Re: Recording King RA-998
From what I can see, it looks pretty much like the Asian-made, brass-bodied resonator mandolins that have been sold for years under names such as Johnson, Republic, et. al. I played a few of them and was less than impressed by the sound quality, which seemed harsh and raucous. Now, in some ways those are the qualities that people actually desire in National-style, biscuit-bridge resonator mandolins; I have a '30's National Triolian that is, to put it mildly, NOT SUBTLE in its sound.
Difference, as with all resonator instruments, is in the resonator cone. Republic advertises its cones as "hand-spun aluminum"; aluminum is standard, but if more care is taken in crafting the actual cone, you may get a better sonic response from it. Concur that you can't really tell from YouTube vids, which depend largely on how they're recorded -- what mic is used, etc.
Having said that, I haven't played a Recording King, compared it with the other Asian-made National clones. These instruments are at least affordable, much more so than vintage Nationals or the new RM-1 (see adjacent thread on that subject). If you can get to a dealer who has an RA-998, that would be the best way to evaluate it.
If it's as assertively voiced as other similar Asian-made reso mandolins I've tried, you might not want to amplify it...
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
Bookmarks