| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 42.1 | Dobro: Johnny-come-lately | DAIRY::SHARP | Say something once, why say it again? | Thu Sep 04 1986 15:56 | 16 |
| I have a National resophonic guitar, vintage 1935. I got it at Daddy's in
Nashua for $500, and the next day a guy offered my $750 cash for it, or a
trade of any guitar in his arsenal. (I turned him down.) This is a
nickel-plated model with a round (not square) neck, two f-holes, and a sigle
resonator cone.
I play slide almost exclusively on my National, and usually leave it in open
tuning. Funny thing about open tuning (technical term: scordatura) being
able to read music is almost worthless if you aren't in standard tuning.
I've seen some instruction books in tablature notation, but nothing I've
ever really found useful. In this arena I play almost exclusively by ear.
The Music Emporium in Cambridge is probably the best source in the Boston
area for Dobro instructional material, accessories or repair/adjustment.
Don.
|
| 42.2 | | RANGLY::BOTTOM_DAVID | | Fri Sep 05 1986 10:57 | 11 |
| I met one of the Dopera brothers (do-bro get it?) that invented the
Dobro....he lived in Escondito Calif and had a small shop there.
A truely interesting man, had a patent on a new truss rod
system he invented, that no one would buy from him (at that time)...it
involved a metal bar in the neck with a screw adjustment hidden under
one of the fret marker dots.... over all it put less stress on the
bar and the neck wood and still allowed for full adjustment...he
told a few stories form his days at National...sadly a few years
back I heard he had died, he was a very nice old man.
dave
|
| 42.3 | | DONNER::LEVETT | it's a wonder I can think at all | Sat Sep 06 1986 23:20 | 12 |
| I used to play (at) dobro about 10 years ago. I had a National
dobro (repro) that played pretty well. I liked using open G tunings
because having played banjo I found I could assimilate banjo licks
with practice.
I tried using a bullet type slide but it kept rolling out of my
hand so I ended up with a metal slide that had an indentation on
top for the index finger to rest on and a "waist" you could grip.
I liked that bar! I got into some slant slide playing and string
bending and then sold the dobro for an old Fender 6 string stand-up
lap steel...wish I'da kept the dobro.
_stew-
|
| 42.4 | Dobro Lessons | SCRIBE::PEANUTS | | Thu Oct 23 1986 02:39 | 6 |
| More instructional material can be found at Fiddler's Choice
in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. See Dave DelRossi. He has lots
of stuff. Especially if you're into bluegrass.
They even have instructional video tapes (or had anyway).
|
| 42.5 | Help with Dobro info?? Oh, no! | FXENG1::TTESTA | The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades! | Thu Oct 23 1986 11:42 | 10 |
| I acquired an old dobro yesterday, and it needs lots of work.
Does anybody have any sources of information on dobro and resphonic guitars
that might be of use to someone who is trying to get replacement parts for
the resonator (which is missing) and other parts specific to resophonic guitar?
I'm particularly interested in restoring this as accurately as possible.
I saw a picture of what I think this guitar looks like that was called
a Duo-something-or-other. I would descibe it as mostly wooden, arch top with
"S" holes, and a large (but not too ornate) resonator. Any help at all is
appreciated.
Tom (fix-em-up collecters item) Testagrossa
|
| 42.6 | Try Mr. C's | FROST::SIMON | don't you ever wash that thang? | Thu Oct 23 1986 12:39 | 24 |
|
re -.1
A good place to start may be Mr. C's music in Marlboro, Mass.
if that is the area where you're located. Mr. C was a distributor
for Dobro/National in the 60s(?). He also has a book that covers
historical info on dobros (as well as other guitars). I'm not
sure if he can helf you with parts, but he may be able to point
you in the right direction.
If you do find a good source, post it here so others can benefit.
I'm currently trying to find an "extention nut" that I can use
on my other guitars to play dobro style without replacing the
nut totally. My Regal Dobro I keep tuned to open G (GBDGBD), but
I'd like to mess around with some other tunings without having to
keep changing the tuning on the one guitar. What I'd love to find
is an old Hawaiian Koa wood lap guitar. I saw David Lindley at
a blues festival play a couple of them. They were the predecessor
to the dobro.
