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#1
06-04-2023, 03:11 PM
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Affordable tricone wanted
Been looking to scratch the resonator itch for a while: played a few late-model Nationals back when MandoBros was my friendly local guitar shop, realized a tricone has the tone I'm after but not about to spend $5K on an occasional-use niche instrument...
Anything out there that won't cost me an arm, leg, and a couple other highly-useful appendages  - and isn't a total trainwreck and/or sold by a shady dealer...  ?I'd happily invest in a "full teardown" pro setup and/or hardware upgrades, as long as the basic platform is solid and the price is right... TIA... 
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) Last edited by Steve DeRosa; 06-04-2023 at 06:29 PM. 
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#2
06-04-2023, 03:40 PM
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Quote:
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2
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#3
06-04-2023, 03:47 PM
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Idea
I suggest a want To Buy thread in the guitars FS area.
A tri-cone is still a guitar. Right? And, square neck or round? Other than this I am no help, but I wish you the best on your quest Paul
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4 John Kinnaird SS 12c CUSTOMS: Big Maple/WRC Dread(ish) Jumbo Spanish Cedar/WRC Jumbo OLD Brazilian RW/WRC Big Tunnel 14 RW/Bubinga Dread(ish) R.T 2 12c sinker RW/Claro 96 422ce bought new! 96 LKSM 12 552ce 12x12 J. Stepick Bari Weissy WRC/Walnut More
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#4
06-04-2023, 06:32 PM
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Quote:
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased)
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#5
06-04-2023, 06:33 PM
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I've been happy with my Republic Woody Tri-cone. I really didn't need to do much as far as setup goes, just a truss rod tweak and it's worked well for a playing both slide and finger picking with medium gauge strings. Even the Schatten pickup works well with a good preamp.
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#6
06-04-2023, 06:36 PM
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Quote:
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That said, the Woody looks interesting...
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased)
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#7
06-04-2023, 07:33 PM
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I have a Royall woody tricone, closely related to the Republic. I did replace the stock cones with a set of Beard cones. If you are interested I can do a comparison with new to me 2000s Gold Tone PBS roundneck. I have been too busy to make the comparison between the two, but plan on doing it tomorrow. If you want I could make a quick video or audio comparison.
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Rolig SFS Martin HD-28M Lots of loud banjos
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#8
06-05-2023, 01:09 PM
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I'd probably look at a Regal RC51 or 57, and be prepared to replace the cones at the very least.
Maybe they've improved, but the two Republics I've owned completely soured me on the brand.
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#9
06-12-2023, 02:05 PM
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+1 on the Regal's ... I am not much of a resonator player, but I acquired one of their Tricones in aged brass or similar second hand and it plays very well. I "upgraded" the cones with some hand-spun Delta's and also got a K&K tricone pickup and it's been great fun ... borrowed for a long time by a lad learning blues who did some good stuff with it too.
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#10
06-13-2023, 04:30 PM
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Steve, just watch out for the neck angles on Regal and Republic - they vary. Some are good, some not so. And the Continental cones (same for both brands) are just a shade thicker than NRP cones. This is not too much of an issue if you have a good break angle and are running a reasonable tension. I would swap out the saddle to maple or boxwood before considering a cone change. BTW, cones are not a direct swap - NRP are a different height, so you need some saddle room to play with.
Rather than buy new. You may find a second hand Regal or Republic and could fix it up yourself. If you were in the UK, I'd say look out for a Busker Deco second hand; only because I will have rebuilt it! Lol!!! 
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I'm learning to flatpick and fingerpick guitar to accompany songs. I've played and studied traditional noter/drone mountain dulcimer for many years. And I used to play dobro in a bluegrass band.
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#11
06-14-2023, 12:37 PM
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Sorry to butt in on your conversation. I have just pulled the trigger on a Royall wood bodied Tricone. However, I’ve had to do it without playing it first. What do you think of it? Cheers Slim
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2022 Gibson L-00 Studio Walnut/Burst 2019 Martin D-28 Re-imagined 2018 Gibson J-45 2007 BSG GJ-27 12 string 2005 BSG J-27 2020 Regal RD-30M Resonator 1938 Dobro model unknown 2023 Michael Messer Fiddle Edge Dobro Plus a Takamine and an old S.Yairi.
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#12
06-14-2023, 03:19 PM
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I ordered my Republic Duolian without ever seeing or playing a Republic guitar, and I'm pleased with it. For its cost of $719, which includes a nice hardened gig bag, plus $125 for the installation of the Schatten NR-2, plus $45 shipping = $899, I think I got a well-made guitar that sounds good, and I have no regrets! My first playing test of the Republic Duolian in Tarnished Nickel Finish is pleasurable in that the guitar sounds really good both acoustically and plugged into my UltraSound AG30, and in that the guitar is set up quite well with darn good craftsmanship. The amplified tone from the Republic Guitars-installed Schatten NR-2 is noise-free and sounds surprisingly full and quite well-balanced string-to-string in its output and tone. I'm routing the Schatten's passive output through my new Sarno Steel Guitar Black Box Tube Preamp and that likely accounts for some of the warmth and roundness of amplified tone. The Vari-Z variable impedance knob of the SGBB acts to find the sweet spot impedance for the pickup and also acts as a kind of volume control as the more the knob is turned toward the higher impedance end of its travel the more there is a noticeable volume increase along with the increasing fullness of tone. I've found the most pleasing tone is at the 1 Megaohm end of the knob. I also have an LR Baggs Session DI that I'll try the Schatten through to hear what that can do for its amplified tone. Photos of Republic Duolian including one of the Schatten NR-2 Biscuit Bridge Piezo Pickup      
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2 Last edited by SpruceTop; 06-21-2023 at 03:25 PM.
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#13
07-11-2023, 10:57 PM
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All these imported tricones are variants of the original National Tricone design from the '30's (including the modern Nationals). You should understand that these are fairly complicated assemblies and they do not always translate well to cheap construction. I think the top of the line are the original Nationals, then the new Nationals then everything else. There are some European tricones that are pretty competitive. But you are probably old enough to know that you get what you pay for and that satisfaction can be hard to come by on the cheap side of the street.
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2003 Martin OM-42, K&K's 1932 National Style O, K&K's 1930 National Style 1 tricone Square-neck 1951 Rickenbacker Panda lap steel 2014 Gibson Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe Ltd, Custom Shop, K&K's 1957 Kay K-27 X-braced jumbo, K&K's 1967 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins Nashville 2014 Gold Tone WL-250, Whyte Lade banjo 2024 Mahogany Weissenborn, Jack Stepick Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina Tonedexter
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