One of the things that I have been finding as I got into this hobby is that information about vintage… especially pre-war instruments can be very difficult to find at times, even with the internet as a resource. Case and point, the Schireson Brothers’ resonator cone. There was a lot of competition back in the 30s for the guitar market and no doubt, the new resonator guitar offered a new and interesting potential alternative, a niche market. The Dopyera Brothers (Dobro) had a patent going back to 1929, the Schireson Brothers had a patent to 1931. It could be argued that the Schireson design was, with it’s wooden flywheel like top and bowl shaped cone, different than the Dobro design… but that wasn’t how the courts saw it, so the Schireson model has not been made since 1935. How do I know this? Well, as seems to be my MO, I stumbled on a very interesting looking guitar online and had to find out what it was! The instrument in question was a resonator, marked “S S Maxwell” on the headstock and with “mother of toilet seat” covering the headstock as well (MOTS refers to a wonderful new material that could be made to look pearloid, very popular adornment in the 1930s). The seller was in New York and reported that, although the guitar was in very good condition otherwise, the resonator itself was definitely not functioning. So it was either a sick Schireson Brothers’ cone or there was something else going on but I could tell from the photos that if I could get the resonator to work, everything else should be fine. I was correct; however, the original cone was not there. Instead there was an obvious attempt to duplicate the function of the Schireson Brothers’ cone by installing a Beard biscuit style cone upside down and building a very large wooden puck to support the biscuit. It didn’t work, in fact, when you plucked the strings it just went “plunk”. I was not discouraged though, I had been prepared for such an outcome and already knew where I could get the required parts to correct the problem. I purchased a 9″ mandolin cone from Beard, and a 10.5″ spider bridge and a package of maple/ebony saddles from a cheap overseas supplier (didn’t want to sink too much money into it in case it didn’t work) and routed 1/16″ from the outer edge of the cone well on the top of the guitar. I was ultimately successful and was able to do the work in such a manner that if I were ever to stumble on a Schireson Brothers’ cone in the future… (not likely), I can still return the guitar to original. It’s an interesting instrument, slightly arched back, snakehead headstock which is very uncommon for the time and a very nice, rich, woody tone. I have also installed a series of three piezo mics inside with a 1/4″ jack at the strap knob. They were made by Kay Musical Instruments in Chicago, I found a reference to the model in a complete listing of Kay instruments and determined that this model was only made in 1933 and 1934. So… there you have it, the story of the Schireson Brothers’ cone and how I sadly never did get to actually try one. I have included a link to a video of the same model as mine with the original cone in it and links to a number of sites where I have gleaned information about it, also to Beard Guitars, I purchased the cone to repair mine from them.
Scireson Hollywood 
Schireson Cone 
Schireson Flywheel-like Bridge 
My Maxwell no Cone 
My Maxwell Repaired
An S S Maxwell like mine but with the original Schireson cone…
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Schireson-Bros-Manufactured-Musical-Instrurents-262113372081/posts/
http://michaelmesser.proboards.com/thread/382/schireson-patent-1-887-861
http://michaelmesser.proboards.com/thread/1546
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=273911&sid=1dd2f8b5c9c9026d04768cf91fb4c54f
https://www.resohangout.com/archive/45392
It’s great to see that they are still active online!
That was quite a fix, Scott! Interesting info.
Sadly, I hadn’t yet decided at the time to do what I am doing now so I had very little for photos and video of what I was doing. Future posts will be more in depth and informative.
Yes, that would have been a great one to document! Next time!
Hi, I have just aquired a guitar with a Schireson cone system.
The cover plate is stamped National Dobro.
Do you know if the contact information for Gary Schireson is still correct?
I am assuming it is because that is the only official connection to their business that I am finding online and it has been updated within the past year but they don’t seem to use the site very often. They don’t appear to use online services very much.
I came across a resonator that was given to me some time ago with a shitenson cone design made with tin foil that actually would be consistent with gram bell and the telegraph. Or Edison., Mike Messer uk.with a pattent and I think to be a copyright with Gibson logo? Not sure. Any help I’d appreciate in identifying this guitar. If the numbers on yhe opposite of the y was the year it would be 1874 .any help would be usefull thank you!
Great post! I was just looking at a current eBay listing for an S.S.Maxwell resonator with the Schierson patent, went hunting for info, and fount this post. Answered all my questions, thanks. The guitar in the current listing is in great condition, and attractive, but do I need another project?….ha!
Hi I recently had a resonator given to me , and it has a Gibson marking on it and tin foil cone marked with a patent number. I believe to be 1874, 74 being the number on the opposite of the y marked. It’s a shirenson brothers style exactly except not of aluminum foil , but made of tin foil that would be consistent with gram Belk. I have pictures of patent number. I don’t think it is a x patent that was destroyed in the fire ? Any help on this guitar authenticating the resonator would be usefull and much appreciated. Please text me for pictures of number and copyright along with gibbons deleted logo.
I had a Schireson wood-bodied reasonator guitar in about 1974. The previous owner had refinished it and it had no markings or labels. It did have the flywheel bridge, bowl resonator, and daisy-pattern cover plate. I think I found out the brand name by someone who could identify a symbol stamped into the bowl…
However the sound was somewhere between ‘dull’ and ‘dead’ so I traded it in on a ‘50s National solid-body resonator guitar I about 1975. I’ve not seen or heard of a Schireson guitar since, until now.