The Cone That Roared: How Resonator Guitars Multiplied Volume and Rewired Tone

In the 1920s, luthier John Dopyera flipped the guitar’s engine from a wooden top to spun aluminum cones, turning string vibration into loud, metallic sound. We explain how the cone acts like a loudspeaker, why damping matters, and the three National designs: tricones, biscuit, and Dobro. We explore why metal-bodied resonators dominated blues while wood-bodied Dobro found a home in bluegrass, and note the resonator's influence on early loudspeakers (Lansing/JBL).

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