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Post by kayboston on Mar 22, 2022 18:23:49 GMT
Hi Pete - the tailpiece is rock solid, but I'll have another look. I will go back to Mule again - I've been waiting a while for any reply, and I didn't mean to be complaining about them or anything, just want to get sorted :-) Thanks again for chipping in, Dylan
Hi John - yes, this is a new guitar. The challenge is that it was shipped from Michigan to New Zealand (and cost a lot in shipping, so I'm hesitant to ship it back). I am frustrated by these problems - I'd rather just be playing it and enjoying it... I'm so appreciative of the help here - my other challenge being there are no resonator experts anywhere near me it seems. It's astonishing the wealth of knowledge on this forum. Appreciate your comments (and the pun!), thank you - Dylan
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Post by Mike lewis on Mar 23, 2022 6:54:43 GMT
Dylan , do as Pete said for the strings, capo them & leave them on the tailpiece . The glue , you can either use a UHU stick for gluing paper which you put on the under edge edge the cones this its just enough to stop them from moving and you can still easily pull your cones out a again . Or just ONE little spot of super glue on the out side edge of the cones , this is also just enough to stop them moving while you take the strings off . . . The other solution is once you have set the intonation , simply measure the 1st & 6th sting from the 12 th fret and check that it has not moved when you put the cover plate back on .
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Post by kayboston on Mar 23, 2022 19:34:19 GMT
Dylan , do as Pete said for the strings, capo them & leave them on the tailpiece . The glue , you can either use a UHU stick for gluing paper which you put on the under edge edge the cones this its just enough to stop them from moving and you can still easily pull your cones out a again . Or just ONE little spot of super glue on the out side edge of the cones , this is also just enough to stop them moving while you take the strings off . . . The other solution is once you have set the intonation , simply measure the 1st & 6th sting from the 12 th fret and check that it has not moved when you put the cover plate back on . Again, thank you Mike! Sorry for all the silly questions - I'm feeling slightly less intimidated by the whole thing now, but want to be super careful I do it properly. Still waiting for strings...
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Post by kayboston on Mar 29, 2022 7:50:39 GMT
I did it!! And I could never have done without the help from you guys - THANK YOU! The combination of taking everything apart so soon after getting it, then having to deal with slotted headstocks and round core strings for the first time (not helped by the fact I was supposed to be looking after my two kids...!) - felt pretty stressful... I guess there will be some fine tuning to be done over time, but it sounds way better and intonation is spot on for 1st and 4th strings. I followed the steps Mike suggested to the letter (I think), and managed to get the tailpiece off (was just a bit stuck, so I didn't have to sacrifice any strings). I put on the set of Monel MM Newtones 16-59 that arrived in the post today and wow, they sound different - louder, richer, and they feel beautiful. One question I did have... are they the best material for a mix of fretted playing and slide in Open C (heavy gauge), or is it just down to personal taste? Attached a few pics to show how I had to remove the pins, and move the cones a fair bit (very gingerly!) Again, Mike thank you SO much, Pete thanks for all your contributions and Michael M thank you for this amazing forum and setting me on the right track. Hugely appreciated Dylan PS> If you spot anything I did wrong, please let me know!
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Post by pete1951 on Mar 29, 2022 8:10:23 GMT
String gauge is up to you, it is often a compromise, heavy strings usually sound better for slide but make fast fretting more difficult.
One thing you could do is put a small dot ( I use a Sharpie pen) on the edge of the cone and the well. Cones ‘bed in’ over time and if it ever comes apart again it is good to have the cones go back in their original ‘bedded in’ position.
Pete
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Post by Michael Messer on Mar 29, 2022 10:37:04 GMT
Dylan, I am pleased to hear that you have corrected the problems with your guitar. I am also very happy to know that the help you so much needed came from knowledgeable members of this forum, one of which is one of the leading makers of resonator guitars in the world. I feel that in support of all the help you received from Pete and Mike, I have to say it is a shame the customer support and after sales care didn't come from the person you bought the guitar from. Not a great piece of customer relations. Perhaps someone should forward a link to this thread to the manufacturer.
If you want to make one last change to improve the tone of your guitar, you should consider removing the black paint from the T-bridge. It is a well known fact that paint on the aluminium T-bridge greatly inhibits the tone of tricone guitars. You would do this with paint stripper and then clean it up afterwards with wire wool. It's a bit of a messy job, but well worth doing.
Thank you for ordering MM Strings. Those gauges should be fine in the open C tuning that you use. Regarding the choice of material; my advice would be to try the phosphor bronze and see which you prefer. It's a personal choice thing, there's no right or wrong.
Best wishes,
Shine On Michael
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Mar 29, 2022 12:15:01 GMT
Thread forwarded to Mule.
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Post by kayboston on Mar 29, 2022 20:01:50 GMT
Thanks Pete - I do like the heavy strings, might experiment with different materials in time - happy with what I have now, I must say. Thanks for the tip re the Sharpie dot!
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Post by kayboston on Mar 29, 2022 20:10:58 GMT
Dylan, I am pleased to hear that you have corrected the problems with your guitar. I am also very happy to know that the help you so much needed came from knowledgeable members of this forum, one of which is one of the leading makers of resonator guitars in the world. I feel that in support of all the help you received from Pete and Mike, I have to say it is a shame the customer support and after sales care didn't come from the person you bought the guitar from. Not a great piece of customer relations. Perhaps someone should forward a link to this thread to the manufacturer. If you want to make one last change to improve the tone of your guitar, you should consider removing the black paint from the T-bridge. It is a well known fact that paint on the aluminium T-bridge greatly inhibits the tone of tricone guitars. You would do this with paint stripper and then clean it up afterwards with wire wool. It's a bit of a messy job, but well worth doing. Thank you for ordering MM Strings. Those gauges should be fine in the open C tuning that you use. Regarding the choice of material; my advice would be to try the phosphor bronze and see which you prefer. It's a personal choice thing, there's no right or wrong. Best wishes, Shine On Michael Thank you very much Michael - I'll check out those other strings and look at your suggestion re. the T-bridge down the line (need to recover from my first foray into maintenance first!) I should like to say re. the customer support point though - I reached out to Mule before posting on this Forum but the owner, Matt, was on his honeymoon. Receiving that auto-reply was what set me off looking for other solutions. In absolute fairness to Matt, he then sent me a short video explanation re adjusting the T-bridge without taking the cover plate off. As it was less invasive, I tried this (very gingerly) first when I got the new strings yesterday, and then took everything apart as Mike suggested on finding that didn't work. I should have mentioned this earlier. For me, all of this has just been about finding a solution - I personally have no issues with Mule or their support (it was just bad timing that my initial issues coincided with the owner being away). OK, I'm off to play my guitar :-) Thank you all again Dylan
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Post by Mike lewis on Mar 30, 2022 6:21:59 GMT
Well done Dylan .I"m glad we could help .
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