Mule Resophonic Guitars

A bit of a tangent but it still applies. We tend to think of alternatives in aggregate. "If I didn't work this job I could start that business, go back to school and still have more free time." We take the best parts of all...

The resonator guitar cone.  The myth, the legend. Built in mojo bag. Talisman and bringer of all that is good and loud in the world. Ok, that's overkill. But we love them don't we?  It's such a unique part of guitar culture....

If you make things for a living this is for you. If you make things but not for a living, add this to your thoughts if you find yourself daydreaming about telling your boss to shove it. This is my friendly encouragement to...

The Yes Man. Mocked throughout the cubicles. "Don't be a yes man." is used in contexts other than the office to try to instill in people a sense of pushing back, going against the grain, standing up for their own...

If you are guitar maker, resonator guitar enthusiast, or are just looking for a good book- Guitar Lesson by Bob Taylor and  The Way of the Seal by Mark Divine are two of the most helpful I've read this year. The hard part of...

I was listening to the radio a while back and they had a scientist on to talk. She studied ants. First I was stunned that there was such a thing, second that she most likely was not the only ant researcher. She spent all her...

The MuleCaster Lives. Neck through design because simple is awesome. Hipshot bender for pedal steel dreamy goodness. McNelly Pickups. It sounds alive, it looks so damn good. I want to make one for you. One of the...

A bit of a primer on the pieces of these resonator guitars. If you are new to the world of resonators, this will help you get acquainted. The body of a resonator guitar is typically either steel or brass.  My guitars are no...

"You are so talented!" This is probably the number one comment given to makers-of-things, and probably players-of-instruments as well. Talent.  I think talent is used like 'miracle' is used.  There is talent and there are...

I'm sure this will be a bit of a touchy subject, but that's why I'm writing about it.  It's not just regards to resonator guitars, if you have any guitar- any instrument at all- and you also play for people this applies to...

Things might get a little bit spicy. 10 years ago when I was at Huss and Dalton as an eager 20 year old I wanted to build guitars all the time.  I did many operations during the day but not the whole deal.  I wanted to keep...

What's it like buying a handmade resonator guitar anyways? If I can't pull it off the wall and play it first, why should I buy it? I totally admit it's a completely different experience buying a resonator guitar that isn't...

The e-mail sometimes goes like this: "Hey Matt, I love resonators and have always wanted to make one.  How?" I totally get the feeling.  I worked at Huss and Dalton guitars for a while and went to a guitar making school, so...

Charley Hicks on Mule Resonator Guitar records every Charley Patton Song https://youtu.be/SuWJm4RobXQ If that's not a worthy news headline, I'm not sure what is.   Charley has #42, and tow more mules, a steel tricone and a...

Guitar bracing. I love ladder braced guitars.  I had an Gibson LG that really opened my mind to what's going on inside the box.  Fraulini guitars... same thing.  Dale Fairbanks uses X braces, but they are unscalloped and they...

Guitar festivals. I want to go.  When I was a wee lad of 18 or so I found the Healdsburg Guitar Festival website and would use that as my research.  I found links to websites for Jeff Traugott, Judy Threet, Linda Manzer,...

A bit of a philosophical tangent now.  What is handmade? I think this a conversation I've always heard phrased in more questions than answers.  I think that's a great thing and I think it proves it's own point- that...

  You have to do what you  have to do, and getting going with these resonator guitars was no different.  I spent about a year and a half at the first 'Shop", two years in the basement and the last six months at shop...

What is the boring composition chart you see above?  This is the composition of a tricone cone I sent to Metaltest in Washington state to have tested.   I'm in the process of getting my lathe set up to start spinning my own...

"Most precise...exacting...perfect....unwavering quality"  We hear a lot of words and phrases like that used when being referred to what makers make don't we?  Whether those words or true and honest or not is a subject for...