Reso people - I need help

Ted Smith · Posted 22 Sep 2001 9:29 am

Howard, Brad, anybody involved in Resonator Guitars, I need help on a thing I put on a guitar yesterday. Kind of lengthy explanation and it needed a picture, so I put it on the top of the "Specials" word document on the www.melobar.com web site - second page - bottom.
Please look at it and let me know if there has been anything like it in the past.

Thanks

Ted

Mike D · From: Phx, Az

Boy I'd love to see it too Ted but the way you do that set up, (a download that requires MSW) is a real pain for us Mac users. You might think about just putting the specials on it's own page instead of something that needs a download.

Brad Bechtel · From: San Francisco, CA

RESO DRIVER for a quick name
Need some feedback on this thing.
This is Pat Flynn's round neck cutaway that he’s waited 19 months for now and we have built everything into this guitar and it had amazing acoustic tone and volume but no “drive” on the cone. The higher the strings are at the saddle and the more downward pressure to the tie-down, the more you drive the cone—i.e. Tut Taylor cover plate, etc.
Now Jeff Peterson wanted me to eliminate this 1920’s design tie down and go through the body to create more down ward pressure on the cone. That would take strings 12” longer than stock and I’m not against that, but Friday I tried this little device, we have plastic that mirrors that top piece (you can see) under the cover plate, simply bolted to that top piece you can see – the strings run under it and I can dial in more down pressure all the way to the plate if I wanted to. HUGE sound difference in making the cone “power up” or sound more solid and beefy.
Question – I don’t want to patent it or anything, anybody can use the idea, but has anyone done this ever before, I don’t want to step on any toes.

Ted

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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

[This message was edited by Brad Bechtel on 23 September 2001 at 06:11 PM.]

Howard Parker · From: Maryland

I must be dense! Second page, bottom? Anyone give me a url?

hp

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Howard Parker
poobah@resoguit.com
www.resoguit.com
ListOwner RESOGUIT

Howard Parker · From: Maryland

Oh...I see now! Ted, what kind of pressure you figure your putting on that cone. Any fear of putting too much pressure on there? It's all too easy to do as you are aware.

I've played a couple of Melobros and found them to be pretty remarkable. Not lacking for "drive".

What's the comparison to what I've played??

Inquiring minds....yada, yada.

h

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Howard Parker
poobah@resoguit.com
www.resoguit.com
ListOwner RESOGUIT

Mike D · From: Phx, Az

Paul mcGill makes Del Vecchio-style nylon string resonator guitars. They are different from Dobros in that they use a National-style single cone but he has some pat. papers http://www.delphion.com/cgi-bin/viewpat.cmd/US05780758__ that deal with an adjustable tailpiece that accomplishes much the same thing.

Now National cones act differently than Dobros in that LESS is usually more and too much down pressure/too high of a saddle killes tone and volume.

Great idea Ted, I look foreward to seeing the pics and I'll see about finding a Mac version of Word.

HowardR · From: N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville

Ted, that is some beautiful guitar. You've outdone yourself on this one. I've never seen a "driver" or similar device on any reso guitar, and I've seen a lot of different reso's.

Sage · From: Boulder, Colorado

Looks like a great idea, Ted. Simple and effective. I'm guessing that it makes the coverplate resonate as well as the cone, which wouldn't be a bad thing at all IMHO. Thanks for posting that for us.
T. Sage Harmos

Ted Smith · Posted 25 Sep 2001 6:33 am

In looking at the patent-it looks like he's brought the Cover Plate down in order to get the strings lower from the existing tail piece. Everyone else get that idea?
I can't see how we infringe at all, in that this is a device that attaches to the top of the cover plate to bring the strings down. We've already marketed and sold one so by law it can't be patented out from under me now.

I know that our Square necks have proper drive on the Cone. This was on a round neck that didn't quite have the angle from the saddle to the tie down once the action was set.

The pressure down would be simular to pressing down slightly with the palm of your hand just in front of the tail piece - you can check and see if it would help your guitar by pressing down slightly with your palm, just in front of the tail piece as you strum and see what tonal change you get. I'm tempted to put it on all our instruments because it will make it so you can use lighter gauge strings and get the same drive on the cone. It will not hurt the Cone because the max pressure is slight and on top of the saddle/spider transfer to cone edge, not like the set screw that is directly to the center of the cone.
I've been testing it on a lot of guitars and some you hear a big differance, others just a little bit. But even the little bit has a slightly thicker beefy tone for lack of better words.

Mike D · From: Phx, Az

Thanks for the pic Brad.

Ted I didn't think there was any infringement on Paul's stuff, just that he was thinking along the same lines, ie break angle over the saddle. There's many pages to that pat. and he covers several things, some of which relate only to DelVecchio-style guitars and their unique construction. He's sort of using the same idea as an adjustable banjo tailpiece.

Your's is a great idea and certainly would help out other's with roundnecks that don't have the correct neck angle build in (like many Johnson/Regal's) or an older one that could use a neck set.

Ted Smith · Posted 25 Sep 2001 8:34 pm

I didn't, at all, think you were Mike, just making sure I was seeing and understanding it right, and thanks for that info., that is the kind I was looking for!

I think you'll find that in order to correctly set the neck action, you will sacrifice the cone drive on any round neck reso. try this thing and make up your mind on that thought.

Had a few other builders jumping on the idea so you may see it on several standard models out there.

Thanks for the input everybody - really helps to be able to get a lot of input fast like this on new ideas.

Ted

[This message was edited by Ted Smith on 25 September 2001 at 09:37 PM.]

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