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Topic: Regal Dobro upgrade |
Kevin Ruddell
From:
Toledo Ohio USA
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Posted 18 Sep 2002 1:51 pm |
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I bought a nice Regal Dobro from an aquaintance who no longer played it. He originally purchased it off the rack at Elderly Instruments in Lansing. I purchased the Quarterman cone from Elderly for $50 and Resophonic Outfitter's maple bridge inserts for $5. When I took the coverplate off the cone was not stamped as I had heard about the Regals but was identical to the Quarterman . I put the new one in anyway since the tip of the original cone was tipped to one side and the screw was bent a little. I sanded the bridge inserts to fit the spider bridge and used the great FREE tech sheets on resophonic work from Stewart MacDonald at www.stewmac.com to cut the string slots and balance the cone before loading it. |
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Bill Leff
From:
Santa Cruz, CA, USA
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Posted 18 Sep 2002 2:16 pm
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| And...whaddya think? |
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Kevin Ruddell
From:
Toledo Ohio USA
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Posted 19 Sep 2002 1:51 pm
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| And to sum up , I think I ca do my own cone maintenance as needed . It was pretty dusty in there and probably should be at least cleaned and checkd every so often. The guitar sounds a little better in the higher fret areas , maybe because the original bridge was not too impressive. The $5 inserts are an improvement but the Regal is still a entry level instrument that does not have a great deal of projection but is a good value for the money . One Regal I strummed at Elderly sounded markedly better than the others for some reason. I can recommend the very good FREE tech sheets for various stringed instruments courtesy of Stewart MacDonalds web site as they're excellent. |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 19 Sep 2002 6:00 pm
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You can also go into the sound well and block up three or four of the holes on the neck side, and router out larger holes on the opposite side. That gives you a little more bass resonance. Also, go to an ebony or bone saddle for more singing highs. That's about as good as a Korean Regal will get. Not as good as the best pro instruments, but pretty good for the money.
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Cheap instrument connoisseur - customized 1971 Sho-Bud Maverick, Nashville 400, Fender Squire, Peavey Transtube Supreme into JBL 15", 1968 Gibson J50, '60s Kay arch-top, 7-string Raybro, customized Korean Regal square-neck, roundneck Dobro 90C, 1938 Conn Chu Berry tenor sax, '50s Berg mouthpiece, Hamilton upright piano - you make it, I'll play it (more or less)
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Gregg McKenna
From:
South Windsor, Connecticut, USA
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Posted 19 Sep 2002 6:37 pm
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Kevin, for about $60.00-$65.00 more, you can probably get an even better sound out of your Regal.
Replace the stock spider bridge with a #14 Dobro spider bridge.(You will then have to change the wooden bridge inserts again to fit the different bridge insert channel). Also make sure you level the bottom of the new spider before installing.
Replace the stock nut (if plastic) with a solid bone nut. If it is the wider Regal neck(aprox 2 1/16" at the nut), you will have to order the oversize nut, because the standard bone nut blanks are sold in 2" lengths.
You can get these parts at Resophonic Outfitters.
Hope this helps.
Gregg
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