Dobro vs. Resonator

[JMU_overtone]

Is this the same thing?
I don't play any slide but I have been listening to Jerry Douglas work his Dobro magic on some AKUS, Chris Thile, and various other recordings and I'm thinking about getting one of these types of guitars. Here are some questions I have....
1)Can learn to play dobro by just learning some slide on an old acoustic I have?
2)If I were to get a dobro...is this the same as say a National Steel?
3) what is a "square neck"? Should I be looking for one of these?
4)If I were to GAS and get something to start on, any suggestions?

Any wisdom/ imput would be appreciated.

 

[Bob Mc]

two cents

At one time, I could play fair slide guitar and then became interested in dobro. I found the transition nearly impossible.
If you dig JD and the dobro sound, I would suggest NOT trying an acoustic held in normal palying position; get an extension nut (I think they're only a few bucks) and a bar. Put the guitar on your lap and learn it that way from day one. The bar is essential IMHO; the pulloffs and 'digging in' that I was after couldn't be done easily with a round slide. You may be able to do both, but I wasn't talented enough. And to my mind, a roundneck might be a better investment then a squareneck; if you need to resell, you could remove the extension nut and and it could be used be either Dobro or 'slide' players.
BTW, don't miss Kelly Joe Phelps for blues played Dobro style.

 

[guitar_ed]

To answer one of your questions....

Dobro is a brand of guitar. Resonator is a style of guitar. Just as Fender is a brand, and an acoustic guitar is a style.

There is a lot of history on the Dobro brand and name elsewhere on the web, but they were the folks who invented the resonator guitar.

I hope that helps.

Guitar Ed

 

[stevieboy]

Dobro is a brand name (edit: written before I saw Ed's post) but has become a generic term for a wooden guitar with a metal resonator--people get away with using it on ebay. A National steel has a resonator but the body is made of metal, although National also made wood body versions. The two companies have a long intertwined and confusing history, a web search or a look at Tom Wheelers "American Guitars" will give you some background on that. National still exists, Gibson owns the "Dobro" brand name.

Both types come in roundneck and squareneck versions, though I see alot more roundneck Nationals than squareneck. A roundneck is meant to be played like a regular guitar, with or without a slide. A squareneck is made that way to give the neck a lot more strength so it can handle higher tunings. The strings are also way up off the board so that they are impossible to fret. Sqaurenecks are played upright on the lap (or standing with a strap) with a bar rather than a slide--this is what Jerry Douglas and Mike Auldridge usually play.

A lot of people buy Regals, which are fairly inexpensive, but often upgrade to a better cone and other parts, which winds up costing about as much as a Beard Gold Tone, which are very popular and a great value especially the less expensive model. It is of course different than playing slide, although you can get a good head start on learning the tunings by playing slide.

There's lots of info here, this place is a store which I've never dealt with, but you can learn alot and there's lots of long sound and video clips. Beware. GAS will strike you!

(link removed)

 

[J. Hayes]

Resonator guitars have their own unique sound!

Resonator guitars, either fretted or played with a bar have a very unique sound of their own. Most recorded examples are done with the barred variety but some good examples exist of fretted resonator work. In the sixties a girl named Jeannie C. Riley had a monster country hit which even crossed over in places called "Harper Valley PTA". It had Dobro (resonator) guitar work from start to finish. This was a fretted Dobro played by Nashville ace Jerry Kennedy! He played the intro and all the fills from start to finish on this one. Other fretted work can be found on a lot of Chet Atkins later stuff. I don't remember the brand but Chet played a resonator guitar which had one of the most beautiful tones I've ever heard. I remember hearing him comment in an interview about them. I belive they were made in south America somewhere (maybe Brazil) and Chet stated that the quality control of the company was very poor so you'd have to go there and go through a few of 'em to find one that was playable but once you found it, it sounded like nothing else on earth. What's cool is listening to Paul Franklin (Nashville Studio Ace) play his Ped-A-Bro which is a 10 string resonator version of a pedal steel which his father manufactured (Franklin Steel Guitar Co) for a while. A recorded example can be heard on Randy Travis' "Forever and Forever, Amen" and others.....JH in Va.

