Square Neck Dobro
Robert Lee Johnson
By The Dobroman
http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/dobroman/
The Dobro was used much in Old Time Country Music back in the 20s and 30s.
By the 40s Bashful Brother Oswald and Shot Jackson were about the only ones
playing Dobro in Country Music. In the 50s Josh Graves joined the Flatt and
Skruggs Band with is Squareneck Dobro giving a new dimension to the
instrument. Josh Graves inspired many musicians to take up the Square Neck
Dobro. The Majority of Bluegrass Bands now have a Dobro as part of their
instrumentation.
The Square Neck Dobro is very good for old time Country Music and about
every other music genre. A Dobro Player is not confined to playing Bluegrass
Music. However, the instrument is a natural for the old time Country Music
that Bill Monroe Played.
The Dobro is in it's Golden Age. Thousands of Dobros are now being purchased
by Guitar Players. The Dobro Ranges in Price from $375.00 to as much as
$4500.00. There are many Good Hand Crafted Dobros on the market as well as
good inexpensive Dobros. In my opinion Regal makes the best inexpensive
Dobro.
Tim Sheerhorn is considered by many to be the best maker of Hand Crafted
Dobros. There is a three year wait after you order your Sheerhorn Dobro.
Jerry Douglas plays a Sheerhorn, as do many other fine Dobro Players.
Mike Auldridge Plays a Ivan Guernsey Hand Crafted Dobro. The Sound of a
Sheerhorn and Ivan Guernsey are both great, but each has it's own
personality in sound. So it's a matter of personal preference.
There are many other good Hand Makers of Dobros.
Gibson owns the rights to the Dobro Brand Name, but everyone calls a
Resonator Guitar a "Dobro" which is what the inventor of the Resonator
Guitar, John Dopyera, Called his new instrument that took the country by
storm before the Electric Guitar Came Into Being. The resonator Guitar was
first called a "National Guitar." Then a new company was formed and the
instrument acquired the name Dobro.
The Dobro was played by the finest Guitarist before the Electric Guitar Came
into being. The Dobro with it's metal resonator, produced a much louder
sound than the regular Guitar with no resonator, and naturally Guitar
Players wanted to be heard. When the Electric Guitar came into being and
became popular the sales of Resonator Guitars went down, and the Dobro was
not played by any really Big Name Guitar Players.
Josh Graves kept the Dobro alive when he played the instrument with the
Bluegrass Band of "Flat and Skruggs." Josh is a master of the Square Neck
Dobro and he inspired most of the present day Dobro Players who have big
names in music. Both Jerry Douglas and Mike Auldrdige have stated publicly
that they were inspired by Josh Graves.
Both Jerry Douglas and Mike Auldridge have taken the Dobro much beyond
Bluegrass Music, though both Musicians still perform Bluegrass. Some local
musicians have taken the Dobro beyond Bluegrass and into Progressive
Acoustic Music. One such Dobro Player is Ivan Rosenberg who lives and plays
music in Missoula Montana, and he appears for concerts in California. Ivan
has a CD, "Back To The Pastures" which includes both Bluegrass and
Progressive Acoustic Music.
By Robert Lee Johnson
The Guitar Man
And
The Dobro Man
http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/dobroman/
http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Solo_Guitar_Man/
http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/The_Guitar_Man/
F. Gentry
know there was a round neck that you could pick like a lead guitar and
we had one back in the forties. Josh Graves was playing with Lew
Childre on radio shows in 1946 with his Dobro. Shot was a good friend
of mine and I had never thought of Josh Graves when I was with Shot but
listening to those runs and the runs Shot made on his Dobro, I'll bet
Josh was a big influence on Shot's style of playing. In Dobros it's the
resonator that counts. I would imagine. Buddy Emmons and Shot Jackson
made some of the best for the Sho-Bud company. I would like to make
another comment here while were talking about Dobros etc. Tubes these
lead guitar players wrap around their fingers sound like hell to me. I
would never play in a band with some one playing one of those things.
If you want to play steel then play steel. If you want to play lead
then take all six fingers and play the hell out of that guitar. Floyd
F. Gentry
Damn guitar man. Three years just might--I said might be too long for
me to wait. Bout how long before you thin I can play like ole Shot????
Floyd