Hi All - new member - a bity of background. Ive played Nationals for 20+ years (have a delphi, an estralita, and a tricone) buy recently became interested in dobro's/spider bridge guitars. i picked up a 30's model 45, which needs work including replacing a damaged cone. I purchased a beard legend but the cone just barley fits into the sound well - and i mean barely (probably damaged the edges a bit fitting it.... aargh) - i take it the very early dobros used a slightly smaller cone - any suggestion on a newly manufactured one that will fit and hopefully sound good?
thx
Mik
Here’s a simple youtube on fixing it. There are more technical explanations out there if you look.
youtu.be/mfkT5UnhhbE?feature=shared
Edited by - Lounge Primate on 05/10/2024 08:17:27
that perfect thx LP!
Hopefully the Legend is working out but if for some reason it isn't, Mike Replogle spins cones in the Bay Area and this one is the ticket for a prewar Dobro, shouldn't need any trimming:
https://www.replogleresos.com/product/replogle-resonators-spider-cone-standard-10-1-2-series/
One thing about the Legend - the "lip" that the spider legs sit on is slightly higher than other cones and can make for a tight fit for the bridge inserts under the palm rest. And since old Dobros often have low palm rests, Beard makes a product to lift up the coverplate slightly. It is called the Coverplate Riser and it lifts up the cone approximately 3/32" - but it depends on the screw pattern on your coverplate. It works on plates where the screw pattern facing the fretboard is at the 11 and one o'clock positions as instituted by Regal around late 1933.
It may not work on an earlier California built guitar with the screw in the 12 o'clock position facing the fretboard.
Just a clarification on the coverplate riser...it raises the coverplate, not the cone. It allows a slightly taller bridge insert, however, it doesn’t change the break angle since the tailpiece is raised as much as the coverplate ( the tailpiece sits on top of the coverplate edge). Also, you can use the riser for either screw pattern just by “clocking” it to match as needed. The screw spacing is the same in either case. Regarding the initial question, my opinion and preference is to rout the cone opening to ideal dimensions and true the cone ledge. Rather than searching for a specific cone, or trimming the cone, this would allow you to try any available cone, such as a legend or Scheerhorn. The cone should have just a little space on the perimeter to adjust for intonation and bridge angle (perpendicular).
John Quarterman also made a 10 1/2 " cone, model QD 110.
https://www.amazon.com/Quarterman-QD-1-10-Resophonic-Guitar/dp/B008BQKD4I
Without having the guitar on my bench it's tough to tell if the issue is _only_ the cone or if the top has also "egged out", very typical for a guitar of that vintage.
A clue would be to look at where the tail attaches to the guitar. Is the area flat/rounded or indented? If the latter then the actual cone ledge might not be a perfect circle and no cone will fit perfectly without remediation.
A pro would re-route the top to circular perfection. The routing may also expose insufficient material to support a new cone, requiring additional material for the ledge. The only home remedy would be to sand the cone areas to hopefully fit while leaving about 1/8" to allow for flexing under tension.
Good luck.
h
Edited by - hlpdobro on 05/11/2024 06:50:48
quote:
Originally posted by SamCyJohn Quarterman also made a 10 1/2 " cone, model QD 110.
https://www.amazon.com/Quarterman-QD-1-10-Resophonic-Guitar/dp/B008BQKD4I
"Currently unavailable."
And it remains to be seen if there we will ever actually see another Quarterman cone.
Along with Saga/Golden Gate, a major distributor for Quartermans is Blue Note Woodworks in Oregon. Rob, the owner posted the following awhile back in his website. Along with the information below, John Quarterman is now on his early eighties.
"Many of you have heard and known, we have been challenged by needing to find a replacement old school spinning lathe, and now if that was not enough, we are now challenged again by finding out that our supply of special aluminum resonator cone material is not available at this time, with no eta.
We will try our best to secure our next supply of the special aluminum as soon as possible in order to continue our Quarterman Resonator Cone Manufacturing.
John & I thank you for all your business and concerns."
quote:
Originally posted by docslydJust a clarification on the coverplate riser...it raises the coverplate, not the cone. It allows a slightly taller bridge insert, however, it doesn’t change the break angle since the tailpiece is raised as much as the coverplate ( the tailpiece sits on top of the coverplate edge). Also, you can use the riser for either screw pattern just by “clocking” it to match as needed. The screw spacing is the same in either case. Regarding the initial question, my opinion and preference is to rout the cone opening to ideal dimensions and true the cone ledge. Rather than searching for a specific cone, or trimming the cone, this would allow you to try any available cone, such as a legend or Scheerhorn. The cone should have just a little space on the perimeter to adjust for intonation and bridge angle (perpendicular).
Bad proofreading (or maybe just a lack of proofreading) when I wrote that post. Of course I meant coverplate - raising the height of the cone would defeat the purpose of the coverplate riser.
Good to know it works for either screw pattern. I called Beard a couple months back and spoke with Ben Beard (Paul's son), he wasn't sure about this, and Paul wasn't around that day. I was considering ordering one for my circa 1933 California built Model 37 which has low clearance, then got busy with something else and that project was put on the back burner.
thx All - yes i had seen the Replogle cone and cover plate riser - I've sent the guitar out for repairs (to someone familiar with reso's) as the neck needs a reset so hopefully all these matters get sorted out and i will be good for another 80-90 years
