2004 John Morton 7-String Tricone Resonator Hollowneck Hawaiian guitar

Earlier this year I worked-on and sold a John Morton "Spanish-necked" tricone resonator guitar. I was very surprised when this hollow-necekd Hawaiian of his showed-up here for consignment just recently.

John Morton was a west-coast builder of resonator guitars who passed-away recently (RIP) and made almost everything from scratch for his resonator instruments. The cones on this, for example, are spun by him and reduced in size compared to normal cones so that they'd fit this roughly-Weissenborn-sized body shape. It has cool "etched" trim and a "screened" coverplate. The whole headstock is a chunk of aluminum as well. It's wild!

Being a 7-string, I have no idea how the original owner would have tuned it, but I tuned it to "bluegrass G" with a low D note -- DGBDGBD low to high. That was all my brain could handle at the moment and I sound terrible on it anyhow in the video -- sorry!

Tonewise, it's midsy and punchy and has a ton of sustain. It's not the loudest resonator I've heard but it's pleasantly sing-song in voicing and fun to play. The back is not supported by soundposts like on Nationals, so it will do the "roll of thunder" sound if pressed-in too hard while playing. I can add soundposts easy-peasy if desired but decided to leave it as-original.

Repairs included: replacement endblock, cone seating and saddle adjustment, minor setup and restring...

Weight: 8 lbs 7 oz

Scale length: 23"

Nut width: 2 1/4"

Neck shape: rectangular

Board radius: flat

Body width: 14"

Body depth: 3 1/4"

Body: metal

Cone type: tricone

Bridge: maple with T-bridge

Fretboard: unsure -- with contrasting heartwood

Neck wood: metal!

Action height at 12th fret: n/a
String gauges: 68w-14

Fret style: flush

Condition notes: there's mild wear-and-tear in the body and some minor discoloration to the finish here and there but overall it's nice and clean. I have the "wrist rest" off of it right now but it's stashed in the case and you can see it "resting" on the body top in one of the photos.

It comes with: a huge, heavy, heavy-duty travel case.