Suggest a Reference?

[rmgjsps]

Can anyone suggest a reference (book, ebook, article, or other) on set-up and minor repair of roundneck, spider, resonators? Would appreciate any leads or help.

[D. Churchland]

Originally Posted by rmgjsps

Can anyone suggest a reference (book, ebook, article, or other) on set-up and minor repair of roundneck, spider, resonators? Would appreciate any leads or help.

If you have something you need help with I'd be happy to assist, just PM me with the instrument and pictures if you can.

There's not really a ton of books on the subject apart from the writings of Bob Brozman and those really aren't all about setup and are more historically oriented.

[rmgjsps]

Will, thanks for the offer. I bought a really cheeep Reso on a whim and am looking to make a polyester purse out of this sow's ear -- silk, or even cotton, is out of the question. Just want to make it playable for my livingroom and possibly learn a little slide. I've lowered the action just a tad by trimming the bridges and went to lower gauge strings. I know that reduces the volume, but I don;t care about that. Also purchased some bridge blanks from Beard as the slots on the current bridges are "off" and the bass strings are shifted a bit left. I'm going to feel my way with this one as a project. If I end up liking it, I'll probably buy a better quality instrument. If I run into a snag, I'll take you up on your generous offer of help. Thanks again.

[hat]

There is some good setup info on the Beard guitar website. Also check out the website Resohangout. the main things to look for are the spider legs flat and all level with each other - the ledge that the cone sits on needs to be flat and smooth - the cone and spider should fit together with all legs just touching, the screw tightened just a bit - just enough to stop buzzes. And you may want to put a piece of leather or felt under the tailpiece to stop it from buzzing against the coverplate.