plastic and is very poorly slotted.

The tuners are decent.

It sounds just wonderful. I play blues and Celticy stuff with it, both slide and fretted. I have not changed a thing about it since I got it, save the strings. I currently have a set of .013 - 0.056 Fender 80/20 bronze strings on it. I tune to open-D (D A D F# A D)

I play with a large porcelain slide (Mudslide) or a slightly less massive (but still huge) brass slide (Dunlop). I play fingerstyle, sometimes with a thumbpick, other times just my bare thumb, but always without fingerpicks.

When I first pick it up and start playing, there's a buzz that comes from the cone, but it soon goes away.

The tone is just beautiful. It sounds better to the player if played lap style, but only because the cone is pointed at your face and not away from you - make sure you try all resonators lap style to hear what it really sounds like!

The intonation sucks, especially on the low D. The action is great - high enough for slide and low enough to fret (don't have to fret about it - rimshot).

The neck joint feels a bit wobbly if you swing it around by the neck, but I'm not too concerned, it's not like a wet noodle or anything, just a bit less than perfectly stiff. Maybe some viagra would shore it up.

The nut is slotted really poorly, not straight at all. Strings touch tuning posts on the way to their tuning posts.

The fingerboard looks really dried out - I've oiled it a bunch, to no avail, so maybe it's not.

The thing is beautiful though. Mirror finish on the body.

It's a tank.

N/A

I've been playing for 15 years, and have been playing slide for about 3 years. This guitar is jsut great. I won't be able to afford a higher quality reso (like a National) for many years, as I am 22 and just finished university.

Really nothing special here. The tuners where a better quality than some other cheap imports I looked at. The all metal body (nickel plated bronze) made in China, looked really good, better than I expected. The neck was another issue. They are not all seated the same and are a little rough when playing. (This could be resolved with a professional set-up. For my limited use, I will play as is. But if I find I play it more, I'll pay for a professional setup and some fret work.

I didn't want to spend a lot on a resonator since I saw this as an occasional use instrument. My model is a little more expensive than the plain one. I got the etched rose pattern (well done). The sound was disappointing. I really expected it to be louder, more open and with more National sound. However, at the recommendation of a National collector, I ordered a 9.5 inch Quarterman cone designed for a National. Wow! I strongly recommend that anyone buying this spend the extra $50 bucks. It's a whole new instrument. Much louder, more tone and clearly more sustain. Now it sounds like I hoped it would. Without the Quarterman I might have ranked the sound about 4.

The body was great. I found one little flaw in the metal that was very small and virtually unnoticeable. As good as the body was, the fretboard / neck is an embarrassment. The frets were the worst. They were not all seated properly and there is a rough feel going up and down the neck. This can all be corrected with a professional setup. And even with the extra $$ for the set-up and Quarterman cone, you are still way under the price of a National. And in a blindfold test, I doubt that people could tell which was which. So if I could rate the parts separately, the body would get a 9 and the fretboard a 2. My rating is the compromise.

I think the body will last forever. Hey, it's metal and it is very heavy. The neck and fretboard - who knows.

I haven't tried them, but for the setup issues i've mentioned, I would just as soon take it to someone I trust. By the way, if you buy one of these new, shop around. Most places were selling this model with the engraving for around $550 (the plain model was about $50 less). But search around. If you want a new one, I bought this for $432, they offered a good hard case for $50 with the purchase of the guitar and invested another $50 on the replacement cone. So for a total of $532, I've got a really nice sounding instrument. (I'd probably have to add $100 to $150 for setup and fret work, but it's still a whole lot less than the cheapest used National).

