How loud is a single 6” cone?

[pete1951]

I have used 6” cones in several instruments ( some worked well some not so good) but I have never put one in a full size guitar.
Someone has just given me a (very ) damaged guitar so thought I would give it a go.
Pete

This is (was ) a very cheap guitar so not really worth mending.




Almost done

[pete1951]

So a 6” cone has been fitted, what does it sound like?

At the moment like a cheap plywood guitar.

The well is just screwed to the top, so no support from a neck stick and ‘mushrooms’ . I think at the moment the well is acting as the old bridge and transferring vibration to the top. My next step is to make the top stiffer, add some sort of neck stick with supports, this should then give the cone some movement. Hopefully this may then sound like a resonator, time will tell!
Pete

[pete1951]

Some chunky bits of wood glued to the underside of the table and the guitar sounds much more ‘reso-ish’ ( and a circle of ply taped over the large hole in the back)
It probably sounds better than it did when it was new!

I will make a few more sound holes in the top ( and possibly make the original sound hole a bit smaller) and do a short video.

I am convinced that a travel guitar could be made with a small body ( and a 6” cone ) that would have enough volume to be heard when played with other ‘standard’ acoustic instruments. The big body of this guitar probably enhances bass, though my cigar box guitars (with 6”cones) have fairly good bass response.
Pete

[richclough]

Hi Pete - do you think a single 6” cone could take the stress from 6 strings?

[pete1951]

In the same way a National 12string functions without a special cone. The pressure on the bridge is determined by the angle over the bridge, decreasing it drops the pressure. That said the downward pressure on some cones ( an 015 set tuned to A for example) is probably far more than most cones have to put up with. Most 12 string players use lighter strings than standard you could possibly get away with a standard reso setup for many players ( don’t try this at home ) As long as the pressure is straight down they can take quite a weight.

I once made a guitar with 2 x 9 1/2” cones this had an increased angle and twice the pressure of a standard 6 string (I made a special gig to give me the angle I wanted.) it didn’t sound twice as good so it sits in a drawer , ( this maybe where the 6” on a standard guitar will end up!)
Pete