Received my kit today and it looks complete but as this is a new build of a very different guitar I'll see how I go as to whether all the bits are included!! Built seven kits so far but the resonator is a completely different animal. Wish me luck!
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Received my kit today and it looks complete but as this is a new build of a very different guitar I'll see how I go as to whether all the bits are included!! Built seven kits so far but the resonator is a completely different animal. Wish me luck!
Awesome! I shall be watching as I also have a resonator kit waiting to be built.
I'm curious how you'll do the piezo pickup. In my kit it came with an under saddle rod pickup but that will cover the central screw for adjusting the cone. Plus the under saddle will require drilling through the cone to route the wires. I'm leaning towards using a disc piezo under the cone myself.
Pot values and whether you use a preamp or stereo out are also a couple things to consider.
Good luck with the build!
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Cool! Interested to see what you do with it
Hi kuanjb,Quote:
Originally Posted by kuanjb
Once you've got that cone tightened up to the spider, you shouldn't need to touch it.
As far as the wiring for the kit one goes, I ran the wiring across the spider leg closest to the control cavity and popped a 3mm hole into the very corner of the ledge the cone sits on to feed that little jack through.
Currently routing and filing out new holes in the body sides to house a fishman pre-amp and a battery case.
Hi GreyFLoyd, I would do the following checks, based on what i learned from my kit. Hopefully yours is a better example than mine was.Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyFloyd
- Check the scale length to the bridge
- Check the neck pick up fit with the neck in place at more or less the correct scale length. (Both Corksniffer and I had to modify to get it to fit)
- Mount the cone up into the recess and make sure that it seats around that ledge and doesn't just sit on the bottom of the sound well, both Corksniffer and I had to re rout the bottom of the well to get the cone to sit where as it should.
- Check your fit on the "Tea strainer" screens at the upper and lower horns, mine are loose, and their recess is a loose interpretation of "Circular".
If you've done a few then you'll be familiar with the other things to look for, out of whack tuner holes etc so I won't gild the lily on that stuff. Hope you strike none of the issues that Myself and Corksniffer had and best of luck with it, look forward to seeing what you do with it.
Cheers, FW
Hmmmm. I thought you were supposed to adjust the cone tension with the strings on. That's why resonators have a split bridge right?Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankenWashie
https://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Onlin...tar_Setup.html
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Did your kit actually come with a split bridge? I'll be filthy if it did. All I got was a 3mm wide strip of Ebony that sat loosely in the 1/8" bridge slot meant to hold it. I might experiment with gluing that bit to some hard maple i have lying around to get it fitting properly as it ain't gonna work the way it is.
I shall have to read that full article when I get closer to the noisy end of the build, thanks for the link. I forget that StewMac isn't just a tools and supplies resource sometimes. :)
Have you struck any of the other issues I raised? Be interesting to see.
Apologies for the Thread Jacking GreyFloyd, though it's kind of relevant?? :)
(Closes PBG web page, flings Ipad across the room). :)Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankenWashie
cheers, Mark.
No it was a single blank like yourself. I was planning on cutting it.
Another link of interest re resonator pickup options:
https://www.guitarchalk.com/resonato...spider-bridge/
Maybe we should start a new thread somewhere where can all share our knowledge, tips, tricks and pitfalls.
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Hi fellow resonators! Thanks for the tips so far. I have a bunch of questions but feel I should look at the stewmac links to get a handle on some of the issues. I'd be happy to keep in touch on any new thread if you want to steer clear of an amateur like me. Not sure what the sound holes/tea strainers actually contribute; one of the holes is also a loose interpretation FW. The Piezo has me beat; not sure how that fits (to bridge??); also have a small ebony blank. It seems that the routing issues you guys had may have been solved in mine, although it still looks a bit rough. Would be nice to have a wiring diagram - did check the w-I-p instruction manual and its link to wiring but no luck there.
This worked for mine.Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyFloyd
Attachment 29084
Drill a hole at red arrow, run wire down through and along the spider allowing the piezo to sit in bottom of spider and then the wooden bridge sits on top of the piezo.Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyFloyd
Attachment 29085
Put your cone in place and with a LITTLE pressure on the cone centre rotate the cone and look for any mark on the body showing cone contact. Will look like this ...Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyFloyd
Attachment 29086
Easy fix to get cone clearance and increase volume of the box and possibly increase sound when unplugged.
