My Johnson Style 1 Tricone, that is. It's one of the first Chinese-made ones, likely made in late 2001 when they'd just moved Johnson resonator production from the Czech Republic to China. (I bought it in March 2002.) It came with terrible cones, which had been badly handled and damaged, a sorry bridge saddle that fit very loosely in the bridge slot, and as it turned out one of the "mushrooms" supporting the back against the neckstick was a loose fit and was damping vibrations like a finger touching a string kills the sound. I replaced the trash cones with a Quarterman set, fitted an ebony capped maple saddle from http://janetdavismusic.com/ put Martin Bluegrass Resonator Guitar strings on it and did "The Mushroom Mod," removing the middle of the three mushrooms and moving the top one as far as it would go toward the neck (about under the 15th fret) to open up the back's vibrations. All that really improved things.
Tonight I finally installed the Continental cones I've had for a month and a half or so.
I really thought the Tricone sounded pretty good with the Quarterman cones in it, but it sure sounds a LOT better with the Continentals. I deliberately left the old Martin strings, which are getting pretty crappy and rusty, on it so I wouldn't confuse the tonal effects of new strings. (It's actually quicker for me to change the cones in a Tricone than to change the strings!) Playing bare fingered, it's a lot brighter on the treble, not as boomy in the bass, and man alive, it's got that hollow trashcanny sound of a National! I was missing that. Bet it'll really come out with fingerpicks. My wife, running around upstairs shuffling stuff in the closets, hollered downstairs that it really sounded good, with a "richer, fuller sound."
I figure if she can hear a difference (and from upstairs, at that!), this mod is a keeper!
It'll take a day or so for all the buzzes to settle down. You get some of that anytime you mess with the cones in one of these, they have to adjust to the pressure in their new position.
BTW, the Johnson Tricones have gotten a lot better as the Chinese have gotten the hang of it. I bought one of these for my guitar teacher last year, and that one was perfect IMO right out of the box! It may well have these Continental cones in it, too. Johnson sent a message in reply to a friend's inquiry that they put them in some of the 2004 Tricones (no way to tell which), and in all of them since January 1, 2005.
I got my Continental cones from a friend who splurged whole-hog and put National Resophonic cones in his Johnson.
It is fun to have something you're not afraid to tinker with. Pity the poor guys who only have flattops, they don't get to dig around inside 'em.
8)
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Well, the buzzing had all gone away by this morning. Sure does sound good!
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
So,- for those of us on a tight budget, would you say that the Johnsons are decent tricones? I can't see myself buying a National in the near (or far) future, but a squareneck tricone would be great to have.
I've had a couple of squareneck dobros, but never quite warmed up to the 'twangy' sound (I think they sound great in the hands of masters like Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes though), so a tricone would probably be the best 'companion' for my Lazy River Weissenborn........
Steinar
Pictures please....
Well here's a pic of me playing with my Johnson:
Steinar, when I bought mine 3 1/2 years ago the Chinese had just started building them and there definitely were some problems as shipped. It took some tinkering to make mine a really good sounding player. In May 2004 I bought a new one for my guitar teacher from Coast to Coast Music, and IMO that one was perfect right out of the box. I was a bit envious! That website only shows some of the main Johnson models and Johnson's minimum advertised price. If you go back to the store's main page you'll see a phone number and an E-mail. If you contact John, the store owner (who's also the owner of a popular blues forum I hang out on a lot), he'll quote you a better price than advertised, and he can special order anything Johnson makes. (I don't see their squarenecks on there, nor their resonator mandolins or ukes.)
For folks who don't know what I'm talking about that I replaced, here's a pic showing the cones in a Tricone:
That image is from Amistar, the Czech resonator builder. The Johnsons were built by them up till late 2001 or thereabouts. (They used to sell for a lot more than current Johnsons do.) I believe the Regals have been built by them more recently, but I believe that brand is now Chinese made as well.
I just noticed there's a wire coming out of the T-bridge in that Amistar pic. Must have a pickup installed.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Yeah, check 'em out, Steinar. I know one guy over on BRB who's complained about problems with a Johnson Tricone he bought this year, but the vast majority of folks I know who've bought them recently have been very pleased. (And I was with my older one too, despite the "teething problems" mine had, because I'd long admired National Tricones but even the copies from various manufacturers were out of my price range before the Johnson came along, so I was happy to upgrade mine.)
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Just a thought looking at the tricone bridge picture: Stringing a tricone lefty probably changes the tone significantly. I'm not lefty, but others may be in that situation and considering the conversion. Anybody know for sure?
-=tension & release=-
I've heard the question asked before, and I expect it would make a difference, but I haven't seen a definitive answer. The original design puts the bass string very nearly over the two bass side cones, with the single treble cone farther away from the treble string. I think the intention was to evenly distribute pressure over the three cones, but I haven't seen any measurements or calculations of the downforce on each cone. (Or of how it'd change with reversing the strings.)
The arrangement of the hand guard over the T-bridge would make a difference in picking and strumming. Might be for the better, I don't know. That cover makes palm muting with a Tricone impractical. You can easily silence the strings, but at least I am unable to get that "chugging" tone from muting near the bridge, the strings are inaccessible close to the saddle. The bass strings are more blocked than the others, being in a corner of the guard.
There'd surely be a market for a leftie Tricone, but it'd be a very small one as the Tricone's a pretty small niche market instrument as is.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
nice job.
and I enjoyed the inuendos.
Innuendos? Moi?
I just enjoy playing with my Johnson, in public or in private. I've got it out here in the office now.
Used to ride around on my Harley with my Johnson slung over my shoulder. Folks around town used to talk about me for that. I don't have the Harley anymore, though.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Im on the floor holding my guts in.
:lol:
You should not mess with a man who rides a Harley with his johnson slung over his shoulder :lol: :twisted: :lol:
I mentioned above that palm muting the Tricone was impractical, but by golly, now I can do it. Takes an extremely light touch of the heel of the hand on the strings right where they come out from under the cover. Guess I've learned something.
Another thing I'm working on is strumming with fingerpicks on, the downstroke with the tumbpick, the upstroke with the fingerpicks. I tried and tried that in the past and gave up as I was hopelessly uncoordinated, but while I'm still a bit slow and awkward at it, I can make it work.
I may be an old dog, but new tricks aren't entirely out of the question yet.
:lol:
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
I'm loving the sound of this thing with the Continental cones in it! They've really got some nice harmonics, especially when playing with the Sharpie Pro-Piks. (Metal fingerpicks.) A few minutes ago I was playing with the slide up over the 12th fret, not muting the strings behind it, and happened to be picking right where the 24th fret would be if it had one. It made the most wonderful "hollow" sound that just really hit the spot for me! Kinda like the sound when you pick over the 12th fret on an open string, but I think the other open half of the string contributed some other harmonics and beat frequencies. Over on the IGS forum there's been a discussion of how lap steels make some unusual sounds when not muted behind the steel at the 12th fret, and Adrian Freed explained that there are different horizontal and vertical string vibration modes in front of and behind the slide, due to the different vibrational impedances of the nut and bridge, and that they interact to make some interesting intermodulation effects. I think I just discovered the same thing, and it gave me a great feeling to hear it. Very satisfying tone. Wasn't getting it out of the other cones.
I can't play this thing quietly with these cones and the Pro-Piks, either. It's got some volume!
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
