The British Steelies Society

Somewhere out there is an affordable eight-string square neck resonator guitar. Maybe someone on the BSS knows where? Just a thought, I've been asked to find one.

Update... apparently a six-string might be ok at the right price.

My McKenna 8-string resonator will be up for sale soon. Built by Gregg McKenna in Windsor, Connecticut . Complete with hard case. Price will be around £750 shipped within mainland UK.

Sounds like a good deal Tony! And, as you well know, shipping to Rep. of Ireland can be pretty cheap and convenient. My "Beard signature" Goldtone was well over £800. But it sounds good even with a C6th tuning despite the received wisdom saying the G top string, which I like, would be too skinny to drive the cone; A6th or G6th being preferred.
Good luck, T.R.D.

Alas, good deal or not, it's over my lockdown budget. Thanks anyway Jim. Maybe if I hadn't broken my piggy bank buying a shiny red console steel recently.....but no regrets!

A shiny red console steel sounds rather nice Tony - worth breaking the piggy bank for. I'll pop the 8-string resonator up on this forum in maybe a week from now so there is still time for a lottery win or a surprise inheritance

PM sent

Hi Jim interested in your 8string, never heard of McKenna , so I would like to see it,,and play it, where are you.? Regards john

Gregg McKenna, USA luthier. Maybe not as well known as Beard or Scheerhorn but an internet search on Mckenna should pop up a "tube" of somebody playing one. 8 string resos are way cool (and 7s aren't bad either).

AJB wrote:Hi Jim interested in your 8string, never heard of McKenna , so I would like to see it,,and play it, where are you.? Regards john

Thanks for your interest John. I'm in north Kent, not far from Sheppey. If you are anywhere near you would be welcome to see and play it - Covid 19 rules permitting

I've been corresponding with coolsteel over the past few days as he is also interested in the McKenna.

Tony Russell Davis wrote:Gregg McKenna, USA luthier. Maybe not as well known as Beard or Scheerhorn but an internet search on Mckenna should pop up a "tube" of somebody playing one. 8 string resos are way cool (and 7s aren't bad either).

Spot-on Tony. Gregg had quite a devoted following of reso players. I bought 6-string and 8-string square-neck resonators from him. A lovely guy to deal with too. You may know that he gave up building them in about 2012, sold off his workshop and moved from Connecticut to South Carolina. A pity but he had other things in his life. He was also a staunch believer in traditional soundwell construction and was not keen to build open-bodied resonator guitars with sound posts as Scheerhorn and others were doing, even though it was fashionable.

I hope I'm OK in posting a YouTube link on here? - but here is a fella playing an 8-string McKenna like mine and he can certainly play!



Jim