Hi Everybody,
Does anyone know what size cone is in the Epiphone Dobro M-14 metal body? I assume its a 9-1/2"??
If you have any experience with this model, I'd love to hear your opinion.
Thanks,
Rick
I have zero experience with this guitar, but I don't believe I'm going out on a limb and thinking that it's very likely a 9 1/2" cone.
The three most well known (and maybe the only) American manufacturers of biscuit cones are National, Beard, and Replogle.
All three produce 9 1/2" biscuit cones. In addition to that size, only Replogle offers a 10 1/2" inch cone.
If in doubt I would contact either Replogle or Beard. I probably wouldn't bother with National since most of what they do every day is National brand guitars, either building new instruments or repairing old ones.
If you don't know already, Mike Replogle was appointed by Gibson to run OMI Dobro in Huntington Beach, California after they bought the company in 1993. He ran it until some time in 1997 when they pulled the plug on that operation and moved the Dobro line to Nashville where production was resumed in 1998, until the massive flood in Nashville in 2010. That marked the end of U.S. Dobro production.
After that anything having to to with the Dobro line was from a Chinese Epiphone facility. I can't imagine that anything was done in redesigning the guitars for the unusual 10 1/2" size.
After Gibson ran the Dobro brand into the ground, I get the feeling that the Chinese Epiphone versions are just a small blip on the corporate radar.
Thanks for the info, Mark. I'm guessing it's a 9-1/2" too, but I'll check to be sure. I have an opportunity to add it to my collection for not-much-money, so if it sounds bad I'll have the budget to replace the cone with something better. Thanks again for your response and the interesting info. Best wishes, Rick
I put a National biscuit cone into a Regal import and the sound was quite improved. Any of those mentioned will improve the sound greatly; it's money well spent.
One note- After you swap your cone (or even if you don't), getting the action just right may take some doing; those biscuits are tricky. I let my friendly local luthier take care of that.
Thanks for your info, Wayne. Great advice!
Rick
Just a quick update on the Epi Dobro Hound Dog.....it does, in fact, have a 9-1/2" cone, and despite the fact that it is an inexpensive off-shore import, it didn't sound too bad. However, I ordered a National cone and bridge from Elderly Instruments and the swap (even sanding and filing the bridge) was easy. The cone made a HUGE improvement. The Hound Dog is now louder, sweeter, more articulate and the sustain is unbelievable. BTW, I received the package from Elderly in two days! Kudos for Great service!
I'm glad that worked out for you. I have done some shopping from Elderly over the years and it has always been a good experience.
I know a whole lot more about spider bridge squareneck guitars than I do about biscuit bridge roundneck guitars so I can't say if the following estimate applies to the biscuit style instrument: over the years I have heard it said by accomplished reso luthiers that the cone is responsible for at minimum 50% of the sound of the guitar. That's a pretty hefty part of the equation.
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