I'm primarily an acoustic finger style player, so this is a change of pace instrument for me. I'm not an expert by any means on steel body resno-phonics. This instrument is probably better suited to a flat-picker because the neck is relatively narrow. I'd have prefered a 12 fret to body model with a wider measurement at the nut. I have acquired a lot of guitars over the years and play primarily steel string Martins and Lowdens. Picking this one was based on price and a decent review in Acoustic Guitar. I've been playing for 40 years. Mostly folk and blues and have played in the same group for the last 25 years. But i have no plans to quit my day job. I'd suspect that if you want a resonator guitar but don't want to spend much, you might pick up a deal on ebay. If you want new, I think the imports from Johnson, Regal, etc. are probably pretty comprable, with each having its own pros and cons. But I'm willing to bet that the Quarterman will do wonders for any of them.

desribed in other reviews better then I could do, check out other reviews for this catergory

This is my reason for submitting a review.. I agree with most all the opinions regarding the sound and I took the advice and installed another cone. I ordered one from National. I had to modify the bisquit to fit. You can't just "drop in" the one from National, at least not in my Johnson with the "chicken feet" cover, not a big deal but you need to take your time for the right height versus the height of the "external bridge" over the strings also the length needs to be trimmed, but with that said, and done, its true, the difference is significant. Now keep in mind, it depends what your looking for. I was curious more then anything. The stock cone and bisquit is more metallc, and as another reviewer pointed out it can have a banjo kind of vibe, the higher you tune, the tighter the strings, the more banjo.. but for me this wasn't a problem and I actually took advantage of this with certain early American "back porch" blues. Pretty unique sounding for certain stuff, you could get the "plunk" of a banjo by grabbin a handful near the bisquit and mellow it out up the body. The combination of "plunkin" and sliding sounded like there are two players, one a' plunking and one a' slidin' on a steel. I miss that sound already but the good news for most that are looking for that stereotypical "humid Mississippi slide sound" it delivers with some nice overtones that I didn't expect. Kinda hot and buttery. Doesn't seem like the same steel with this new cone and bisquit... I got a feeling the new National bisquit that came with it plays into the change in a fairly big way. Is all wood and well made with at least another 1/8 of hard wood that the strings make contact with (1 piece). While I'm at it, when I called National to order, a real person answered., there was no computer voice tellin me to push buttons. A very pleasent and knowledgable woman took my order, and I received it in 3 days! I hope reading this saves someone the frustration of getting a cone and bisquit only to find out they have to modify it. But as I said, its no big project, just take your time and you will be pleasently surprised when you get your new cone installed and you get out your trusty slide and run it up the strings and "worry' the notes a little, listen carefully and you'll hear "dogs began to bark, and tha hounds began to howl"

the action is higher now that I could make the choice while modifying the bisquit.. I got it perfect for me.

I've had this thing apart enough to realize that it would make a heck of a human persuader if needed.

Playing for long time. Own mostly vintage wooden boxes. If it was stolen I might get a National, but I'm not sure... I really like this guitar. Pickn" and a slidin on a budget! But I did like the friendly vibe I got when I called National. I been thinkin of a tricone from National and keeping this Johnson.

This is a Chinese made copy of a '37 National Style "O" without the hawaiian etching. This is the 14 fret body style with 9.5" single cone biscuit bridge. Unbound flat(no radius)rosewood fretboard. Plastic position markers. Nut appears to be bone and is 1 11/16" wide. Nickel plated mirror finish on bell brass body. Headstock is non-slotted with Gotoh tuners. The scale length is approximately 25". "Chicken foot" coverplate and stamped/arched back. The guitar is heavy compared to a regular acoustics and has a tendency to slide off your leg when playing. Since the body weighs so much more than the neck, it is somewhat awkward to play/hold. It takes some time to get comfortable with it. Overall the features are good for the price, but the new Nationals do look considerably better IMO. I prefer the look of the more rounded 12 fret body as well as a bound fretboard and slotted headstock. If Johnson could have simply given the guitar a slotted headstock and bound fretboard (even cheap plastic binding), I would have rated it much higher. But, as it stands it looks pretty good and the shiny look always draws a comment.

This guitar sounds like it is supposed to and compares favorably to the new Nationals being made. The tone is punchy, loud, with fairly short sustain. The bass response is fairly weak, for those of you used to dreadnoughts. It is NOT a good all around guitar and works best for fingerstyle blues and ragtime. Slide is ok, but a tricone or painted steel body single cone is a better bet if you want to play mostly slide. Do yourself a favor and install a National Cone and biscuit if you buy this guitar. It truly does make a difference in tone and is an easy thing to install at home. The national cone does bring out a fuller, more vibrant tone. Also, use medium strings 13-56, at the least. This helps the tone as well and brings out a little more bass.

