I recently posted about first time buying a dobro. I found one that is suitable for me - a used Dobro brand, Chinese made likely in the past 10 years, great price, great starter instrument. I am thrilled, even came with a pickup and dobro hard shell case for $550.
The high D string has a sitar-like buzz. I know from doing basic guitar setup work (and making mandolins) this is very likely from the bridge string slot (ruled out the nut) being too wide for the string. I slipped a little piece of paper under the string which fixed it, but now of course the sound is softer. That's okay - I am learning and this is fine for me for now.
I watched a basic upgrade recone video and it looks like putting in a new split bridge is pretty straightforward. Until I get to that, is there anything I can do to fix this without using the paper-under-the-string trick? Would it be worth the effort to take the bridge off and drop in some wood dust and superglue and refile the string slot? Or is that a might-as-well get a new bridge?
Thanks in advance
carlosoly
If you are convinced that there's an appropriate gauged string installed (or a fresh string) .016-.017 you can try a drop of superglue and dress the slot.
A common occurrence on these bridges is simply a sharp burr on the slot edge (not the slot depth). The burr is enough to get what you describe. The complexity of the insert replacement sorta depends on the current setup. If the inserts are glued in that'll require a slow and easy approach to removal.
To ease matters a tad, slotted inserts are available from resophonicoutfitters.com (Beard Guitars) . The blanks will have to be sanded (bottom) enough to get the bridge under the cover plate while under tension, at pitch.
h
quote:
Originally posted by hlpdobroIf you are convinced that there's an appropriate gauged string installed (or a fresh string) .016-.017 you can try a drop of superglue and dress the slot.
A common occurrence on these bridges is simply a sharp burr on the slot edge (not the slot depth). The burr is enough to get what you describe. The complexity of the insert replacement sorta depends on the current setup. If the inserts are glued in that'll require a slow and easy approach to removal.
To ease matters a tad, slotted inserts are available from resophonicoutfitters.com (Beard Guitars) . The blanks will have to be sanded (bottom) enough to get the bridge under the cover plate while under tension, at pitch.
h
Thanks, appreciate the advice. In my brief research I saw that Beard has a preslotted bridge and thought that's the one to get. And I do have doubts about the string, it was wrapped around the tuning peg the wrong way so it had been changed out at some point. All the strings looked grungy, so I cleaned them and ordered a couple of new sets. Maybe that's all it needs. The bridge slots looked a little deep, though, more like a valley than an indentation.
You’d be surprised how well a mixture of baking soda and crazy glue works. Then you can create a groove in the bridge.
The mixture gets hard in a few seconds. Test first on a scrap of wood to see what I mean.
Super glue and a very small amount of cotton does the same.
Repairing a saddle is something that should be considered between sets, not as a permanent fix.
quote:
Originally posted by skydogRepairing a saddle is something that should be considered between sets, not as a permanent fix.
I can't imagine trying to repair a saddle between sets. Barely time to grab a beer and a smoke.
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