Attachment 29087
How loud is the piezo compared to the humbucker with this circuit?Quote:
Originally Posted by cork sniffer
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Many thanks Cork Sniffer!! Sorry for the delay to respond - been in the shed staining the neck and drilling route for humbucker wire. My Piezo wire has a type of connector on the end rather than a live and ground like a 'normal' connection. Not sure what I'll find if I remove it!
there will be a lead wire and braid and not much else I believe.Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyFloyd
The humbucker is TWICE as loud as the piezo. It works fine but I suspect a pre amp would take it to a much better level.Quote:
Originally Posted by kuanjb
I DIDN'T remove my connector, simply picked up the matching female connector from Jaycar and attached the plug in joint in a corner of the sound box. Did the same with the mini humbucker so I can change pickups without a soldering job.Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyFloyd
Attachment 29159
Great idea CS. On a more mundane topic, can you tell me how to post a pic for avatar? Can't seem to find anything in My Profile.
Next to 'My Profile' is 'Settings'. Click on that and then select 'Edit Avatar' from the left side menu.Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyFloyd
Thanks Overlord! Thought I'd post my first kit build of an LP and my custom orange!!
Stewmac says you shouldn't glue or attach in any way the spider cone to the guitar. My spider cone has four screw holes which suggests to me that it should be screwed to the rim. Puzzled!?!!
Don’t screw it down GF, you might need to check that it is not sitting proud on those burrs though.
Whole point of the lip is that is sits firmly against the body and you shouldn’t need any glue or similar to get it to sit right.
Stewmac are correct.Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyFloyd
Beauty of an alloy cone and raw timber rim is you can gently rotate the cone through a few degrees with a little down pressure and the alloy will mark the high spots on the rim. Keep sanding the dark witness marks away until you have cone contact all of the way around the rim and it's job done. String pressure will hold all in place.
Thanks FW/CS. Just wondered why it had the four screw holes. Still getting marks on the base of the body while rotating so will continue to sand and hopefully not go right thru the back!! Or should that be sanding the rim? Don't seem to have any marks there.
You'll probably have to cut out the bottom like CS and FW.Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyFloyd
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You won’t go through the back of the body, but there is an air gap between the central wood core and the back ply.Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyFloyd
if you go through then I’d just remove the whole section. It won’t affect anything
Go back to post #13 in this thread date 21/11/18.Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyFloyd
Have a good look at the two photos and then cut the bottom out of your body. This will allow the cone edge to sit on the rim that will then require sanding until the cone sits supported all of the way around.
Check this photo.
Cut away the area with black X.
Rub cone and sand over and over again at red lines.
EDIT, This photo already gas the offending base cut away at black X.
Attachment 29175
When it came to stringing up time I couldn't get the action low enough. I suspect the spider, cone and rim is designed for playing slide. I machined the timber rim down further to drop the bits and pieces to get a normal action.
Attachment 29176
Thanks again CS - you're a hive of information! My cone seems to sit well on the rim but I'll keep on rotating and checking just to make sure. Started staining the sides of the body this arvo.
Attachment 29289Barnyard Red stain on the back and sides so far.
Finished staining and now mating the two pieces for ever!!Attachment 29313
Noticed that the nut is raised at the bass E string - never seen that before. Another puzzle.Attachment 29330Attachment 29331
So looks like you didn't have to modify the neck pickup hole for the pickup to fit properly with the neck.
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No - there was just about a perfect fit - tried it out before fitting neck. Also placed the top cover over the body/cone and it too fitted nicely with the neck and humbucker in place. They must have adjusted the measurements or else I was lucky!!
Good outcomes GreyFloyd! It’s looking sweet too!Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyFloyd
i believe it is hit and miss. After getting everything in place for mine and doing a level up with the existing ebony bridge I actually found the action would be too low!Quote:
Originally Posted by cork sniffer
nothing about these kits seems to scream “rigorous quality control”.
With 3 set necks behind me now I have a feeling that clamp position can change the desired number of degrees + or - enough to result in high or low action. When I set the last one I fitted two tuners and the bridge, ran cotton on E and e. Moved the clamp to get desired clearance at the high frets. I've had one build too low, had to cut the bridge into the body, one too high, had to sink the cone and this one just as it should be.
Attachment 29353