Good luck
-gary
|
| 42.7 | publication pointer | DAIRY::SHARP | Say something once, why say it again? | Fri Oct 24 1986 15:24 | 9 |
| A friend of mine subscribes to American Luthier's Quarterly, and they
recently published a very good article on repair and adjustment of Dobros.
It tells all about fitting the spider, cone, bridge and tailpiece and how to
adjust the action for good sound and playability. I'll see if I can get him
to bring it in so I can quote the exact issue number and date, and give out
their address so you can ask for a backissue. If you're into this kind of
stuff you should probably be a subscriber anyway.
Don.
|
| 42.8 | Dobro instruction | 18461::KELLYJ | | Fri Nov 14 1986 10:15 | 6 |
| Check out Oak Publications. Mike Auldridge authored the book; it's
about standard for that type of instruction.
|
| 42.9 | | GIAMEM::RATTEY | | Thu Mar 19 1992 12:36 | 9 |
|
For years I've been dreaming about getting a Dobro...and just
recently started looking again...I would want a curved fingerboard
style....Dobro now has a bottom of the line model they call the
Houndog model...anyone have any opinion about this one...they sell
for under $500 new.....how do the Regals compare to Dobro's ???
Ray.
|
| 42.10 | | FROST::SIMON | Birds can't row boats | Thu Mar 26 1992 10:30 | 24 |
| I haven't seen the new Houndog (HD101x) model yet, but I hear
they are quite nice. Suppossedly they sound better then other
low cost brand available. I know that they have a square neck
at the Music Emporium in Cambridge. Not sure if they have a
round neck or not. I've been looking to buy a new square neck
dobro but I'm a little leary of buying an entry level guitar.
I still have a 1930-something Regal although it's currently in
the shop having it's neck reattached. I decided since I'm
going to buy another one that I would get a more "standard"
model, so I think I'll be buying a model P60D-S (squareneck,
with solid head). Elderley quoted about $725 with case.
The new Regals are pretty good, but they are also expensive.
The only ones I've seen so far have been in the $800-$1000
range. They are also made in Korea 8-( ...
If you're looking for a first one you may want to check out the
houndog. Then see what price you can get on it from Elderly.
In their 1990 catalog they had it for about $285 without a case.
(Probably around $325 now)
_gary
|
| 42.11 | | GIAMEM::RATTEY | | Thu Mar 26 1992 11:11 | 12 |
|
Do you have a number/address for Elderly...might want to check them
out....
....$280 for a Houndog sounds pretty good....the one I've seen was
at McDuff's in Shrewsbury....he had a price of $450 on it.. without
case....he did say it was negotible.....not sure if he'd come down
that far....worth a try...
Ray.
|
| 42.12 | | FROST::SIMON | Birds can't row boats | Thu Mar 26 1992 13:34 | 16 |
|
Call Elderly at (517)372-7890... Ask them for their latest Acoustic
instrument catalog as well as a price on the Houndog.
Mailing address is
Elderly Instruments
1100 N. Washington
P.O. Box 14210
Lansing, MI 48901
The $280 was two years ago...but they'll still probably be the
best price you can find (if you don't mind mail order that is).
_gary
|
| 42.13 | Jerry Douglas anyone? | SAHQ::ROSENKRANZ | Less is More | Mon Jun 01 1992 09:01 | 5 |
| Anyone know anything about a dobro player named Jerry Douglas? I've seen
him twice now on Austin City Limits. Once backing an irish singer whose name
I've now forgotten. And with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. This guy was
great! I'd like to know if there are any recordings with some of his work.
