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UTILITY MAN PRODUCTIONS
'73 EMMONS D10 FATBACK, '92 EMMONS D10 LASHLEY LEGRANDE,
'85 DOBRO 60DS, '95 DOBRO F60S,
'95 MELOBAR CUSTOM, 1955 FENDER TRIPLE NECK STRINGMASTER. EVANS, FENDER, PEAVEY,
and MESA BOOGIE Amps.

The modern resos that I have are all different in their sound and they all have a fuller, richer sound than the Dobros.

Yes, in The United Kingdom of Resophonia, there is also the quest for that Holy Grail of sound, not unlike the search for the perfect pedal steel.

The makers of today have really fined tuned the art of building resophonic guitars. It's interesting in that there a many variations with regard to the internal structure. The tone rings, openings in the tone rings, thickness of the rings, shapes of their openings, baffles, sound posts,and porting have all been very important in trying to find THAT SOUND. The bodies of the modern guitars are also thicker(higher?)which makes quite a difference as compared to the older Dobros.

Better materials and hardware are being used. The spun Quarteman cone of a particular alloy, bone nuts, ebony capped brides, and solid tone woods. Ted Smiths fiberglass Melobros are an excellent innovation.

What I like about my guitars was the original question?

I play mostly the Melobro and Benoits. I think that the Melobro has a big full sound with great volume. A banjo slayer, if you will. It is a sturdy invulnerable guitar that you don't have to worry about. A very reasonable price for the great quality which is right up there with the customs, but the bottom line is that it is comfortable to play. That brings me to the Benoit.

When I say comfortable to play, I mean you don't have to play it hard or compensate in certain areas for tone, or tone correction I should say. I spend much time playing the Benoit(s). First, they are a thing of great beauty. Everytime I pick one up, I must admire the beauty of the wood, the finish, and meticulous construction before I begin to play. It is an incentive for me to practice. The fretboards and markers are very easy to see. All of these things combined with fantastic tone make it all a great pleasure.

I have not played many of the other custom resonators, but it seems that anyone who is in love with theirs, share the same feelings for the same reasons.

This is an exciting time in resophonic history in this new "Golden Age of Luthery."

[This message was edited by HowardR on 12 October 2002 at 06:09 AM.]

[This message was edited by HowardR on 12 October 2002 at 10:18 AM.]

He never uses Mahogany...not a very good "Tone Wood" He omly uses the best sxotic Tone Woods available ,irregardless of cost.

???! Mahohany is a fine tone wood. The average piece of Mahogany 'sounds' as good as a piece of figured Koa (I've built resonators from both) Not knocking fancy woods, I love 'em too. But a million Gibson and Martin Mahogany guitars don't lie.

The neck of his guitas dont attach to the body , they are part of the body,

I don't know the exact method Carrol uses to attaches his necks, but I'd lay odds it's not much different than other buiders use.

All that amd the fact he uses no middle man you buy at what would be dealers price.

Have you ever heard of Samick?They are one of the largest musical corporations in the world,who are located in Korea.Have you visited their web site?Fender has their dobro's built in Korea.I have owned some of the top custom brand dobros that are wonderful sounding, but I have heard some made in Korea, that are very good in tone and volume.The finishes on the Fender and Regal's that I have seen are very well done.Have you played the latest Regal dobro's?You may also want to visit Folk of the Wood web site, that is full of dobro information.Many can not afford $$$$$$$ for a new custom made in the USA dobro but they can buy a Regal.Stephen, what would you advise readers of the forum to do if they wanted to learn the dobro,but could not afford more then $300.00 for a new one?Should they just forget it because they can not buy a custom made USA dobro?Stephen did you know that Regal's are built by Saga which is an American corp.?They produce some very fine instruments.I have found many very well made products that were not made in the USA.The World is full of smart craftsmen who may be women or men who build with pride.If people are going learn the dobro will they pay $$$$$$ for one to learn on ?I bet we have some Koreans or people from other countries who will read this thread Stephen what do you think?

[This message was edited by Andy Alford on 13 October 2002 at 04:56 AM.]

