What does that mean? Darned if I know but now that you're here, you might as well read on.....

One thing that is prevalent on this forum is that when somebody discovers something great, they want to let the world know about it. That's just what I'm doing here.

As much as I love the steel guitar, with or without pedals, I am first and foremost(maybe foreleast the way I play)a Dobro player. "Dobro" being known as any resonator just as "Kleenex" is any tissue. I was not expecting to attend the Dallas Steel Show and be completely blown away by resophonic guitars.

I believe that we are in a golden age of lutherie and there are many custom builders of resophonic guitars who excel in this field turning out exceptional instruments. I am not here to make comparisons nor to dissect price stuctures. There are other threads for that. This is about Benoit guitars, some of the most beautiful resonators that I have ever seen and heard. I spent more time playing various Benoit resonators at the show, then I have in the last two years. It's nice to come back to your roots.

Carroll Benoit uses some of the finest and exotic SOLID WOODS. The finishing touches and thought that goes into these is tremendously apparent. Carroll is a fine gentleman and a pleasure to know.

" A thousand words could be worth a picture." That's what Jody Carver taught me and so here are some pictures..

[This message was edited by HowardR on 26 March 2002 at 05:36 PM.]

[This message was edited by HowardR on 26 March 2002 at 05:43 PM.]

[This message was edited by HowardR on 26 March 2002 at 06:01 PM.]

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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

------also--none of the pictures, here or on his site, satisfy my curiosity. The 'saddle' or 'yoke' look of the face of his two tone tops--what am I seeing? Spliced together woods? Inlay? I can't make it out.

[This message was edited by Jon Light on 29 March 2002 at 01:09 PM.]

What I'm lightheartedly saying here is that "sound matters." In making my choice I was as objective as I could possibly be.

If you go to ebay, you'll see the imported Dobros in various colors. Why would a red $399.00 Dobro have 10 bids while the green one right below it has two bids? It must be the cone,...yeah right. It's mass market consumer appeal, " flavor of the month ."

Now, I've never been attracted to a blonde... ....resonator guitar that is . It was always the sunburst or deeper color for me. I had to put that out of my thoughts, in order choose the best quality of sound and tone for me, regardless of asthetics. Not an easy thing to do.

When I first met Carrol, he explained and showed to me the various tone woods. I marveled at their appearance but I deliberetly did not memorize which wood was which. I decided to remain oblivious (not difficult for me) equating the beauty of the wood to which guitar it was. I did not want to be predjudiced by exotic names, rarety,or expense of such. I wanted to make my choice based solely and purely on sound and tone. What I look for is resonance, clarity, separation, and presence. There must be a certain amount of brightness and bass without being overly heavy on those ends, along with a good middle range of tone.

I spent many hours on the Friday of the Dallas Show comparing the 9 various resonators. By Saturday it came down to two. I will say that there was not one that did not have excellent qualities of my criteria listed above. I was looking for "stellar" quality, for me, anyway. There were others who had their opinions of what was best and it was interesting. A beautiful f-hole resonator, while not the sound for me, was constantly being played by a fellow who couldn't put it down. Everyday he was there playing that one only.

It came down to two guitars; the spruce/walnut and the redwood with maple inlay that is in the very first photo. They are both fantastic sounding. The redwood/maple is more pleasing to my eye than the spruce/walnut. As much as I played the redwood and tried to convince myself that it was " my huckleberry ", there was just something about the walnut that had a little bit more of an edge, for me. The sound was equal but the walnut just seemed to feel, handle, and play just a little smoother, to me. It's difficult to even put this into words. It's like you own six pair of jeans. They're all the same style, cut and size. You bought them all at the Gap, BUT, there's one, just one pair that you favor for some reason. Maybe your belly doesn't quite hang over the beltline like the others. Maybe your butt looks just a little better in them, so you think. It's that type of thing.

So, I made what I honestly thought was the wisest, most objective decision. No regrets. I'm thrilled, as if it's not too apparent.

Interesting to me is what is being played on resonators. Rob Ickes is certainly carving a niche for himself as he is taking the "Dobro" beyond it's usual boundries. I'm fascinated by steel players who are laying down their styles on acoustic, implementing steel techniques in their playing. Gary Morse, a steel player, has put out a fine CD, "Resophonic Rodeo," of western swing (mostly) on 7 string. As mentioned several times, Maurice Anderson on 8 & 10 string with virtuosity and a subtle delicacy of performance. At the show I had purchased a few CDs of Tom Morrell and the Time - Warp Tophands and there is a good amount of Dobro playing by Tom. He plays with immpeccable clean tone and has a Djangoesque (is that a word?) style on some of the tunes. Well, if it's all in the hands as they say, then I gotta get me some of them things!

Mike, glad your trip to the Panhandle was a success. I'll catch up with you via email..

[This message was edited by HowardR on 31 March 2002 at 04:06 PM.]

Several times in the past I've mentioned this and I'll mention it again. Anyone who would like to try any instrument that I own, acoustic or electric, you're welcome to do so. I have a shop in NYC (nothing to do with music) and a large private office where I keep a small Fender amp. So if you're in NY, passing through, visiting, or running from the law, feel free (ha) to send me an email to arrange this.

[This message was edited by HowardR on 31 March 2002 at 04:52 PM.]

P.S. What about those kick butt MSA flag caps?

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[This message was edited by Larry Tresnicky on 04 April 2002 at 04:36 PM.]