I had to watch when I saw you have common sense! I've seen so many people use a flat tip screwdriver or toothpick to lift the cone out by the edge when there's a perfectly good tension screw included. Thanks for the lesson!
Thanks for the video. I have an Eastwood Delta 6 that arrived with a buzz. I followed your instructions regarding rotating the spider and was able to correct the issue.
10:12 Open G Major Tuning. I prefer stringing the strings underneath the tailpiece to get more break angle which also allows me to get away w/ lighter gauge strings. However w/ the 16-56 strings strung underneath the tailpiece, they recommend tuning it down a few steps to maybe Open E Major (E, G#, B, E, G#, B).
This was very very helpful. I’m thinking of trying to change the cone in my Gretsch and the spider on top of that and we’ll see how well I do. This was very helpful. Thank you. 2:11
OMDog! Thank you so much! My Radio King developed a buzz long while back and I could NOT locate it. Looked at a lot of videos and your's is so straight forward! Guitar techs scared me with horror stories and advised against opening her up!!! Yep. Spidey legs. Took less than an hour to get it perfect! Probably faster if you have level counter tops. LOL I'm back in business.
If you look at a Replogle or Beard Spider, they do not lie flat. The are slightly arched. The important "flatness" is a plane that intersects the ends of all of the feet of the spider, right where it rests on the cone.
It’s very difficult to actually cut a circle like this out of round. I suspect that often, when the strings are at around 165 pounds of tension, the tailpiece pulls the tail of the body toward the neck a little. Thus, the new cone needs to be fitted a bit. Thanks.
Great question! Generally speaking, no. It typically is not necessary to cut those slots at an angle, and you normally try to cut them as level as possible. That being said, if you cut the slots and have a string that is buzzing, or sounds "muted" then you may need to adjust the slots. That's not to say that they would need an angle though, they may be cut too tight, or un-level. A slight angle toward the tailpiece isn't an issue, but an angle toward the neck will create problems. Hope that helps!
I would recommend that you do not try to sand down the edges of a cone unless there is only a tiny bit to sand. Cones are very thin. I installed a Beard Legend come today, and after wasting a lot of time trying to sand it, I just cut off a sixteenth of an inch where necessary with a pair of ordinary scissors. Fast and easy! No need for tin snips.
on my first dobro the tension screw nut slips round and round. do i glue it or replace cone? cant seem to find correct size for cone , mines a regal and it is 10 and half inches , all i find is every other size 265 mm
I'm not a great dobro player, which is why I didn't play it any afterwards. I've worked on a lot of instruments though, and adjusting the cone solved all of the sound issues with this particular guitar.
The pickup was installed by the previous owner, and appears to be a generic piezo pickup. It sounded good, but unfortunately I’m not sure what brand it was. There were no markings on the element to identify it. Sorry!
Because the cones are considered a "wear item" the same as strings, or the saddle. The cone has to be replaced every few years to keep your instrument sounding it's best, and when you install a new cone, you always have to custom fit it to your resonator guitar. So, it's "standard practice" to sand the cone. In this case, whoever installed the cone just did a poor job at it. Sanding the body is very uncommon, and if that is required, there are usually structural issue that need to be addressed also.
If the cone is just a little bit loose, it should be fine. The string tension should be enough to keep it seated such that it doesn't create an issue. That being said, I've never personally worked on a dobro where the cone was too loose (to the point that it caused an issue), so I would hate to give any advice on that without any personal experience. Maybe someone else will chime in though! Thanks for the comments!
I had to watch when I saw you have common sense! I've seen so many people use a flat tip screwdriver or toothpick to lift the cone out by the edge when there's a perfectly good tension screw included. Thanks for the lesson!
Thanks for the video. I have an Eastwood Delta 6 that arrived with a buzz. I followed your instructions regarding rotating the spider and was able to correct the issue.
10:12 Open G Major Tuning. I prefer stringing the strings underneath the tailpiece to get more break angle which also allows me to get away w/ lighter gauge strings. However w/ the 16-56 strings strung underneath the tailpiece, they recommend tuning it down a few steps to maybe Open E Major (E, G#, B, E, G#, B).