The imported lower end resonators serve an important purpose, and with upgrades may sound surprisingly good. Before them, where could you buy a resophonic guitar for $350.00?
AGREED......that being said, does anybody own custom resonators by other quality builders that don't get as much recognition as they deserve? Clinesmith, Allen, DeNeve, McKenna, Tipton, Crafters of Tennesse, Harlow, Timm....etc.

The older Dobros seem to vary in sound, tone, and volume more so than the current custom made guitars. I have a 70's Dobro that I think sounds great and always have. It's just that my custom guitars sound greater.

I've told this story before. In 1999 or 2000, I was the first person to arrive at an estate sale where there were approximately 60 Dobros & Regal Dobros (the old ones) for sale. They were from all different time periods. I played so many of them that my butt hurt. It wasn't until I sat down with an R.Q. Jones and Bobby Wolf custom that I realized the distinct difference in the better quality of sound. The Wolf had a bit more edge and was (still is) in pristine condition whereas the Jones was a bit shopworn, and so I bought the Wolf ($900).

I contacted Bobby Wolf shortly thereafter and learned that this was built in 1987. The top and back is solid Mahogany and the sides are mahogany ply. He was close to standardizing at that time. Although I 've never removed the cone, I have had the sound screens off and I can see baffles and what appears to be sound posts. I don't know what his current guitars sound like today. I understand that he is building "ported" resonators with unique sound chamber construction. Definately a custom to check out and consider if you are in the market.

[This message was edited by HowardR on 13 October 2002 at 08:43 AM.]

Recently, before deciding to be conservative and stick with my pre-war Dobros, I had the urge to find a new custom guitar. In my search I performed hands-on auditions with a Scheerhorn, three Beards, three DeNeves, a Clinesmith, a Jasper, a Guernsey, a Melobro, a Gibson, a Tennessee Crafters, an RQ Jones, and a bunch of Benoits. In the majority of the auditions, I had my pre-wars there with me to compare tone and volume to the new guitars.

The result from an admittedly small sample (since with most of the guitars only one example was tried): All the guitars were awesome, first of all. Personally, my favorite for a combination of cosmetics, craftsmanship and tone was a spruce/maple Clinesmith. For tone and volume, easily winning was a Benoit. The thing that kept the Benoit from winning in all categories was the non-traditional peghead of the Benoit. I'm sure if I asked Carroll to put a Dobro-style peghead on a guitar, he would do it. He's also very adventurous with his cosmetics, which some guys may like. It didn't turn me off, but I'd prefer a more traditional look, which I'm sure he'd do if asked.

That Clinesmith was really sweet, though.

As to the Regals, I have three students that own Regals. They sound fine, surprisingly good to me and have some heft to them. They are NOT upgraded models with Quartermans and new bridge inserts, just stock from eBay or the music store. The coverplates are thinner than USA dobros and the tuning machines are inferior, as would be expected. But for getting a beginner into resonators, they are definitely the way to go.

If I were a road musician and only needed an amplified dobro for a few songs per night, balancing utility versus risk, the Regal would be my choice NO CONTEST. If I was a full-time bluegrasser, I'd probably go with the higher quality instrument.

Road travel risk: Dobros are very fragile instruments; getting banged around by roadies and being in equipment vans and such, with other things piled on the cases etc., can be very hard on resonator cones. Another reason to go with a Regal if you need a tool rather than a work of art.

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

This is not to detract from the Benoit, or, or any other instrument, but I'm the proud owner of a Clinesmith and echo your favorable comments about it. Also, like Carroll Benoit, Todd Clinesmith is quite a fine guy.

Dave

[This message was edited by Dave Horner on 13 October 2002 at 08:54 AM.]

My concern about fragility centers on the fact that the cone is very thin, is supported by only it's thin lip on the lip of the soundwell or tone posts, and is under great amounts of pressure from the strings. So any downward impact on the top of the guitar or its case, like a banjo case being dropped on it, etc, etc., could damage the cone/bridge assembly more easily than any other instrument except perhaps a violin. And violinists take EXTRAORDINARY precautions with their fiddles. Or should, anyway. Resonologists should take heed and do the same.

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

I have a Benoit 8 string, and a wonderful 70's vintage custom Dobro 6 string. I like the Benoit because of the tone, and craftsmanship.

There is some magical interaction between the tonewoods and the cone. Most people hear it and react instantly to the tone and power with "WoW".

