Dobro: Set-Up Questions about Resophonic Cones & Buzzing Problems

Subject: Regal Dobro
Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2005 12:54:40 -0600

I bought a Regal RD-45 roundneck dobro from yall a year and a half ago. Recently when I play it a normal strength strum of the strings yields an awful distortion noise coming from the cone. I have not done anything to the guitar such as drop it. I was wondering if this is a common problem or if there is something wrong with my guitar. What can I do to fix the problem? When I bought the guitar I had yall convert it too left handed, which I doubt makes a difference.

Thanks,
Tyler D.

Greetings Tyler,

This may be that your tension screw is slightly loose; this is an easy fix.

You'll want to look for the hole in the center of your dobro cover...this resides directly above your bridge. It's where many players rest their palm when playing. Now, if you take a flathead, you should be able to find the adjustment screw...turn this screw in quarter revolutions...and be careful not to over tighten.

After every quarter turn, test out your dobro to see if the buzzing has minimized.

We also have an extensive troubleshooting guide for dobro buzzes on our FAQ section. If you're still having problems, please get back with me...

Mickey

Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2002 3:33 PM

Hi Mickey
I have a sick feeling in my stomach because I have slightly pulled
my resonator cone out of shape by naively over cranking on the screw
in the bridge to quiet some rattle/buzz I was hearing. I have a 1969
Dobro. I just got it. I didn't think I was cranking on the screw too
much, but when I recently changed the strings, I took a peak inside
and found part of the cone at the inner center base area is raising
up.

Oy shit, I feel lousy! It still sounds good, I'm happy to say. But I
feel just God awful. Am I the first person you ever heard about who
did this? How much trouble did I put my dear Dobro into? Should I
look into a new resonator cone one day and if so, what is the best
kind?

I have learned that to silence the buzzing I have to grab the
strings and pull the entire cone up to the top side of the guitar.
It moves about 1/8th ". (not crank the screw!) The buzz than
disappears. after I play a bunch, I have to repeat the process.
Question: Do people ever glue the cone structure to the guitar to
prevent it from buzzing and moving?
Last question. I play bottleneck blues on it, it's a round neck,
what are the best strings for it?

Hello Doug,

Don't feel too bad: you're not the first one to cave in a resonator
cone. In fact, since you purchased your dobro used, the cone may
already have been caved in a bit.

I would highly recommend going with a Quarterman model cone
(professional level) - you can find all of the info on Quartermans by
going here:

http://www.folkofthewood.com/page1326.htm

We have them in stock ready to ship. Be sure to confirm the diameter
of your instrument's sound well and existing cone matches the
Quarterman's.

You may want to go ahead with the bridge and nut upgrades if your
dobro needs it. More info on the website page above.

Buzzing problems on resonator instruments is somewhat common.
Usually it is bad seating of the cone into the soundwell. It may
also be bad seating of the spider onto the cone. Most buzzing
problems can be isolated and eliminated through experimentation
(turning the spider/cone slightly or slightly adjusting the tension
screw, etc.).

If your cone continues with a buzzing problem, I suppose a small
amount of white glue can be applied to help with the cone's seating.
However, this shouldn't be necessary and may decrease the
instrument's tonal quality. The new cone may eliminate this problem.

For lap-style dobro playing with GBDGBD tuning, we recommend GHS
brand 'acoustic slide' strings (set 1600). For upright bottleneck
blues playing with EADGBE tuning, we recommend GHS light gauge
acoustic strings (or most any other high quality light gauge acoustic
guitar strings).

I hope I was of some assistance to you - Please let me know if I can
help any further.

Thanks!!