In recent times, Fender has made a splash with its Acoustasonic collection—hybrid guitars that take the shapes of iconic solidbodies just like the Telecaster and the Stratocaster, whereas delivering many alternative acoustic and electrical tones in a single package deal. On the similar time, the corporate has bolstered its extra conventional acoustic choices. The Paramount line options player-friendly fretted devices which might be affordably priced, every promoting for below a grand. I attempted the Paramount PR-180E, a mahogany-bodied resonator guitar, which I discovered good for reproducing the wealthy sounds of traditional bluegrass and blues.

Classic Vibe and Setup

The PR-180E has a easy, unadorned look. With its aged white binding, the mahogany physique displays a down-home sensibility, whereas the open-gear tuners and delicate V-shaped neck lend classic mojo. Solar-ray stamping on the resonator cowl plate can be a pleasant contact. The guitar sports activities strong craftsmanship—I may spot no flaws or imperfections in building. 

A lot of the entry-level resonators I’ve performed had smaller necks and tighter string spacing, geared in the direction of resonator-curious electrical gamers. However the beneficiant nut width (1-3/4 inches) and string spacing (55mm) on the PR-180E present ample room for fingerpickers, flatpickers, and strummers alike. On the similar time, this can be a smaller-bodied guitar with a decent waist and comparatively shallow depth that ought to be snug for all gamers. 

The string top on the guitar I acquired was a bit of excessive for non-slide taking part in. However should you don’t thoughts excessive motion, it’s not too tough to navigate the neck. To decrease the motion, you would wish to take away the spilt saddle from the biscuit bridge and sand it down, a easy and cheap restore any tech ought to be capable to deal with.

As I performed up the neck with out a slide, the pitch appeared a bit of wonky. Pulling out my tuner, I confirmed that the intonation on the twelfth fret was certainly off. Once more, this might most likely be remedied by reducing the motion—larger motion can result in intonation points when fretting strings up the neck.

In any case, the intonation is clearly much less of a priority for bottleneck taking part in, and the setup on the evaluate mannequin was supreme for slide. The motion stored my bottleneck from banging into the fretboard and made it usually simpler to navigate from the nut to the twelfth fret.

A possible difficulty all bargain-resonator buyers ought to learn about is the string harness that sits atop the duvet plate. I’ve discovered that these will usually produce an audible rattle. This was certainly the case after I first tried the PR-180E. A simple repair is to position a skinny piece of felt or material between the harness and the resonator cowl plate, eliminating the offending sound. This hack labored like a appeal right here. 

Heat and Mellow

There are three resonator kinds—biscuit bridge, tricone, and spider. The PR-180E is of the spider selection, which is thought for a heat sound that works properly for bluegrass or any ensemble setting with devices like mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and stand-up bass.

That mentioned, the overall sound of the PR-180E is mellower than I anticipated. Generally resonator guitars have a harsh growl, however the take a look at mannequin’s mahogany high, again, and sides made for a heat and even sound over all the strings. The resonator cone does amplify the sound however isn’t excessively loud.

I began out taking part in the PR-180E in commonplace tuning with out slide, discovering the sound fairly inviting as I strummed by means of the opening chords of the Allman Brothers music “Melissa.” This obtained me pondering that the guitar may work properly as a participant’s primary instrument, reasonably than simply including to a tonal palette. 

After taking part in some strummed standard-tuned items, I tuned the guitar right down to open D (D A D F# A D) and tried out a glass bottleneck. Whereas Fender mentions on its web site that the PR-180E is nice for each bottleneck and lap slide, the instrument I acquired was in truth arrange for bottleneck model. For those who had been to play lap slide you’ll most likely want a nut extender—a cheap gadget positioned below the nut of the guitar to lift the strings larger off the fretboard. (Observe: should you use a nut extender, you can be unable to worry notes together with your fingers, therefore lap model can be the popular methodology for enjoying the instrument.)

I then performed a few choruses of Sylvester Weaver’s “Metal Guitar Rag.” Even with the slackened stress, the strings nonetheless held agency, with no buzzes or fret clanks. The mellow spider cone gave off a lovely, Hawaiian-like vibe. 

Plugging In

The PR-180E has a Fishman Nashville collection ceramic piezo pickup put in with the cut up saddle. It does a greater than enough job of amplifying the acoustic sound. There are not any onboard controls, so if you wish to tweak the EQ or quantity you’ll want to make use of an exterior preamp. Nevertheless, I used to be very glad with how the guitar sounded by means of my AER MM200 acoustic amplifier, reaching good quantity with out suggestions and a heat, clear tone.

The Wrap

Slide guitarists, fingerpickers, flatpickers, and strummers ought to all discover one thing equally interesting in regards to the Fender Paramount PR-180E. The guitar has a candy sound that would make it properly suited to be your primary instrument, or one thing you decide up for a change of coloration, whether or not reside or within the studio. The classic vibe and subdued charisma also needs to enchantment to of us who need to put a bit of extra down-home taste into their visible presentation.

Specs

BODY Laminated mahogany high, again, and sides; spider cone resonator; trapeze tailpiece; 55mm bridge string spacing; satin Aged Cognac Burst end

NECK 25″-scale mahogany with walnut fretboard; delicate V profile; dual-action truss rod; 19 frets; 1-3/4″ bone nut; nickel open butterbean tuners; satin end

OTHER Fender nickel-plated metal strings (12–52); Fishman Nashville Sequence Spider-Fashion Resophonic pickup; hardshell case

MADE IN China

PRICE $549.99 avenue

fender.com

Store for this guitar at Sweetwater, Amazon, or Reverb.