Ouch! Dobro Cone

[rbe]

Opened a guitar up today and found this! Someone was probably trying to adjust a buzz or rattle out of this fiddle-edge by tightening the tension adjustment screw in the center of the cone. Maybe they even thought turning it would lower the action! Is that possible, right? Anyway, they tightened it all the way! Never seen that before. The cone was in contact with the back of the spider. The screw was tight. The cone was now completely whacked. Several good size folds and much distortion. Once they got past the proper adjustment point, and they were way, way past it, the guitar most likely sounded like crap, too. And, continued to sound like crap. I bet the buzz or rattle didn't even go away. I also bet that the person who did this now says the fiddle-edges are crapy guitars. They sound bad and they have rattles you can't fix. Anyway, that darn screw is responsible for the crippling of many a Dobro cone.

    
 
   

[creolian]

Rik,

This really illustrates the point you made about tHe unknowns of those craft store paint job duolians. I have a couple reso guitars that have needed some previous owner fixing to get right, one with underslung strings causing a nice bark. I imagine there are more than a few "defective" reso guitars adjusted into unplayable sorts out there languishing away unused...


I can see someone thinking; its a screw, it must need tighning...

All best,

Jeff

[Michael Messer]

Rik, that's a new one on me too! I have never seen the cone screwed up that tight before.

Shine On
Michael

[pete1951]

I have had a similar repair to do on a modern Dobro. I put in a new cone but the old old sounded pretty good when reshaped.
PT


This fiddle edge had not got an offset spider, is this unusual?