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Post by creolian on Mar 8, 2017 2:02:14 GMT
Hello All and greetings from the land of Red Beans and Mustard Greens... Way down yonder in New Orleans. Just got myself a new used republic single cone DR87. I noticed that the biscuit is a bit towards the bass side and the strings are off in that direction at the biscuit end. I'm wondering if the PO might have changed all the strings at once allowing the cone to move sideways and if that's even a possibility or something more likely from the factory. I've been playing a Wooden body Johnson with a spider and have dealt with the fits it has caused along with a couple bad frets and a broken drum shell inside. All I can say at this point is I like the republic about a 100% more already. I'm sure that some lighter strings and a bit of setup will improve it as I'm a strictly picking only player. Any info on my guitar is much appreciated as from what I've read around the web and on this forum I'm a bit weary of messing with the cone as I'm more of a ham fisted idiot when it comes to fixing things that are delicate (my favorite tool is a ball peen wrench)
I spent half of my career as a live sound mixer for music and the other half as a recordist in film and tv... Always really wanted to be a rock star;))). One day I'll relate the story of Snooks Eaglin wanting to feel the fire (in his cocktail) or maybe about the time I got put in jail while mixing monitors for Buddy Guy. Long strange trip indeed... Looking forward to being a member here.
Cheers ! Jeff
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2017 7:23:57 GMT
There should be a bit of leeway for the whole cone to move back to the correct position. Slacken the strings, and carefully push the biscuit with a blunt tool to position required.
TT
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Post by obrienp on Mar 9, 2017 15:51:44 GMT
Welcome Creolian! You've come to the right place for resonator advice. I think there have been other threads on a related theme: it might be worth having a search. If Michael spots this I am sure he will give you excellent advice. I had similar issues, on a Republic as it happens. Mine happened in transit to me: they had slackened the strings off too much and the cone moved. The answer is what TT/Deuce said. Explained in more detail on the Busker site here: www.buskerguitars.co.uk/3.html under hints and tips. Just remember that moving the cone towards fretboard or tailpiece will have an effect on the intonation, so you may have to play around with it a bit to get it right and it may take a few days to settle down. If you are careful, there is nothing to worry about in doing this. There should be some play between the edge of the cone and the sound well for this very reason. If you do opt to take it to a luthier/guitar tech, just make sure they know resonators. They are a significantly different beast to a regular acoustic and there have been some atrocities committed by well meaning but ignorant repairers. I am sure forum members your side of the pond can give you some trustworthy names. WRT string guages. I got my head shot off for saying this before but here goes: a lot of people (including me) believe that you need heavier strings on a resonator than you might use on a standard acoustic, especially for slide, to get the cone working. However, some on this forum say they get excellent results from 12s. You say you are a picker, so you won't want 16s I guess, unless you have a vice like grip! My personal experience of putting 12s on a MM Blues 28 (also wooden bodied single cone biscuit bridge) that was set up for finger style, was that tone and volume suffered a bit over the 13s and 15s I had tried before. However, every guitar and guitarist is different. Enjoy experimenting! Slide on, Pat |
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Post by creolian on Mar 9, 2017 16:39:42 GMT
Thanks, I did a bit of searching here and elsewhere and all the info I found was about moving the cone back and forth to adjust intonation. The Busker link clarifies that the cone can be moved on all axis or rotated. I'm going with a hybrid set of strings using three heaviy flat wound Tomastics and some lighter wires on the treble side... mostly because it's what I have laying around the house and am temporarily without a vehicle.
Irony is a ruptured water hose on the truck on the way back from purchasing the guitar. Left me on the side of the highway ready to sell my soul... Luckily the tow truck operator was willing to take a mere 100 dollars instead. It's a long slog to the music store and luthier I use. So, until I've got my wheels back ...
thanks again, best
jeff
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Post by bonzo on Mar 9, 2017 17:37:38 GMT
Hi Creolian, I'll pass along some advice I've picked up along the way about not crushing the cone on one side. The strings need to be evenly balanced across the bridge,if to much pressure is applied to one side the cone may collapse to one side. Good luck with your endeavours,and a rule of thumb is a car will never break down at a time that is convenient to you!