This was very very helpful. I’m thinking of trying to change the cone in my Gretsch and the spider on top of that and we’ll see how well I do. This was very helpful. Thank you. 2:11
Great video. Just got my first dobro, and the cone rattles. Now I know what to do to fix it! Thank you thank you.
Your insight was so helpful. Thank you. Genuinely.
Great video! Perfect for a new resonator guitar owner. Thank you!
Thanks for the video, saved me a ton of cash on repairs to my resonator.
Sanding the cone gave chills 🥶😂
OMDog! Thank you so much! My Radio King developed a buzz long while back and I could NOT locate it. Looked at a lot of videos and your's is so straight forward! Guitar techs scared me with horror stories and advised against opening her up!!! Yep. Spidey legs. Took less than an hour to get it perfect! Probably faster if you have level counter tops. LOL I'm back in business.
Glad I could help!!
If you look at a Replogle or Beard Spider, they do not lie flat. The are slightly arched. The important "flatness" is a plane that intersects the ends of all of the feet of the spider, right where it rests on the cone.
This was extremely informative! Thanks for sharing the knowledge.
Thanks! My dobro started rattling yesterday and I'm rarin' to fix it!
It’s very difficult to actually cut a circle like this out of round. I suspect that often, when the strings are at around 165 pounds of tension, the tailpiece pulls the tail of the body toward the neck a little. Thus, the new cone needs to be fitted a bit. Thanks.
Do you need to file a slight angle in back of each string slot in the maple bridge to match the slight string break angle going to the tailpiece?
Great question! Generally speaking, no. It typically is not necessary to cut those slots at an angle, and you normally try to cut them as level as possible. That being said, if you cut the slots and have a string that is buzzing, or sounds "muted" then you may need to adjust the slots. That's not to say that they would need an angle though, they may be cut too tight, or un-level. A slight angle toward the tailpiece isn't an issue, but an angle toward the neck will create problems. Hope that helps!
@@Jhfstudio Thanks. I just acquired a square neck resophonic guitar that was set up for a lefty player and I have to change the nut and saddle.
Good video, I'm glad ill know what to do now!
what pickup are you using? I have a disc/cone pickup installed that howls with low end feedback......
It was an older Fishman pickup. It sounded pretty good, but it would pick up quite a bit of handling noise.
I would recommend that you do not try to sand down the edges of a cone unless there is only a tiny bit to sand. Cones are very thin. I installed a Beard Legend come today, and after wasting a lot of time trying to sand it, I just cut off a sixteenth of an inch where necessary with a pair of ordinary scissors. Fast and easy! No need for tin snips.
on my first dobro the tension screw nut slips round
and round. do i glue it or replace cone? cant seem to find correct size for cone , mines a regal and it is 10 and half inches , all i find is every other size 265 mm
Great video, thanks mate!
I trust you that it sounds better Now then it did Then.
I'm not a great dobro player, which is why I didn't play it any afterwards. I've worked on a lot of instruments though, and adjusting the cone solved all of the sound issues with this particular guitar.
wich mic are you using in the dobro
The pickup was installed by the previous owner, and appears to be a generic piezo pickup. It sounded good, but unfortunately I’m not sure what brand it was. There were no markings on the element to identify it. Sorry!
What grade sandpaper did you use for the cone?
I normally use 220 grit. Sometimes I'll start with 150 grit, and finish with 220. It just depends on how much material I'm looking to remove.
Why not sand the wood body instead?
Because the cones are considered a "wear item" the same as strings, or the saddle. The cone has to be replaced every few years to keep your instrument sounding it's best, and when you install a new cone, you always have to custom fit it to your resonator guitar. So, it's "standard practice" to sand the cone. In this case, whoever installed the cone just did a poor job at it. Sanding the body is very uncommon, and if that is required, there are usually structural issue that need to be addressed also.
The opposite problem what if the cone is loose in the sound hole?
If the cone is just a little bit loose, it should be fine. The string tension should be enough to keep it seated such that it doesn't create an issue. That being said, I've never personally worked on a dobro where the cone was too loose (to the point that it caused an issue), so I would hate to give any advice on that without any personal experience. Maybe someone else will chime in though! Thanks for the comments!
8:45
My spider is welded onto the cone hmmmm. The sound is too muddy.
That's odd. I've never seen that before. Is this on a round, or square neck resonator? What brand is the instrument?