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Message 8656
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| Subject: | Re: [RESOGUIT-L] Weather and cone tension | | Date: | Wednesday, January 30, 2008 07:16:23 (+0000) | | From: | reso-man <reso-man @.......net>
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Thanks for the reply Dick,
I'd never even thought of that snow-blower angle. That's for us "Northern folk"
huh? I will say that the stability of reso-guitars continues to amaze me! My
early double 10 Emmons "wrap-around push-pull" with it's aluminum necks was
something.....wow....going from a hot car's trunk to a cool air-conditioned
"knife & gun" club.....I'd see that thing drop a 1/2 tone in a matter of
minutes. The aluminum necks would actually SHRINK, evidently from the drop in
temp. It was my habit to bring "Emma" in first and open her case....then lug in
the amp(s) the pack-a-seat, the "garbage box" (aka the effects rack,) etc. By
the time all my "stuff" was in the club, the Emmons had some idea of the ambient
temp., and I'd set her up and get out the tuning meter and go on from there. I
used to turn each tuner about a 1/4 turn sharp, and be pretty close, then at the
end of the first set, we'd be a bit sharp, so I'd turn 'em back down again. You
learn to tune pretty quick on a guitar with alu
minum necks....lol.
I vividly recall my first "gig" in bluegrass on a Sho-Bro! Outside,(naturally)
and on a blazing hot day, downtown, with cement sidwalks and brick and concrete
buildings all around....it was like setting up in a pizza oven! I'm thinking
"wow, what's "Sally" (my first Sho-Bro) going to think about all this?? I
was pleasantly surprised, and "Sally" & "Suzy" my first Sho-Bros were ROUND necks!!
When I started playing sq. necks, I pretty much stopped worrying about my
instruments. They, in most cases, just seem to work. Remind me Dan, next time
you come, and I'll show you a picture of this first bluegrass "experience" of
mine, it's still on the back wall at Clancey's.......O;-)
I have small electronic tuners on all of my "working" guitars today, but mainly,
I use them just as a courtesy to others. I change strings frequently, (thank you
Euphonon) and find an occasional check for "loosening stuff", (mainly the strap
fastners, 'cause I'd sooner be safe than sorry) is all that's required.
Leave well enough alone, seems to be the primary rule, if you've got a decent
guitar, and take reasonable care of it.
I do carry a small screwdriver, (just in case.)
Gotta keep them "twangs" of the finest quality ya know,
Richie (who at the moment...shhhh....has almost no snow in his driveway.)
-------------- Original message --------------
From: Richard DeNeve <richard_d13132@yahoo.com>
> Richie,
>
> I didn't respond because I think you had it pretty
> much nailed. I can't think of any reason the brass,
> steel, and aluminum could be affected by moderate
> changes in heat and humidity. Maybe hand grunge in
> the furrows of the string windings had dried and been
> re-loosened by playing, but that should not be
> affected by a slight loosening of the tension screw.
>
> Wood (maple, ebony, etc) bridge inserts could be
> slightly affected - moister wood would be a bit softer
> - but again, this would not be changed by screw
> tension.
>
> If the tension screw were not "home" against the top
> of the bridge, and if the body wood of the guitar
> shifted slightly to change the sidewise tension on the
> screw, then a change in screw position could
> re-establish sidewise tension against the hole in the
> spider, making the sound crisper. There would need to
> be several factors happening together, and the odds of
> this happening in two guitars at the same time would
> be infinitesmally (sp?) small.
>
> What had Dan been doing before he went to his guitars?
> Years ago, I used to go deer hunting for days at a
> time, living in a barely heated tent, and hearing no
> sounds but soft voices and wind in the trees. When I
> got home and played my guitar, it sounded very trebly.
> After 20 minutes or so, it sounded normal again. If
> Dan spent the hour before playing out with a rackety
> snow blower, his guitars would sound a lot different
> than "normal" until the stapedeus muscles in his ears
> relaxed a bit. Just about the time it takes to find a
> small screw driver and back off on that tension screw.
>
> Makes a good story, anyway. The real truth we may
> never know.
>
> I sometimes need to tweak the tuning on my main guitar
> during the spring and the fall, while the weather is
> changing. But unless I bump the tuning knob(s)
> through the sides of the gig bag I use, I go weeks or
> even months at a time without any adjustment at all in
> the winter and the summer. (And the stainless steel
> strings make changing them a rarity.)
>
> One should tweak the tension screw only when there is
> a reason to, like a rattle that tweaking will cure.
> And then the tweaker should seek to eliminate the root
> cause of the rattle's appearance, such as a bent cone
> from the guitar being dropped, or spider legs becoming
> uneven because of change in down-pressure against the
> cone, and readjust the screw tension to about 3/4 to a
> full turn after the screw contact on the bridge makes
> the "loose screw" rattles stop.
>
> Dick DeNeve
>
> --- reso-man@comcast.net wrote:
>
> > So Dan,
> >
> > Did you ever get an answer to this "weather vs cone
> > tension" question you asked earlier? I was hopeful
> > that Dick DeNeve would have some input on your
> > question. If you did, I missed it, and I'm curious
> > because I haven't noticed anything like that here,
> > and I have forced hot air, which is the dryest form
> > of heat there is.
> >
> > I run a couple of humidifiers thru the heating
> > season, and using a humidity meter to monitor, I try
> > for 54% to 56% or as close to that as I can get.
> > That's about the middle of the "normal" range on the
> > dial, and I figure if it's good for the people, the
> > reso-guitars won't be all that far behind.
> >
> > Dan, I think it's all that playing you're doing with
> > "The Innocent Bystanders" (gotta luv that name) and
> > I think it's probably just time for new strings.
> > Change them wires bro......you'll need 'em for Joe
> > Val anyways!
> >
> > Richie
> > -------------- Original message --------------
> > From: "D. Tannehill"
> >
> > > Just wondering something. In the past week, both
> > Virginia ('05 Tut Taylor
> > > Virginian) and Lassie ('06 Gold Tone Beard PBS)
> > have sounded "thuddy." Both
> > > times, I tweaked the cone tension screw, and the
> > problem cleared up. And both
> > > times, I loosened the screw. I figure it has
> > something to do with the cold, dry
> > > temps here in New England, but figured I'd get an
> > expert opinion. So here's the
> > > question. How does the weather affect cone
> > tension, and how frequently should
> > > one tweak it?
> > >
> > > Dan in RI
> >
> >
>
>
>
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