I have owned piles of resonators and now three tricones. I have been seduced by previous experience with Regal...I think Regal is the best of the workingman's resonators but I have never been entirely happy with this resonator. The sound is merely OK, it is no better than the Johnson I once had and maybe a bit worse. Of course, the Regal is now made in China as well. The real problem seems to be the cones, but the other Regals (single biscuit cones) have had MUCH better sound. I do not know why unless the cones in this tricone come from an earlier date. Clearlye the resonators from China were once nothing most of us would want to own, but the improvement in quality in the last few years has been dramatic. Still, these cones are not up to Quartreman quality. Never less, it might be worth upgrading them given the cost of American resonators. Johnson? The metal bodied Johnson single cones seem to have disappeared entirely...who can say if they will reappear. Until then, Regal and Dean control the market. This is decent quality for the price, great looks, OK playability.

I immediately changed the strings on this for the largest gauge I could find, D'addario "Resophonic Strings" which are 16's I believe. I tune to E standard, no open tunings or anything so this guitar has been at extremely high tension yet it has not warped or broken. It has been on a few long flights and has not been damaged. The only damaged it has sustained so far is that the finish is prone to flake off around screw holes etc.

I have actually had three of these guitars. The first had a crack, and the second and third both had problems with the neck bowing. While the truss rod is adjustable, it does not keep the neck stable under any kind of tension, which quickly leads to buzzing strings from fret contact. The sound isn't bad, but with having three unplayable guitars in a row really isn't worth the price. Not only that, but I really think the fretboard feels as if the rosewood is very dried out, which is probably due to it being unfinished. Overall, I suggest to stay away from this guitar.

A professional quality Tricone with these features would cost a lot more. Unique looks and tone are a big plus. The intonation was terrible, and the eleventh fret was high. This is not too important for slide in an open tuning. I ending up making a custom bridge with a tune-o-matic style setup. I regret not getting an instrument with a factory installed pick up. I will add one soon. I expected a solidly built axe for knocking around, and it is that. Don’t plan on playing it for long gigs hanging on a guitar strap. It’s heavy!