Like most guitars in this pricerange it is not flawless. The body plating is basically perfect, but the neck had some minor flaws. I have heard that lackluster woodwork is a trademark of Johnson. Frets are filed off a little uneven and the nut spacing was off. The biscuit was cracked as well. Overall, the flaws were nothing major and the playability was fine right out of the box.

As it has been said before, the body is like a tank. It could probably be run over by a truck and still play. When picking it up, you have to hold both ends--if you just grab it by the neck it may snap off! As I said before, it takes some time to get used to holding it. Your best bet is to play while sitting. Playing while standing is even more difficult/awkward with his guitar. The guitar will probably last forever, so dependability is high.

I doubt you could actually contact the Johnson company, but musician's friend is pretty good. My only beef with them is that their pictures oftentimes aren't accurate to what you really get. The picture of this guitar on their website looks nothing like the original. Their website picture looks like it has a matte (not mirror) finish on the body, and the fretboard looks bound. Be careful!

Is this guitar every bit as good as the new National for 1/3 of the price--of course not! It is worth the price however. If you are interested in this, try to pick one up on Ebay--they seem to have them for sale quite frequently. I would venture that you could get one for under $400 there. I would not buy this guitar again if it were stolen, I would look into other options(probably shell out for a National). Try looking at the Regal RD-2 or the Dean Chome S before buying this. They have a similar look and similar price. They are not brass bodied (but rather steel--which gives a harsher tone), and the Dean is chrome plated rather than nickel. Trust me, nickel looks better than chrome. Nickel has a warm, classier look compare to sterile looking chrome. The bottom line on this guitar is that it is a decent value and has the sound it is supposed to have. You should shop around before buying this and educate yourself before spending the cash.

the other reviewers described guitar features.. no need to repeat here

Reading the review below mine, I was motivated to put in my nickels worth regarding the sound of this guitar (or most others for that matter) The reviewer mention after he replaced cone he could replicate Johnny Winter and Taj Mahal.. I wanted to say before you think you have to modify this guitar to get "the sound" take these basic's into condideration - what kind of strings were used by the delta artist on his steel, what material was his slide made of and something that is overlooked many times- was the player using finger picks, if so what was the material, there is a good chance steel finger picks were used at times and at times not. Where on the cone was he picking etc. not to mention that the recording method used, even in the early acetate days make quite a difference and the players "chops" (method) is key. This is not to say that replacing the cone or whatever won't make a difference but I know so many times a newer musician can go thru many guitars and bux trying to make a particular sound when the potential for that sound was there all along. I do alot of SON HOUSE material and he played NATIONAL mostly and with the exception of him being far superior to me, my Johnson could fool many a blues fanatic into thnkin I was using the same guitar. To further illustrate the point, I do TAMPA RED material, he played a beautiful tri-cone but his open tuning is usually a couple of semi=tones lower then the "standard" open tuning and even if you had a NATIONAL TRI-CONE unless you relaxed the strings as much as he did, you wouldn't get his sound. With my inexpensive Johnson, tuning down and trying to get his "touch" down gets me in the ball park. The bottom line is if you want a particular sound, do some research on the musician and his style and "tricks of the trade". Some time ago I went nuts trying to get a sound like BIG JOE WIILLIAMS got playin his Harmony Soveriegn, slide and fingerpickin' finally I got down to some researching him and found out he had a big ole' whiskey bottle and a metal pie plate hanging in front of his amplifier speaker that shivered and a shook to the vibrations and made that something special sound.. its too much aint't it!!!

action is great for fingerpicking but if your not use to a light touch with the slide it will take a little getting use to but well worth it.

its like a big old Buick, would advise comfortable strap with dependable "tie" around headstock.

"
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Its true that this guitar is not a National, and National makes a beautiful guitar but I get sounds from this guitar that is great for the decadent stuff I do play and also for more melodic slide style. If I had National I'd worry about it too much so I definately would by another JOHNSON if it was stolen because I could afford it and eat too!

