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Post by olebanjoguy on Mar 19, 2023 6:15:03 GMT
hello, i just bought a 1960ish cortez dobro. Hard to find much on them. it had a bone one piece saddle and i changed it to a maple ebony top split saddle and it improved the sound of the unwound strings. i ordered a saddle that is radiused and compensated and the unwound strings are on the maple, wound strings on the ebony. any experience with this type of saddle? the neck is a 16 inch radius same as the saddle. also the bone one piece saddle was working good does anyone put uncut one piece saddles instead of splitting them ? cheers
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Post by leeophonic on Mar 19, 2023 9:52:01 GMT
If it is a dobro spider setup, ditch the bone saddle as you need to introduce warmth into the metallic heart, ebony caped is still a bright & individual choice of tone, boxwood or maple is the time proven material.
Get some wood and make one or a luthier will for you.
Lee
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Post by pete1951 on Mar 19, 2023 10:33:26 GMT
The central screw is also best adjusted ( I am not a Dobro except but this seems best) with the strings to pitch. So a solid one piece saddle would stop this from happening.
Pete
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Post by Michael Messer on Mar 19, 2023 11:18:07 GMT
Morning all, Just a quickie as I am busy this morning....
I assume this is a Cortez Gull series Dobro style guitar and not the lesser known jumbo body size Cortez Dobro? I think the Gull was manufactured from the 60s through to the 80s.
Lee is correct..... box wood or maple, rather than ebony capped. Sweeter, warmer, just better.
Pete is correct.... if it is a spider bridge guitar it must have a split saddle so you can adjust the tension screw in the centre. That screw must be accessible through the handrest and with the guitar in tune.
Can we see some photos please?
Shine On
Michael
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Post by olebanjoguy on Mar 19, 2023 11:34:04 GMT
 it is not a gull model. It is a large dreadnought shape. thank you very much for the advice . I will upload some photos . very little info on these, it looks similar to Cort model cr 10rn. this is the advert photo. |
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Post by Michael Messer on Mar 19, 2023 12:23:03 GMT
I think your Cortez Dobro is more likely 1970s or 80s than 1960s. The Cort CR-10RN is a totally different guitar  Shine On Michael |
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Post by olebanjoguy on Mar 20, 2023 5:14:12 GMT
 his is the one i thought was 10 rn. it has no model number but is pretty close to the original cortez. same spruce mahogany combo. it is on reverb. I have installed maple saddle now and it has good tone and big volume. the cone really rings when you flick it with a pencil. the info i read says they were made by matsuomoka or ibanez? thanks all for the appreciated advice. my first dobro. it was interesting learning also how cortez became cort. my son ill take a few pics for me soon. cheers |
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Post by Michael Messer on Mar 20, 2023 9:27:06 GMT
I meant to say in my previous post that Cortez & Cort, albeit the same company reinvented to sell more guitars, is not Japanese, it is a South Korean company.
Making cones ring like cymbals by tapping them with a pencil to see if they're good is actually a bit of a myth, as most metal discs will ring when hit like a cymbal, even a saucepan lid.
Enjoy your guitar.
Shine On
Michael
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Post by olebanjoguy on Mar 20, 2023 17:27:20 GMT
thank you, here are photos of new saddle and the top Attachments:
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Post by mrstrellisofnwales on May 31, 2023 21:19:42 GMT
I was going to post this in a thread I posted several weeks ago - Newbie, advice on mods. But seeing this post about saddles I’ve put it here. Needed a new saddle for my Asian dobro copy so I tried an experiment of making some saddles with different woods I acquired from here and there. Nothing scientific here and it’s just my opinion but here it is
1. Ebony from an old piano key. Made the guitar sound too tinny. And it was a pig to work on.
2. Maple donated by a friend- recovered from a broken strat headstock- Nice tone worked well
3. Boxwood ( I think) from an old jewellry case. Harsh tone. Lost the bass.
4. Unknown pale hardwood- possibly beech from a piece of my grandson’s wooden train track. My favourite. Warm clean tone with a nice thumping bass and a sweet treble.
My next experiment will be to try different combinations of woods on the bass and treble sides.
As I said there’s nothing scientific here- It’s just one old Asian copy with a cheap cone and spider and one players opinion- messing about with resonators for the first time.
Mrs T
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Post by leeophonic on Jun 4, 2023 12:53:22 GMT
I did tap test a bunch of used tricones to get a feel of the resonance and ring (sustain) it is awkward with a pencil suspending them and listening but there is a difference, I did this as needed a replacement cone in my old tricone and wanted the same range, it worked a treat. Lee  |
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