Resonator kit has arrived so has the “never done this before anxiety” so let’s give it a go. Hope I can enjoy the process more this time I think I rushed my first ( didn’t we all) - build I meant build. What are all these weird parts?
Look forward to great help like last time.
Cheers
graham
Unpacked it fully, the body is pretty rough, the neck has a noticeable convex curve , the holes for machine heads are different distances from the sides of the head stock, the neck is a lose in the pocket, cone has a dent in it and the spider legs are out of whack a lot - 2 legs touch the others are all about 2-3 mm above the cone. Have I got an end of the shift kit?
The quality compared with the first kit I bought is really poor.
Disappointed
graham
A closer look at the cover plate reveals apart from dirty marks that should come of with some polish the are tiny bits
of what appears to be surface rust
G'day Graham,
If you're completely unhappy with the kit, I can certainly replace it or refund it if it's really disappointed you that badly.
I should point out tho - when I made mine, I also needed to smooth the sides back before finishing it... and also my neck was a little loose in pocket as well, but nothing that couldn't be sorted with a little shimming and filling. Just make sure that you've got it square with a mock-fit top and bottom e string into the tail piece.
I believe that the fabricator Adam bought these from is one we don't go to much, if at all, anymore as they're the one that stuffed up all the multi-scale fanned-fret kits and refused to do anything about it.
So, yeah, the quality on this one needs some love to bring it up to beautiful, but that's what we're all here for, right? to spend time on the craft making it exactly what we want?
Let me know if there's anything I can help with.
So far, I think we've had two build diaries on the Resonator--including one from the owner of PB. I would suggest taking some pictures. It sounds like you might have a problem child, but sometimes it's useful to get some feedback.
If you are in one of the Australian "Margates," you may want to contact Tim about exchanging your kit. It turns out that there are other "Margates in Canada, the UK, South Africa and the US, including one about an hour from me. (You can tell that it was named by developers in Florida because it is nowhere near a beach). If you are from one of the other Margates, you may be better off trying to fix it rather than dealing with shipping costs.
Of the issues you've named the issue that would worry me most is the neck depending on how convex it is. If it's just a little, that may just require a bit of truss rod adjustment (less than 1/4 turn). If it looks like it is going to require much adjustment, or if you can't get it flat in a quarter turn, "that dog won't hunt" as we used to say in cowboy country.
Not sure how bad the spider is--I think TD had to bend some parts of his into place. Neck pocket is probably solvable, as are the holes in the peghead--if you have to.
Thanks fender yes Australian Margate just on the wrong side of the island but that ok. I won’t touch anything until Trevor contributes seeing he’s the most recent resonator builder
The truss rod counter-acts string tension, so when you have a back bow or convex neck the truss rod is too tight and is bending the neck backwards. Your current back bow may be fine when under actual string tension but for the purposes of building and setting up it is best to have the neck as straight/flat as possible, and then re-adjust the truss rod when the strings are on.
In your case, with the truss rod being too tight, you need to loosen it gradually and allow the neck to hopefully ease back to nice and straight. Looking from the headstock end down the neck you need to loosen the truss rod by turning it counter-clockwise (lefty loosey, righty tighty) BUT only by 1/4 of a turn at a time. Then let it sit for at least a few minutes, check it, and repeat if needed. Don’t rush it, as wood and glue and the various densities of material take time to settle and adjust after each tension change. For me, if I need more than 3 or 4 quarter turns then I’ll probably leave it overnight before re-checking and adjusting it further. This is particularly true if the kit/neck has travelled a long way or between very different climates (heat, humidity etc), as they really do need time to acclimatise. Neck pocket tightness, neck bows and general fit can all change significantly as they settle and adjust to the new environment.
It’s possible that while adjusting the truss rod it could start to feel ‘loose’ with no effort to turn it, don’t panic. These should all be double-action truss rods, so if you loosen it far enough it will transition from ‘pulling’ backwards with tension to ‘pushing’ forward with tension into a concave or front/up bow. If at ANY point the truss rod adjustment becomes really tight and difficult to turn then stop and do not apply any more force. Count how many 1/4 or whole turns you have made and let us know. If the truss rod isn’t adjusting easily or worse if you strip its thread then the neck could be headed for the bin.
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