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Topic: Vintage Yamaha Tricone Project (pics) |
Justin Douglas
From:
Austin, TX
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Posted 24 Jul 2008 1:52 pm |
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So a lot of the folks around here are skilled wood-workers, craftsmen, luthiers, DIYers, and machinists. I have the utmost respect for you fellows, because I am decidedly none of these things. By a long shot. That said, I decided to turn an old warped but beautiful sounding 35 - 40 year old Yamaha red-label FG-180 into a tricone square-neck. It's still got the round neck, but the action is set to lap playing. To make things worse, I decided I needed 7 strings. After a day and a half with just a dremel and power drill, here she is:
Before:
B-Band electronics:
Headstock with extra machine:
Rough-cut for sizing and placing cones and well:
A la fin:
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Jonathan Lam
From:
Brooklyn, NY
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Posted 24 Jul 2008 2:16 pm
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| Wow! That rough cut picture looks scary! Good job. How does it sound? |
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Terry Farmer
From:
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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Posted 24 Jul 2008 7:32 pm
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| Looks fine, Justin. Where did you find the tricone parts? How's she sound? |
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Justin Douglas
From:
Austin, TX
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Posted 25 Jul 2008 9:45 am
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the rough cut actually served a purpose. the bottom of the tricone coverplate has little beams welded on to hold the mesh screen in place. these sit down lower than the rest of the coverplate which just rests on the top. i wanted to keep as much of the top as possible, so i notched out space for those lower beams to fit, bit by bit, until the coverplate fit snug. i then went back and smoothed everything out and sanded.
i got tricone parts from resophonic outfitters, fretstore.com (great prices!) and elderly instruments.
the sound is really unique. those red-label yamaha'a have a real deep but focused punch to them. it's got a lot more depth and low end than most dobros, but the tricones give it a tinge of a real bluesy, delta feel mixed in. tonally it wasn't what i had expected in my mind, but i'm really liking it. will play it out tonight and see how it runs.
by the way, i'll be playing this and my emmons at Matthew Ballard's CD release party here in austin tomorrow night at mother egan's if anyone's around. |
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