I'd love to get my hands on some.
|
| 42.14 | See folk notes file | SAHQ::ROSENKRANZ | Less is More | Mon Jun 01 1992 09:20 | 3 |
| Well, I sorta answered my own question. There is some good coverage
of Jerry Douglas in the folk music notes file (see note 758 for those
that are interested).
|
| 42.15 | Jerry Douglas aka "Flux" | RICKS::ROST | Frankensteinberger | Mon Jun 01 1992 09:20 | 6 |
| Under his own name he has one called "Fluxology" on the Rounder label
and a couple on the MCA Masters label (forget titles). As a sideman
he's all over the place in the bluegrass and country fields, too many
recordings to possibly list in their entirety!
Brian
|
| 42.16 | Some Douglas Ramblings | FROST::SIMON | Birds can't row boats | Mon Jun 01 1992 10:43 | 34 |
|
His newest release is called "Slide Rule" (on Sugar Hill records).
This is my favorite to date, and I own all 6 solo ones that he
has put out.
The Irish singer is probably Maura O'Connell who sings one song
on Slide Rule. By the way, this is his first record with vocals
(other than him singing on one song on Fluxology).
Jerry has also recorded on literaly thousands of sessions with
other people. Some of my favorites are Tim Obrien's "Odd Man
In" and Roy Bookbinder's "Bookeroo". Also the Circle Be Unbroken
verson two is worth checking out.
I've seen Jerry quite a few times now. He had been playing at the
Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival, but won't be there this year..
unfortunately. The last time I saw him was in Barre, Vt at the
Opera House where he played with Russ Barenburg (guitar) and
Edgar Meyer (bass/bass fiddle). What a great show in an intimate
setting.
If you like Jerry's playing you should also check out Sally Van
Meter who is sort of a disciple of Jerry's. She plays with the
Good Old Persons and also played on the "Blue Rose" album (with
Laurie Lewis, Kathy Fink, and Marcie Marxer), and she also has
a current solo album out (produced by Jerry Douglas) called "All
in Good Time" also on Sugar Hill. The Good Old Persons will be
at Winterhawk this year.
_gary_who_will_be_in_the_dobro_workshop_at_Augusta_Heritage_this
_year_with_Jerry_Douglas_teaching......yahoo!!
|
| 42.17 | The Great Dobro Sessions | BSS::LEVETT | | Fri May 05 1995 16:29 | 13 |
| Though it's been several years that this note was active, the Jerry
Douglas/Tut Taylor produced recording "The Great Dobro Sessions" won
the Grammy this year for best Bluegrass album.
The cd has 10 of the countries best dobro players including Mike
Auldridge, Gene Wooten, Sally Van Meter, Rob Ickes, Josh Graves,
Bashful Brother Oswald (Kirby), Stacy Phillips, Tut and Jerry.
Hmmm, that's nine...who am I forgetting?
Anyway for some great dobro playing of various styles and sounds,
check it out.
_stew-
|
| 42.18 | The Bro Bros. | MILKWY::JACQUES | Vintage taste, reissue budget | Sat May 06 1995 19:41 | 4 |
| I'll definately check it out. Do all of these players use
Squareneck Dobro's or do some play roundnecks?
Mark
|
| 42.19 | Round Neck vs Square Neck | BSS::LEVETT | | Mon May 08 1995 16:40 | 10 |
| My guess is that they all play square neck. I'll look at the liner
notes and see. I do know that Tut Taylor and Josh Graves (I believe)
used older Dobros for many years and the style preferred by the
bluegrassers only came with round necks with few exceptions until the
early 1960's if memory serves me correctly. If your question concerns
whether anyone plays delta blues style on the cd, upright rather than
lap style, I don't think so.
_stew-
|
| 42.20 | Birdland? | ROADKL::HALL | Euripides pants, Eumenides pants | Fri May 19 1995 08:46 | 6 |
| So, Stew... I just got around to listening to side 1 (it was cued
somewhere in the middle). I've decided that my choice for Song I'm
Mostly Likely To Hate (Birdland) turned out to be just about my
favorite cut. Did you say that this was Jerry Douglas?
Charlie
|
| 42.21 | | BSS::LEVETT | | Fri May 19 1995 12:54 | 1 |
| Yes, "Birdland" is Jerry.
|