If you build a metal resonator into a solid body guitar, would the bridge need to make contact with the resonator?
I'm thinking about using a 2x4 and putting a pop can resonator in the solid body. Here's a drawing of what I originally came up with.
After looking at the design and thinking about it a little, I'm wondering if the sound comes mostly from the bridge. If so, my design probably wouldn't work very well. I suspect that the vibrations don't really travel through the air and they really travel through the bridge. Do I need to move my reso down and put my bridge on top of it in order to produce the most sound?
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Thanks for all the feedback. I've adjusted the design slightly so the bridge sits on the can. I didn't realize my mistake until after I had the initial design.
I've also listened to several coffee can style reso's since I designed this and I don't dig the sound. So, I'll probably skip building it this way. I may adapt the style a bit to a more standard acoustic sound or I may just go with a bar piezo again.
I build my first (and only) guitar with a solid body and a bar piezo. I'm pretty sure the body size makes no difference (except in comfort) on a guitar that uses only a piezo for sound. This 2x4 design is probably better suited to that. The piezo, connections, soldering, and need for an amp do bring the price up a bit though. I was looking at this sort of in the eyes of a homeless man. How cheaply could it be made?
Time for a redesign. Thanks again, I appreciate all the insights.
Yes the bridge wants to stand on it.
If your strings are sitting above the can, with no bridge touching it, then the best you're gonna get is some minor, rapidly decaying vibrational energy transmitted through the plank, and some very minor sound waves transmitted from the strings through the air bouncing off the can. It'll be fairly soft, not loud. Les Paul built his Log ( a plank with strings, no reso, just a split-down-the-middle acoustic grafted to either side) this way, and he added magnetic pickups because the thing wasn't very loud acoustically. Which shouldn't stop you from doing 2 quickie builds, just to test your idea, one with bridge on plank, the other with bridge on can. I'll take bets on the bridge on can. :-)
Take a look at mine "coffee can resonator #3" about 3/4's of the way down the page
https://home.comcast.net/~204mike/forsale.html
I see that you have the strings AND the bridge touching your can. Do you think that's necessary? Wonder how much difference it makes.
The strings touching the can after the bridge offer little if any sound to the can, the bridge should absorb all the string vibration. But the strings touching the can do serve a function, the can completes the "ground" for the strings,1string grounded, can connects them. i could have connected the string ends, but the can does the job not by design it just worked out that way
unrelated: Did you put extra bracing in the olive oil cans?
The 1st one (black) has no bracing, just the neck and 2nd neck piece. The 2nd one (green) has a additional tight fitting 1x2 screwed to the bottom thru the ends. #1 works fine sounds good to me, but the additional bracing in #2 feels better.
In order to get that resonator sound, yes you will need the bridge on the metal item. I believe there is also some theory into the best way to attach metal item to the body for the "perfect" combo of strength, and vibration. However, someone else might better explain that.