 

[JohnnyCrash]

Hold on, it's a long one!

Dobro and National:
As said before, Dobro AND National are brand names of companies that make Resonator style guitars.

Resonators:
Resonators use metal cone(s) to amplify the sound of the strings, instead of a wooden top and sound hole like normal acoustic guitars. The aluminum cones produce a distinct tone/sound... it can be described as "nasal" and metalic. Resonators can have non-tone wood bodies (thick laminate or plywood), or Brass metal bodies.

Resonators can be played like a standard guitar (fretted in standard tuning), BUT are most often played with some sort of slide in open tunings.

Resonators come in two MAIN varieties:
1. Square neck.
2. Round neck.

DIFFERENCES
Square necks you play on your lap OR body/fretboard facing upwards. You usually use a slide BAR held in your hand. Bluegrass and country "Dobro" is often played on Square necks.

Round necks you usually play like a normal guitar. You usually use a slide around one of your fingers. Round necks are good for "hybrid" playing, or playing with fretted notes as well as notes with the slide. Delta blues is often played on Round necks.

TUNING
When playing in slide, most folks tune the resonator in Open Tunings so as to play slid chords and double stops. Most common tunings are Open G, Open E, and Open D. Although some blues folks tune them in their own unique "custom" tunings...

MECHANICS
There are 2 kinds of bridges on Resonators ("Spider" or "Biscuit" styles). Also there are "standard" resonators with one aluminum sound cone, and then there are Tricone resonators with three small sound cones. EITHER WAY, the strings sit on a bridge (usually made of wood) which transfers string vibration to the metal cone which is shaped like a large speaker and amplifies the sound acoustically.

DIFFICULTY
One pain is playing in open tunings. Round necks are easier to transition to playing. Square necks you play on your lap with a bar, so they're a bit harder to master.

WHAT TO BUY
There are many inexpensive resonator guitars (Fender, Regal, Rogue, etc). The cone makes the tone, so expensive tone-woods do little. You can buy a cheap model and if it doesn't sound so good, you can EASILY replace the sound cone with a better one for better tone!!

I play blues on round neck resonators, in both Open E and Open G with a slide on my pinky, as well as Standard tuning without a slide

 

[JMU_overtone]

Thanks..

for demystifying the world which is resonator guitars. I guess that is a good stepping stone to figure out some things. I still contemplating whether first converting an older acoustic into a lap guitar for learning purposes or just taking the plunge (or convincing my wife I need a resonator guitar). Thanks for all the great advice, you guys never cease to disappoint. Now back to recordings...

 

[Don Miller]

Putting a raised nut on a flattop is a good idea to get started...and you might considered getting a set of squareneck resonator strings...square necks are usually tuned in "high bass G"...which is GBDGBD, low to high...and differs from the open G usually used on fretted guitars, aka "low bass" G...DGDGBD, low to high...and an aside there are alot of players who use other tunings...some raise the whole bunch up a step to a "high bass" A...others use G6 or C6; G9 , or tune their squarenecks to open D or E or E7or whatever...you can literally tune them anyway you want...but *most* squareneck is tuned in high bass G. If you try and tune a standard set of guitar strings to high bass G or A, you have a good chance of popping one of the low ones...

Note that high bass tuning has a neat symetry (sp?) about it...licks on the top 3 strings can be played verbatim on the lower three strings.....

Another option would be an inexpensive 6 string lap steel...Musicians Friend had one for $60-70 a while back...and alot of techniques...the bar movements and blocking, etc for squareneck transfer to and from non-pedal steel...especially if you tune the lap steel to high bass G....or A

Musicians Friend also has the Shubb GS-1 bar...an "stevens" type bar with a nifty wooden handle, on sale for $20...I like using the GS 1 for acoustic resonator, and a bullet bar (a "Brozomatic"or a big pedal steel bar I have) for electric lap steel...I use a Dunlop "small" thumbpick and a couple of .018 or.020 fingerpicks on my index and middle fingers.. but be prepared to shop around and find the picks you like and that work for your attack, etc...