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Topic: Replacing the cone in a dobro. |
Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2017 6:49 pm |
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| Brad Davis wrote: |
| People like to tinker, but perhaps as much energy should just be focused on playing. |
Truer words may never have been typed. |
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Bob Watson
From:
Champaign, Illinois, U.S.
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Posted 28 Dec 2017 7:19 pm
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| When did the new Beard Legend Cone come along? |
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Bill McCloskey
From:
Nanuet, NY
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Bob Watson
From:
Champaign, Illinois, U.S.
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Posted 28 Dec 2017 7:59 pm
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| Thanks Bill. I went to the Beard website and checked them out, they look interesting. I noticed that they are standard on a lot of the newer Beard guitars. I have a Beard Goldtone PBS-M, I'm not ready to change cones at this time but I might try one in the future. Your comments about them were pretty convincing. |
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Bill McCloskey
From:
Nanuet, NY
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Posted 28 Dec 2017 8:18 pm
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I don't think you will be disappointed Bob. I have them in all my dobros and I had them installed in an older Auldridge MA model, and a Wolfe Ported. It was a HUGE difference.
_________________
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2017 9:06 pm
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| I have a 1981 OMI 60-D that I purchased new. It had been in pieces from 1986/87 until about a year ago, when I finally put it back together (it's a long story). I installed the less expensive of the two Beard cones, and it sounds alright to me. Would it be worth my while installing one of the upgrade Legend cones? Would there be a noticeable difference in the sound? Or would I be better served by simply leaving well enough alone and putting the eighty bucks towards a more modern instrument. |
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Bill McCloskey
From:
Nanuet, NY
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Posted 29 Dec 2017 5:07 am
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I'm not expert enough to advise Jack but I would suggest giving Paul Beard a call and asking him. He has always been incredibly helpful to me with these types of questions.
_________________
Check out the Steel Guitar Union Hall Facebook group for you daily dose of Steel https://www.facebook.com/groups/steelguitarunionhall |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 29 Dec 2017 9:54 am
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I've heard or read where long-time players, not just here, but on resonator specific forums - and we're talking serious long-time - comment that their prewar Dobro with the original cone sounds the same as it did 50 years ago.
Now c'mon, how on earth can you really know that?
In the FAQ section from the Beard Guitars website, Paul Beard wrote this:
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| Over time, aluminum resonator cones begin to lose volume and tone. This is due primarily to metal fatigue (caused by consistent string tension and vibration) and surface oxidation (think rust on steel). We recommend cone replacement after 2 years of regular playing. Pro players like Jerry Douglas replace their cones at least once a year. |
In my early 1930s Calif. built Dobro I have the original lug cone. It's a sweet sounding guitar but not particularly loud. But I haven't fooled with it - a resonator luthier told me one time a bunch of years ago, "don't mess with it - it sounds great as it is." It's also a 1930s Dobro which is a very different beast than a modern large body resonator guitar.
I also believe were I to travel back in time and play the guitar when it was new around 1933 that it would sound different. For the reasons above in the Paul Beard quote, I think that's a safer bet than "it sounds the same as it did 50 (or more) years ago."
When Tim Scheerhorn came out with his own cone maybe a decade ago he was touting its longevity. I was at ResoSummit Nashville in 2010 and I had Tim install one of his cone in my 2004 Clinesmith, which still had the ordinal Quarterman cone. After six years of almost daily playing the Q-cone was pretty well shot. After installing the 'horn cone and tweaking the setup my Clinesmith sounded like a new guitar.
Tim told me that at the time that Randy Kohrs now had about three years on his Scheerhorn cone and it still sounded good. And it did - Randy was at the Summit. Scheerhorn had previously replaced the Quartermans in Randy's main guitar every two years. For those familiar with Randy's playing - he picks really hard.
A little over a year ago I put a Beard Legend cone in my Clinesmith. It sounds really good, but I might go back to the Scheerhorn cone for comparison because even after six years in the guitar it still sounded great to my ears. But between 2010-2016 I didn't have as many hours on the Clinesmith as I did in the first six years of owning the guitar when it had a Quarterman. In the past several years I have been playing a lot more steel along with standard guitar, and not as many hours on dobro. I also have a softer touch on a dobro, somewhere close to the middle, but leaning more toward the Mike Auldridge approach (with 1/10 of Mike's chops). So I might get more life out of a cone than some pickers.
The way one might know one of these modern cones has lost some of their "spark" is to be around other players and their guitars for comparison. Otherwise you can keep moseying along thinking nothing has changed with the sound of your guitar. And if you're happy with it and it's not real noticeable to others, well great! But the quote from Beard above and similar comments from Tim Scheerhorn tell me that these things do deteriorate over time. And it all adds up for a small businessman, but selling cones can hardly be a big contributor to one's personal income.
Below is a great example of what a modern cone can do for a prewar Dobro. This is Jerry Douglas, "out standing in his field" in a solo video promo for the 2013 FreshGrass Festival in Massachusetts. The mid 1930s Regal-built Dobro Model 37 had recently spent some time at the Beard shop in Maryland where it received a fresh setup and a Legend cone. To do it right, it would be cool to have a before-and-after video of JD playing into a pair of Ear Trumpet Labs mics, but we'll have to settle for the after. I think the Legend cone sounds great. That same year when Jerry still had the forum going on his website he posted something to the effect that the "Legend cones breathe new life into these old guitars." As is often the case, your mileage may vary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6SEwGlOqeY
_________________
Mark |
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Bob Knetzger
From:
Kirkland, WA USA
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Posted 29 Dec 2017 10:28 am
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I recently swapped an older Beard cone for a new Beard Legend in my 70's RQ Jones and was very surprised that the same spider/saddle was so low on that cone that the strings didn't even touch the saddles. (?) I then used a new Replogle spider with new saddles cut to give the same correct string height (and parallel to the fretboard. Much different sound, way brighter, maybe a little louder. I'll likely swap back to the older Beard/previous spider/saddle for the previous full bass sound.
One question for everybody: what is the rake angle of the strings across the bridge on your set up? Mine is very shallow, just a few degrees. What is the "proper" and usual angle for that?
(I have room under my replaceable palm rest for a much higher saddle and thus much greater rake angle. ow does changing the angle affect tone and volume..and when does that angle become TOO great and overloads the cone?) |
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