I don't need the "Big hair and lipstick" cosmetics. I like them plain and pure.

I bought my wife a used Morrell for a few hundred dollars & she played & took lessons for about a year - I bought her a Benoit & she about left me for her new guitar - she plays & practices more than ever. We sold the Morrell (for what we had in it) & my wife got a new custom built 8 - string Benoit.
Who's the Lucky Dog that gets her old 6 - string Benoit...........ME

I once had one of those imports with the lousy sound. Tones were muffled, poor separation of notes, with no real distinction in the highs and lows. When I played people would say, "He plays great but his guitar sounds terrible. If only he had a high quality guitar!."

So, I bought a Benoit. Now, fantastic tone in the highs, the lows, a broad midrange,and booming volume. It projects every nuance of my playing, the botched notes, the demolished, demented, and arguementive chords, the horrible harmonics, the vile voicings, the pathetic pull-offs, the heinous hammer- ons, and all the other techniques which took me years to aquire. You've heard of perfect fifths?...mine are far from perfect.

So, now, when I play my custom resophonic guitar, people say "Wow, that guitar sounds so fantastic,it has the best tone I've ever heard, if only this guy weren't playing it!"

And that's how I know the quality of my guitar. The more people tell me how terrible I am and that I stink, the more I know how fantastic my guitar is. Other players want to know my tuning so they know never to tune the way I do. I once played a concert and the audience didn't show up...couldn't get my money back either...and that's when you know that you have one of the best resophonic guitars made today....

quote:

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This is an exciting time in resophonic history in this new "Golden Age of Luthery

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I've had the great fortune of playing guitars of at least 2 doz. luthiers over the last several years, including prototypes of guitars yet to make it to the public. I'd suggest that today, more than ever, someone can build a guitar...just for you, your hands and your heart!

Here's a listing of luthiers that are known to me. http://www.resoguit.com/luthier2.htm

Cheers,

h

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Howard Parker
poobah@resoguit.com
www.resoguit.com
ListOwner RESOGUIT

I recently sent a few assorted grooved "Dobro" bars to a player in Bulgaria.

Yes, an exciting time it is.

[This message was edited by HowardR on 15 October 2002 at 07:59 AM.]

Julian's up here in Alberta (in the lovely foothills of the Canadian Rockies) and may be relatively unknown right now, but not for long!

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Greg Simmons
Custodian of the Official Sho~Bud Pedal Steel Guitar Website
shobud.cjb.net

[This message was edited by Greg Simmons on 15 October 2002 at 09:40 AM.]

I am brand new to this with just acoustic/ electric guitar experience. I was seriously considering one of the better Regals and was just about ready to plug the trigger. But, I hesitated because I knew I would "backslide" if it was hard to play, keep in tune, and/or not have good tone. Been there, done that with acoustic and electric guitars. Also I knew that I was only going to do this once. I wasn't going to get something cheap to learn on and then upgrade later. This would be a one time purchase. And I couldn't justify the next price point.

I figured I would get the best (as far as I could tell) of the entry level and upgrade the cone, bridge, nut, etc. That was going to get me to ~$600. Add a decent case and it was ~$700. The Tennessean was just a bit more than that.

And I am having the time of my life. However, if I couldn't keep the instrument in tune or it was otherwise harder to play, I would have been frustrated. Not so. Can't say how it would have been with the Regal. But that would have been the choice.

By the way, the kind folks on this board helped me to decide to take the plunge.

Except for Andy's love of Samick, the above thoughts have been right-on with some people who know what they are talking about. So some questions.

When you look at Ed and Rudy's design, they were working with the best material and most advanced thinking of the time. But we have a strange contrast of - Metal String - to wood - back to a cast metal - to Spun Aluminum - to that fragile edge needing to support a tremendous amount of pressure on a wood top that has been cut away so much, there is almost no sound board left.

The bass sound cannot escape from the lower bout - the acoustic resonation (prior to Sheerhorns baffles) were trapped for the most part.

Now my question is - What is the "tone" good players are really searching for?

We see Douglas pulling his sound screens in search for bass - Tim put baffles there to help reflect the bass - but originally used metal which changed the bass note tone.
I agree that a good player can make any guitar sound good - but if that player had a choice - what is missing?