kevin_lindsay Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 I got this National resonator tricone style guitar last week. The previous owner hadn't really used it (as is evident from the "before" pics. So I thought I'd give it a bit of a clean and it should be okay? Hasn't quite turned out that way though. Here's the guitar when it arrived with me: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/389f9b70.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/1d24937f.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/1bd41ce6.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/73f6c136.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/7877b771.jpg[/IMG] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaydentaku Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 and after... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenitram Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 What a gorgeous design, like a modernist/art deco sculpture or piece of architecture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 (edited) First thing was to play the instrument and see how it sounded. First impressions were that is was nice - had that Dire Straits "Romeo and Juliet" vibe to the tone. However, it did sound slightly muffled. So, time to remove the strings and get the cover plate off. My 9 year old son Jonathan looked at the cover plate and said "that looks like the decepticon sign from the Transformers film dad!". [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/ee74a1a6.jpg[/IMG] Anyhow, I attempted to lift the cones out of the seating pan (that are usually just held in place by the pressure of the strings). The cones were stuck fast! Tured out that someone had stuck them in place using a gummy glue like Copydex (for those of us old enough to remember the stuff from school). I had to prise the cones away from the pan using a single edged razor blade. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/3aef84d8.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/2c3cd7c8.jpg[/IMG] The seating pan was left with crusted glue residue. The key to getting good tone from resonators is to endure the seating pan has a flat surface for the cones to contact with. I cleaned all the residue off. Also, the screws that attach the centre wooden rod to the underside of the seating pan - I countersunk the holes into the metal pan, filed the screw heads totally flat and removed any burrs, and then re-inserted the screws. This endures the seating pan is as close to flat as possible for fitting the cones again. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/1774b088.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/e461a024.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/693d265b.jpg[/IMG] Edited August 6, 2012 by kevin_lindsay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 (edited) Having to prise the original cones away from the seating pan left some of the edges a bit dented. So, I contacted Colin Oldham at Delta Resonator Cones. Colon is Hand spinning and forming a new set of his own design cones for the guitar. They should be with me in the next few days. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/697d6079.jpg[/IMG] In the meantime I looked to the insides of the metal body. There is a wooden. "stick" that runs from the neck back to the tail block. The seating pan has three screws in it that secures this rod centrally through the mide of the guitar. Under this stick, between it and the inside back of the body, there are three "mushroom posts". You can see one through the grill in this pic: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/ed127af7.jpg[/IMG] I decided to do a standard modification on this type of guitar, by removing the middle post, and relocating the outer posts to allow the body to resonate more freely. Edited August 6, 2012 by kevin_lindsay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Do you realise that you are now BC's official 'Go To' guy for resonators? Nice stuff Mr L - more pix please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 (edited) As I will have to wait for the new cones to arrive, along with some new strings (16-58 gauge. You need heavier strings to "work" the cones. Normal acoustic gauge strings don't really get the right "bite" to the resonator tone), I thought I'd try to clean up the body. The body looks kinda cool with the dull finish, but I wondered if I could burnish it to get it a bit mire "gleamy"? I'd need to clean up the finish and then find some way to stop fingerprints or sweat dulling the finish instantly afterwards. First step was to get a tube of T-Cut metal polish and start to clean up the dull finish. Once that was done I could apply a few coats of Mer polish to create a barrier between the metal and the elements. So, the elbow grease, and disposal of a lot of cleaning rags takes the finish from this: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/1bd41ce6.jpg[/IMG] To this: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/c581c3c3.jpg[/IMG] And this: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/389f9b70.jpg[/IMG] To this: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/bf01526d.jpg[/IMG] I've still got some way to go, but it's looking great so far. I'll post more pics as things progress, and will post pics of the new cone installation and re-assembly. For anyone interested, here's how the guitar looks with the cover plate off and the cones and T-Bridge assembly in place: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/724775ab.jpg[/IMG] Edited August 6, 2012 by kevin_lindsay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Wonderful looking thing Kev. I'd love to know how it sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I used to help run a Blues summer school that had a succession of visiting American player/tutors, many of whom used tricones. That is a lovely instrument. They do come in various finishes, so the shiny finish is not necessarily the desired look (although you do seem to have made an excellent job of it). +1 on more pics as well please BTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 The "shiny" finish isn't a mirror-like chrome look. Rather, it has a slight reflective shine, but looks like an older finish. Kinda cool. I'm still awaiting delivery of new strings (I ordered 3 sets of D'Addario 16-56 acoustic strings)), and also awaiting the new hand spun resonator cones. It'll be great to get everything back together again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Nice one. I'd love to get my hands on one of those. When I've had to take too many of my pain meds I get the urge to polish metal things and can sit for hours just rubbing away... I've not tried T-Cut. I would have used [url="http://www.ehow.com/about_6365683_silvo-silver-polish-information.html"]Silvo[/url] on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettsguitars Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Love it. What's the make and age? Good price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 I tried silver polish first - didn't work on the finish, that's why I turned to T-Cut. Not the car polish, the metal polish stuff like this: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0b1e2cf4.jpg[/IMG] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 That's a relief, with your previous I was half-expecting to see it painted shell pink :-) Looks nice in that finish. I have a slight preference with the cover on - would be really interested to know if there's a difference between the sound with it on and off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 (edited) You need the cover in place, the instrument wouldn't last 10 minutes without it! Hahaha. The cones are made of really thin aluminium, so having them exposed would leave then open to dents (which would result in a dead sounding guitar very quickly). I just took the pic with the cones in place to show how the bridge acts on them. I'm out gigging tomorrow night, so it'll be Saturday before I can get the instrument set up with the new cones in place. I'll post some pics of the reassembly and setup as I go along. I'll try and get some sound clips posted too. Edited August 9, 2012 by kevin_lindsay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Ah, I see - you can tell I know next to nothing about these instruments, other than they sound fantastic. Thanks for that clip Johnston by the way. Looking forward to the next installment, as ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted August 11, 2012 Author Share Posted August 11, 2012 Here's a link to the Delta Resonator Cones website. There's a link on the right hand side where you can hear the tricone sound. http://www.deltaresonatorcones.co.uk/tricones.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 I'm still waiting for the Delta Resonator Cones - the delivery appears to have gone amiss in the Royal Mail delivery system! Aagh!!! So, I reassembled the guitar using the original (cleaned up!) cones, and put on a set if new strings - D'Addario EJ42 .016-.056. Here's some pics for now: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/2DCF5AED-3D13-4317-9E0C-A4F550D9CABF-245-00000035E924420E.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/64B04124-3E76-4A91-9DCF-A1E366B3ECE4-245-00000035E10E08B7.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/BA1C2F52-429F-4AF5-BEC2-6877C3595D4A-245-00000035D87893A6.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/F26D80CC-D22B-48F3-8DDC-A7DDAD301973-245-00000035D0D370D7.jpg[/IMG] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 [quote name='kevin_lindsay' timestamp='1344452969' post='1764873'] I tried silver polish first - didn't work on the finish, that's why I turned to T-Cut. Not the car polish, the metal polish stuff like this: [/quote] I use this stuff also, and would heartily recommend - if you're trying to get a piece of metal work back to spec, it works a treat. Nothing like it for cutting through decades of sweat This resonator is looking superb, great thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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