Gentlemen, I just got my national RM-V -- maple bodied, steel faced, and beautiful sounding, but I've found that many of my favorite bluegrass tunes sound better on my Eastman, so I'm trying to expand my repertoire of songs that sound great on the national. I love the way most fiddle tunes played solo sound, but when you add a vocal component, some songs just work really, really well with the national, and others-- not so much. I've only had mine for a couple weeks, but I love the way it sounds with Merle Haggard's 'Mama Tried' and CCR's 'Lodi'. So, what are the songs that you love playing on the resonator? The songs that make you go to your case and grab your national?
I've played a lot of Irish & American fiddle tunes on mine. Just picking softly way up the neck. The overtones are terrific there. Any kind of blues or ragtime works well too! Also rock and jazz. Bluegrass works especially well – after adding a bit more right hand damping to the "chop" chords. Actually, any kind of song can work well come to think of it.
Lonsome Moonlight Waltz
We did a reggae version of "Joshua fit the battle of Jericho" at church yesterday. Reggae rhythms seem to fit nicely with the tone of the RM1. To my ears anyway.
