I am having trouble with a build and hope some one can give me some suggestions. I built a sweet guitar and went all out. Built my own box using figured maple sides and lace wood back, maple neck with rosewood finger board and rosewood binding. where I think I messed up is I also used figured maple for the top. I was hoping for a bright sound but ended up being way too stiff and has very little volume.
To fix this I figured adding a resonator cone with a stiff top would raise the volume but no such luck, no increase in volume and no real reso sound. I put gitty blues blaster medium strings on it and added a 7" thunder cone. I'm looking for any suggestions to raise the volume and get more reso sound out of this instrument. At this point it's an expensive wall hanger.
Tags:
Hi, The tops of resonator guitars, "Dobro" or National styles, have stiff tops as some have a reinforcing rim sandwiched between the back and the top, looks like a tambourine. So the contribution of the vibrating effect of the top and back is very low.
It could be the size of the box or size of soundholes. A look at the instrument may help identify a cause.
Taff
Hi again, I just reread your post. Depending on the thickness a maple top could be too stiff for an acoustic guitar. Flexibility is the key so thinning it and a brace may have rectified the problem. Providing the soundhole/s are good size.
Taff
The top is 1/8 th. in. thick and I thought it was just too stiff to properly vibrate as an acoustic that was the reason I cut in the thunder cone. I guess I was just expecting more punch out of the cone. I mean it's better than it was just doesn't sound like the videos of reso's I've heard. This is build number 10 and I've built all my own boxes. All the previous ones I used cedar and they are very loud to say the least. lesson learned function over form. I fell into the pretty wood trap.
a 1/8-inch top isn't really thick - no matter the wood - so I suspect there are other issues going on.
I build traditional resonator guitars - incorporating a tone ring or soundwell, a 9 or 9.5-inch biscuit cone, etc. For such instruments, it's not unusual to see 3/16-inch tops (or thin steel - maybe 24 gauge - backed with wood). Thickness is necessary, as down-string pressure for a biscuit cone is often around 30 pounds or more.
You could zap up the volume on a CBG with a traditional biscuit cone, if the body size will allow, but looking at your photo, it doesn't appear to have the needed height, width, and length to make a cone viable
I see a lot of these "cones" that are screwed to the top of the box. They may give you a somewhat twangy, imitation reso sound,, but they really won't increase your volume. To do that, a cone has to float; it never touches the top of the instrument (let alone be glued or screwed) and is in fact inset into the body an inch or some via the tone ring or soundwell
Also, the instrument has to have some resonating volume inside. I wouldn't want to spend the money on cones - or the time building soundwells - unless the body was at least 12" wide x 18" long by 4" deep.
Maybe this will help (wasn't sure I had a photo). This is a steel top, backed with wood. The tone ring is attached to the bottom side of the guitar's top with 3M marine epoxy (can handle the string pressure, and never comes loose). You'll see the lip at the bottom of the tone ring. That's where the cone rests. It touches neither the sides nor the top . . . it just "floats."
\uap>To vastly simplify (this is not totally accurate, but will give you a mental image) think of the reso body as a speaker box. The top should maybe flex a tiny bit . . . but mostly you want it to be sturdy \uap>Hope that helps \uap> \uap>Started by Paul Craig in Cool gear discussion - that's not cigar box related. Last reply by Don Craig 2 hours ago. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Started by toskya in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Taffy Evans 10 hours ago. 4 Replies 0 Likes
Started by RTZGUITARS in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Road Rash Roy 12 hours ago. 35 Replies 1 Like
Started by Brent Kasl in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by David McQueen 12 hours ago. 3 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Angry Rooster Guitars in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Angry Rooster Guitars 12 hours ago. 17 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Shane Speal shanespeal.com in Feature Articles. Last reply by Elliot Brown 13 hours ago. 11 Replies 1 Like
Started by Ron in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans 17 hours ago. 5 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Paul Craig in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Taffy Evans yesterday. 983 Replies 4 Likes
Started by White Raven in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Lonman yesterday. 7 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Ricky D in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans on Saturday. 7 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Mark Rinehart in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Tom T on Friday. 9 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Wes in For Sale: Cigar Box Guitars, other instruments, cds and related items on Friday. 0 Replies 0 Likes
Started by the anonymous pick in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by the anonymous pick on Thursday. 21 Replies 10 Likes
Started by Mark Rinehart in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Jerry Jordan on Thursday. 4 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Toby D. in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Daniel Walter on Thursday. 8 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Martin Simpson in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Paul Craig on Tuesday. 15 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Allen in Fests and Concerts: Organizing and Promoting. Last reply by Shane Speal shanespeal.com Feb 11. 2 Replies 0 Likes
Started by JRK in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by RTZGUITARS Feb 11. 18 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Shane Speal shanespeal.com in Feature Articles. Last reply by Tom Thunder Feb 10. 4 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Rough Cut Tom in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by darryl kernaghan Feb 9. 3 Replies 0 Likes
Posted by Donkey on February 12, 2019 at 8:00am 6 Comments 1 Like
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 10, 2019 at 9:37pm 1 Comment 0 Likes
Posted by Andries D. EKER on February 9, 2019 at 3:55pm 9 Comments 3 Likes
Posted by smilingdog1 on February 8, 2019 at 3:00am 5 Comments 0 Likes
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 7, 2019 at 11:42am 2 Comments 0 Likes
© 2019 Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker.
Powered by
Cigar Box Nation is presented by C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply, your one-stop-shop for Cigar Box Guitar parts and accessories!