Though I'm a strong proponent of stiff, felt lubricated wads under the ball in cap and ball revolvers, I never use a wad under a conical bullet.
As you suspect, it turns out that you sacrifice too much powder to allow sapce for the conical bullet to be seated fully. Besides, it's often redundant.
If the conical bullet has grease grooves, such as the Lee and Lyman designs, then I simply fill those grooves with Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant -- the same lubricant I use for the felt wads under balls.
If the conical bullet does not have grease grooves, like the old, original designs of yore, I use lubricant over the top of the conical.
However, I don't often shoot the old design conicals as they are not nearly as accurate as a ball. They are also more troublesome to load.
Every few years I'll try a cylinderful of the old design conical bullet, just to prove to myself that they're not worth the trouble, and then go back to shooting the lead ball.
I just don't see much point to using a felt wad under a conical bullet. But perhaps a point will be discovered. I've tried it both ways and not noted a difference in accuracy between wadded and unwadded conicals.
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"And lo, did I see an ugly cat. Smoke. Brimstone. Holes in parchment. And this ugly cat was much amused." --- The Prophesies of Gatodamus (1503 - 1566)
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