This is the Chinese made Johnson's take on the National "O" Style resonator. To call it a clone really isn't accurate, although the resonator cones are interchangeable. Be sure to check out the reviews of the AXL998 as they seem to be the same guitar model.

Somewhat of a OO sized guitar by Martin's specs. Lower bought is approx. 14 3/8" wide, upper bought is approx. 10 3/8" wide. Squared shoulders as opposed to the National's sloped shoulders. Guitar seems slightly larger overall. Rolled f-holes and cut diamond "chicken feet" cover plate. Body and cover plate are brass with polished nickle plating/finish. No etching, although it is available. Bottom strap button only. Body depth is approx. uniform 4" with extended "rounded" back as opposed to completely flat.

Neck is listed as mahogany, although I'm not completely sure it isn't actually maple. 19 frets joined to the body at the 14th fret. Frets are on the small side tending toward vintage. Average looking rosewood fretboard with plastic "dot" fret markers. Flat fretboard radius. Neck has a semi-glossy brown finish. Bone nut measuring 1 11/16". Narrow non-slotted peghead with overlay and gold "Johnson" logo stamped in. Sealed Gotoh branded tuners. Biscuit and saddle are hard maple. Cone is listed as spun aluminum.

It has everything needed, but is a bit on the plain side. There is no neck binding, fancy fret markers, or fancy peghead logo.

This is a two part deal. I got this guitar as a damaged return at a discount. Cracked neck, dented cover plate, and crushed cone. It was unplayable and I bought it on strength of reviews and the good price. I glued the neck, popped out the cover plate, and re-shaped the cone. I'm not sure if the problem was the damage to the cone, or it's quality. Did not sound too good. Very metallic primary tone. Very little overtones and harmonics. Poor sustain. Slide vibrato was a lost cause. Basically sounded like a modern banjo. Great for short bursts of ragtime licks, but not much else.

I then replaced the cone with a Quarterman cone. They looked almost identical and it was a drop in fit. I went ahead and used the original biscuit. I expected some improvement, but not what I got. The difference was remarkable. Lots of overtones. Harmonics jump out. Sustain is very good. The tone sounds a little less metallic now although the undertone (thankfully) is still there. Much less trashy now and more refined. And L-O-U-D. Man, it's loud. To really appreciate how loud these are you need to have a friend play it for you, or at least set the guitar on it's back and fingerpick it at arm's length just to get an idea. They're like megaphones. I'm tellin' you. The dogs and cats leave the room.

Sound before the cone upgrade was maybe a generous "4". After the upgrade I'd rate an "8" or "9". My benchmark is a genuine National "O" that I've tried. This comes pretty close. Not quite as much bass or authority, but close. I guess I'll average it as a "6" as maybe an original undamaged cone would sound better. Do yourself a favor. Spend the $55 and upgrade to a Quarterman cone.

Setup doesn't really apply in my case since the guitar was pretty trashed. Nut slots are cut O.K. but like about all lower priced guitars they need tweaked and polished. Top of nut needs some material removed so that the slot depth is correct. The nut is not really high enough for good slide playing. O.K. for spanish style playing. Guitar came with .12 guage strings, possibly .13's. I set it up with .13's since I plan to use it for both slide and fingerstyle, although that's a compromise. Frets needed polished and a few weren't crowned properly. Nicely finished fret ends. The saddle is a bit low for optimal slide playing as well, although not too bad. One little thing that gripes me are the cover plate screws. Cheap, soft metal. Easy to strip the heads on which I've already done to one. Grrrr. The truss rod nut is slack now with minimal neck relief. Heavy strings or high tunings should not be a problem.

It's a bit odd that a guitar with a flat fretboard radius would have a nut and and saddle that are slightly radiused for ease of fretting. A bit of a contradiction that makes me think the designers were copying certain features from completely different styled guitars. It works for me since I wanted for a dual purpose guitar. It's a screamer now, but I'd bet if someone wanted to install a tall nut and saddle and .17 guage strings for lap steel playing, it'd be a monster.

