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Post subject: Fender FR-55 steel resonator owner review
Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 8:52 am
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For reference, I have never played a National or other high end resonator, but own the Fender model that this one replaces and have played a Recoding King metal tricone. My sample of the old FR-48 has numerous tokens of sloppy manufacturing; from coverplate screw holes that don't line up with each other to fret wires that are not positioned properly so that some notes never sound right. The Recording King arrived with broken strings and tuners that stripped right off the bat, and after replacing both the tone was lifeless so I sold it immediately. While my FR-55 has a few tiny cosmetic flaws, the build quality is far superior to either instrument. First off, Fender did a fantastic job with the sandblasted graphic, even extending the pattern onto the cover plate and "frosting" the sides. Also, IMO the diamond pattern cover plate is much nicer looking than the old sieve style of the FR-48. The tuners appear to be the same; good quality that will probably hold up for years. The strings are nice coated Fender 80/20 lights (12-52) - no need to get rid of these either. My sample is free of any buzzes or rattles. The neck is true and the frets are exactly where they should be. And the tone? Also a significant step up. In particular, the trebles above the seventh fret have an amazing sparkling quality. The level of the saddle is a little bit too high even for slide and it is not radiused enough on the bass side, which creates a slightly muted bass response (no slide-growl). When it comes time to change strings I plan on switching to 12-54s, filing the saddle down, and sanding and repainting the crudely finished biscuit - hardly deal breakers. As for the cone, the quality is very good. I may switch it out for a National Hot Rod cone eventually, but it sounds fine for now. All told, this guitar lives up to the hype: it is fun to play and to look at. Reasonably priced too. Highly recommended!


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