Hello all. I just purchased a Gold Tone Paul Beard Deluxe square neck resonator. Strings were very dead and I knew they needed changed but didn't want to take them all off at once to mess up the setup. I also wanted to change the rear strap button to a locking one, so I decided to gently clamp the tailpiece and remove the rear strap button and when I did, the tailpiece shifted of course. I quickly replaced the strap button and retuned the instrument and had a buzz. The spider bridge tension screw was loose so I tightened it about a 1/4 turn, but still had a buzz. I decided that now I needed to dive into changing the strings and checking everything out. So I read multiple articles including a Stew Mac article about setting up a spider cone and watched multiple videos. I took everything apart leveled the spider on a granite block and followed every direction I could on properly setting up everything and even after having everything already 4-5 times, I still have a buzz. The cone is seated properly to the inner rim of the guitar, the spider is level. I think I pin pointed the noise to the center of the cone and thought it was the adjustment screw because it had some play in it, but I wrapped plumbers take around it to remove the slack and I still have the same buzz and I am at a loss. I also play guitar and do all my own set ups and make new nuts and saddles and do fret work, so I feel like I have a pretty good handle on setups but I'm at a loss and can't figure this out. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Buzzing can be really hard to track down the source. Other members here probably have some good suggestions but, meanwhile, here are some (perhaps random) things to check. Firstly, it may be the cone but I would never assume so because buzzes can be transmitted through the parts of the guitar. Sometimes you can use the eraser end of a pencil to press here and there while playing to see if you can track the source of the buzz. Also, it sounds like you have a flat (granite block?)....hopefully like a granite countertop. Make sure it's perfectly flat, then check all these:
1. Tuner buttons to make sure none are loose
2. Tailpiece touching the coverplate
3. Loosen each string one at a time and pop it out of the bridge slot to be sure there's no buzzing of the string in the slot....do the same for the nut.
4. Bridge for cracks
5. Double check the spider for perfectly flat and level
6. Place the cone upside down on the flat plate to insure it's not warped. Don't just look, but hold the center gently and tap around the edges to detect any space.
7. When the cone is in the well do the same as above. Tap around the edges while pressing gently in the center and listen for and space between the cone and the ledge. Rotate it to different positions to be sure it is evenly seated with absolutely no gaps. The cone ledge (well) may not be true. Make sure the cone sits passively and doesn't touch the edge of the well. Be critically honest in checking these things.
8. Check the center screw so that the threads in the cone insert aren't stripped. If not, you should only tighten the center screw 3/4 to one turn after it contacts the bridge. Don't overtighten.
9. Tap the body everywhere and listen for a loose brace.
10. Insure no contact of the spider to the coverplate. You can set up the guitar with no cover plate to rule out the cover being the source of the buzz. If the coverplate is warped it can buzz against the guitar top.
11. If you're very sure that the cone is the source of your problem somehow, I would just replace it. Might sound better than what you have now.
....That's all I can think of.....good luck.
One more potential buzz/rattle source- tuner on the headstock. (Luckily I was at home alone when I had that issue, and not out in public)
Get Paul Beards dvd on servicing a dobro. The buzz can have many causes. It’s like a fly in the room that you can’t kill.
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Originally posted by little rayGet Paul Beards dvd on servicing a dobro. The buzz can have many causes. It’s like a fly in the room that you can’t kill.
Easier said than done. It's been a number of years since Paul's video has been available on the Resophonic Outfitters website. I was looking online for one for another player fairly recently and came up empty.
Putting out a "wanted to buy" request here, or to cast a wider net, in the Facebook Dobroholics group and the "sister site" on FB, Resophonic Sales/Trades may come across someone who is willing to let go of their copy.
Great list of suggestions by Eric, and it would also be a good idea to check out this video from fellow hangout member and former Beard employee Howard Parker.
I have been a member for three years of the Rob Ickes teaching site, Rob's Reso Room under the banner of Big Music Tent.
A couple years ago Rob had dobro setup wizard and builder Bobby Wright of North Carolina come to his place outside of Nashville and record a setup video that's close to an hour long. Bobby didn't share everything he knows, but he shares a lot - and there are techniques he uses that I have never come across in all my years of playing and fooling around with reso guitars.
You have to sign up for a membership - it could be as short as a month and as long as a year, and Bobby's setup session is the tip of the iceberg. It's a great site - along with being one of the greatest players of all time, Rob has been teaching the instrument for decades, there are dozens of great lessons on the site.
Even with a short term subscription, Bobby Wright's setup video is gold.
Edited by - MarkinSonoma on 09/16/2025 14:47:01
Thank you so much. That's some great information. I have done pretty much everything you have listed so I am suspecting I may have an issue with the cone. I'm going to take everything apart again and have a closer look at it.
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Originally posted by jedi_jackson... I also wanted to change the rear strap button to a locking one, so I decided to gently clamp the tailpiece and remove the rear strap button and when I did, the tailpiece shifted of course...
Sorry to hear that. I have used that method with no issues, clamping the top of the tailpiece down to the body. What way did you align the clamp? Was the clamp bumped in the process, or did the tailpiece just move on its own?
I remember ripping apart my first Dobro because of a buzz, messing around with it, with the cover plate off, all kinds of fiddling about didn't fix it, turned out to be the third string tuner!
Man, that was a lifetime ago!!
Edited by - Wildeman on 10/11/2025 02:44:50