I'd predict reliability to be high. I had a chance to poke around the inside of the guitar. It's all simple, robust contruction. The neck extends into the body and is braced to the guitar's back in two spots. Mine must have been shipped in a cardboard box, laid on it's back, and then stacked with lots of weight to get the neck to crack at the heel. Either that or the delivery driver fell on it. Short of sitting on it or falling on the headstock, I think it will hold up and be less sensitive than a regular acoustic to temperature and humidity changes. I'm looking to make this my #1 and use it in standard, slack, and high tunings. It sounds that good. This is not a guitar you're going to have to worry about.

I imagine support is non-existent from the manufacturer. This is where you can somewhat comfort yourself with the expense of a Dobro or National. Unknown warranty. Bought "as is" from Musician's Friend Clearance Center from their "damaged" rack. There really isn't anything to break besides the neck since everything else is metal.

I've been wanting a metal bodied resonator for awhile now to get that Johnny Winter slide sound and Taj Mahal fingerpicked sound. With the cone upgrade it's much more versatile than expected. You could cop Delta, acoustic jazz, ragtime, country blues, bluegrass, Americana, whatever. It's up to the task if you are. I'm starting to see these being advertised on the web for a little over $400. Considering a National "O" will set you back about $1,800, well, you can see the value. Unquestionably the Nationals are better finished, more refined guitars, but the Johnson can hold it's own. Tonewise, it actually leans more toward the National Polycrome Tricone with the Quaterman installed. I was wanting a guitar to use with multiple tunings with minimal fuss. One that could be subjected to hot or cold temps, taken out on the back patio, set against the porch swing, and played in the street. Brother, that's what I got. I'm still in the "Gee, I want to keep it shiney." phase, although I love the look these things take on as the finish oxidizes and wears. National guitars are really nice if you can afford them and don't mind the liability when playing out or outdoors. The Johnson sounds very close and isn't going to stress you playing out. It's still a looker, and definately a keeper.

1999 brass-bodied single resonator guitar (chrome finish, no engraving), made in Singapore. Biscuit bridge, 14 frets to the body, 24.9" scale neck. Fretboard profile is FLAT (no radius), not sure about width, but it's less than 1 3/4" (probably 1 5/8"???). Neck has a matte finish, feels a little rough, but not too bad. Sealed Gotoh tuners.

Fairly solid construction, has withstood some live playing and travel. Hasn't let me down! Bear in mind, I almost never would give out a 10 unless something was museum-quality, so an 8 is very high.

Use for fingerstyle country blues, has that great single-cone sound! Basically v. similar to a National, EXCEPT on the upper two strings at the upper frets, where some brilliance is lost. Other thatn that, it's almost (almost, mind you), a clone. Like most people are doing these days, I plan to swap the one w/ a Quarterman. Because of the issue mentioned above, I'll give it an 8.

Set up great for fingerstyle, but not for slide. For me, it was perfect. Not crazy about the rough-feeling neck, but I hope w/ time and sweat it will smooth out. Mirror-chrome finish looks awesome, has stood up well (I just wipe it off everytime I finish playing it). No flaws really...they even gave it an arched (rounded) back instead of a flat back.

It's a tank! Like any well-made metal-body, it stays in tune well and can really take a pounding. Like the Nationals, only one strap button at the base of the body, so you have to tie off the strap at the headstock. Very dependable, have (and will continue to) use it live w/out a backup.

Haven't dealt w/ the company, but since they are an overseas "volume house," I suspect there is no way of getting in touch w/ them. I bought it from Juniors Music, who (on th eother hand) were great about immediately emailing replies to my oft-inane questions. No, they aren't comp'ing me to say that.

One note: get a case when you order one (they're an additional $100 or so). I thought I could pick one up locally, but finding one the right size has been problematic. Rating here is for the shop I got it from, not for the Johnson company itself.

I've played for 13 years, mostly acoustic blues. I tend to gravitate toward the well-made, less expensive guitars since I pound on them quite a lot. I think I would be hesitant to play my way on a $2000 taylor, so that's why my other guitars are Seagull Folk models (another fine guitar for low $). Given that, this fits my specs perfectly. Great sound, very durable, not a lot of money. If it were stolen I'd get another one immediately. At this point, I'm not too sure I'm going to continue to save the $1500 or so for a comparable National, instead I'll probably spend $1000 or so on a Johnson Tricone (instead of a comparable $2000 National). Look for a review on that in the future. Not to bash National, they are fine, fine guitars...I just don't want the spend 2X as much for a (IMHO) very similar product.