Best wishes to you all, John
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Post by slide496 on Mar 9, 2017 21:04:30 GMT
Hi Creolian,
You might double check the tailpiece is straight - if it's moved in shipping and at an angle then it might pull on the biscuit/saddle off center.
My republic minolian came with the biscuit a little closer to the bass side as well and I've never bothered with making it completely centered as it isn't hitting anything and plays well. These are handmade and I believe they try to put them together with the guideline that they are playable and each one I've had from them - I've had three - has been a little different in biscuit position - the tail piece might be a hair off, or the saddle or the nut.
I'm sure other members will correct me if wrong but I think you have to redo the nut and the saddle to get it more centered.
Good luck with your new Resonator.
Harriet
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Post by creolian on Mar 11, 2017 0:17:00 GMT
hello all and thanks for your replies and experience, I'd really be flying blind without this site... A special thanks to Michael for hosting the forum.
I swapped the old wires for a set of D'adario ribbon wound chromes gauged .12, .16, .24, .32, .42, .52 and I'm mostly happy with how they sound. Obviously they don't provide cannon like volume and attack as they are electric guitar strings, but for my porch playing they're ok for now. When I get mobile again I'm going to try some more purpose intended sets in 12 and 13...
got everything loosened up and the cone moves but it wants to settle back to the bass side to the point of having the low e too close to the edge for my grab and shake style of playing. That the old set of strings were tied to the tuning posts with gorilla knots, I'm afraid I might have a dinged cone... trapeze is centered and nothing else is obvious so I'll probably play it for another week or two and bring it to my luthier for a look see under the hood, lower action and maybe a replacement marker dot as one got past franks eagle eye... other than a deep set dot ( maybe a 64th below the edges of the hole ) and some crappy glue spill around the heel it's a decent guitar that I'm having a hard time putting down.
One question: do republic stock cones have the swirl pressing that you see on national cones? My browser on this iPad won't display pics from republics webste...
Nice weekend and best to all,
jeff
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Post by slide496 on Mar 11, 2017 0:31:04 GMT
They now sell cones at republic - they are continental cones - here's a picture if you can see it:  |
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Post by creolian on Mar 11, 2017 1:01:36 GMT
thanks so much ! yes I can see that pic and it looks like what I've got under the hood... I can see stew Mac and other sites and thought maybe someone had swapped cones. I did give the screws a mechanics inspection and it appears they've never been touched, cover or truss rod.
if nothing else, this guitar has absolutely no rattles or buzzing which is rarely the case with my wooden reso... I'm about to break down and try some tunings and slide.
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Post by slide496 on Mar 12, 2017 1:05:42 GMT
Hi Creolian,
Glad it helped. Good luck with it then.
Harriet
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2017 10:21:46 GMT
If you are tightening up the bass strings first, it will tend to move back that way.
If you haven't already, repeat process tightening up the treble or middle strings first, bass last.
Otherwise, maybe the tailpiece has got 'bent to the left', or even drilled into the wrong place, making your strings from the tailpiece to the bridge at an angle (when looked at from above)?
TT
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Post by dobrojim on Mar 17, 2017 5:01:34 GMT
thanks so much ! yes I can see that pic and it looks like what I've got under the hood... I can see stew Mac and other sites and thought maybe someone had swapped cones. I did give the screws a mechanics inspection and it appears they've never been touched, cover or truss rod. if nothing else, this guitar has absolutely no rattles or buzzing which is rarely the case with my wooden reso... I'm about to break down and try some tunings and slide. |
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Post by dobrojim on Mar 17, 2017 5:07:52 GMT
I have a Regal square neck with the No: 9903004 on the back of the neck. (I would love to know how old it is?) I had a buzzing in the cone area when I played it and all I did was loosen the center screw between the 2 middle strings in the center of the cone and now it sounds great and I have NO buzzing sound!
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