This is a new (likely produced in 1999) guitar. It has a bell brass body which is nickle plated (chrome appearance), thick select Honduras mahogany neck w/ 19 fret Rosewood fretboard with mother of pearl dots on the frets, Gotoh tuners, bone nut, 9 1/2 inch resonator cone with a maple biscuit bridge. It was produced in Shanghai, China. The style of the guitar is basically the same as a 1930's Style 'O' National guitar except the headstock is not slotted. Nearly every part on this guitar seems to be of very high quality.

I bought this guitar for playing Delta blues / bottleneck slide blues. For this style, the guitar sounds awesome. I also have a mahogony bodied resonator and I was very surprised to hear how much different this brass bodied resonator guitar sounds. If you've ever heard a metal bodied National played (if not, check out a live John Hammond CD), you will find that this guitar sounds very similar, if not identical.
The One complaint that I have in this catagory is that there seems to be a slight lack of sustain and brightness when playing the 1 & 2 (high) strings up around the 12 fret (whether fretted or with a slide). This is likely the result of the cone that comes with the guitar. It is a huge problem, but, being a stickler for detail, I have ordered a Quarterman cone ($45) which, I am told, will remedy this problem. Quarterman cones are said to be the best as far as resonator guitar cones go. I would give this a 10 because the guitar sounds so good, but it gets a 9 for the above-mentioned reason.

Finish: This guitar is beautiful! The nickle plated brass body shines as bright as chrome. I found no noticeable flaws with the finish. I was quite impressed in this catagory. (10)
Action: This is my major complaint with this guitar. This complaint must be taken in context though. I wanted the guitar for Delta blues/Bottleneck playing, the action seemed to be set up for normal fingerstyle playing. If this was a Dreadnought guitar, I would have been really impressed with the action. But, because I wanted to play a slide on this guitar, the action was much too low for my taste. This was a problem for me, but it could have been perfect for others who didn't want to use a slide. To remedy this problem, I replaced the bridge with a higher, nice, ebony capped bridge ($14), but I could have just shimmed the existing one for free. Also, I had to raise the nut because the factory one was filed down too low for my taste (Again: it didn't buzz when playing with fingers, but it was much too low for good slide playing). I decided to just make another bone nut ($5 for blank bone nut) instead of shimming up the original. Either solution was feasible. Because I didn't like the action, but because it could have been perfect for others, I give the action a 7.
Fit: Guitar's fit (I assume that this means construction) was very good. This guitar appears to be very well built. (10).

Everything on this guitar has been built to last. It seems to be built like a tank. I would definitely use it without a backup.

I haven't had to deal with Johnson. I haven't seen a webpage for them though. So, I would definitely try to buy this guitar from a store or e-store that has good service customer support because I don't think Johnson is readily contactable. (I may be mistaken though).

I have been playing for 12 years. If it were lost or stolen I would definitely buy it again (unless I won the lottery and could afford a National or a Dobro). My favorite feature is the sound, just play it once and you'll fall in love.
This guitar has been a godsend to me. I have always wanted a metal bodied resonator. But, before this guitar came out I would have had to save for a very, very long time to buy one. I really love the sound and look of this guitar. Also, the neck is awesome, it is made from a great piece of mahogany. I can't believe how dense the wood on this neck really is.
I bought this guitar from Junior's Music at the lowest price that I could find anywhere. In making this purchase I have, also, found my new favorite music store (believe me, in 12 years I have tried quite a few). Junior's service was lightning fast, and their customer support has been far above what is to be expected. I had some questions and concerns, so I decided to email them. Not only was their response fast, but very thorough (I think that we went back and forth with about 15 e-mails). This is definitely a store that puts a high value on making sure that the customer is completely satisfied. (And, no, didn't give me any incentive, beyond great service, to say that). They get a 10.