As I know all too well that it will take me some time to save up money for the Celtic Cross or Lazy River Weissenborn I want to commission, the impatient part of me has started thinking of one of those Gold Tone Paul Beard dobros.

What can those of you who own or have played these resonator guitars tell me about them? I would like to get a square neck if that's available.

What are the pros and cons of a metal body versus a wooded one?

I saw a round neck metal one on eBay for $699 - sounds like a good price, or?

I'm getting more and more into acoustic slide, I currently have a 1930s Oahu acoustic, tuned to open D-flat. Would getting a Gold Tone resonator be a worth while step while patiently awaiting the day when I can order a baritone Weiss?

Any advice would be most appreciated!

Cheers,

But I am not very knowledgable, maybe other more experinced players can chime in as i am also interested to hear more opinions.

It blew the doors off the Regal siting next to it....but I dont know if thats saying anything really.

[This message was edited by Ben Jones on 18 January 2006 at 07:19 AM.]

The design of the instrument by Paul Beard is in the ears of most modern players, superior to that of Regal. Was this a quality store-say Dusty Strings? If that's the case then I'm thinking that they brought them in from Paul's shop in Maryland and the instrument received a professional Beard setup, which is superior to those Goldtones that were shipped from Asia to the Goldtone warehouse, then sent out to retail shops. You can tell if this is the case by looking through the screenholes and there will be a sticker indicating that it received the professional setup at Beard.

Regals are fine if they get a professional setup with a Quarterman cone, a bone nut, and a quality bridge cap. To have a pro luthier that knows dobros do this costs ballpark $200. So the rationale is to get a Goldtone Beard (they make their own cones at Beard now-they are not by Quarterman) where this stuff is ready to go out of the case and you don't have to hassle with it.

Fred-a metal resonator guitar and a wooden resonator guitar are like apples and oranges. What kind of music are you interested in playing on the thing?

Another question is I noticed a very very small (5 mm) crack on the back that appears to be in the finish only but I cannot really tell. Is that a deal breaker or should I attempt to use that as leverage to get em down on the price?

The sound was great. I pretty much decided to get a dobro after playing that guitar.

edit: "crack" if it even is a crackn was in the middle of the body on the back of the guitar, guitar was a squareneck, model was the standard not the deluxe.

[This message was edited by Ben Jones on 18 January 2006 at 09:56 AM.]

As far as the crack thing-I hate the idea of it, and my gut tells me I wouldn't buy it, but practically speaking I believe the guitar has a laminate body so I don't think a tiny crack would effect it like it might possibly have an effect at some point in the future on a solid wood guitar.

But it does sound like good leverage to get a lower price.

Not trying to hijack the thread here-just waiting to hear back from Fred.

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Mark

[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 18 January 2006 at 10:26 AM.]

I suspected you were talking about Dusty Strings; the last time I was in the shop, they didn't have a GoldTone Beard, but they did have a maple Wechter-Scheerhorn, one of the new Regals and two Beards. (They also had a Dobro Jerry Douglas model, but my mother always said, "If you can't say anything nice ..." )

Dusty Strings does get their GoldTones via Paul Beard's shop, since they are a Beard dealer. And when you point out that crack, the $150 difference should be reduced.

Now that i know its a laminate, the "crack" makes more sense to me and doesnt scare me as much.

Mark, I think that bluegrass and other "rootsy" stuff is what I mainly want to learn, but I also want to incorporate the instrument in the music I'm writing once I get the hang of it. I'm looking for a growly but warm sound. I definitely want a squareneck as I will play it lap-style only.

Cheers,

Setup, as already discussed, has a major impact on these guitars. Over at the Jerry Douglas bulletin board, once again, a discussion that pops up every so often was about his Gibson Dobro signature model, and how a number of those have been a disappointment to their owners. Jerry wrote a post about 4 years ago that I dug up in the archives about how he brought his Gibson to master dobro luthier Tim Scheerhorn who went through it and gave it his setup, and the guitar came back to Jerry sounding significantly better.

As already posted by others, the weissie and the dobro are two very different breeds of cat. I love the sound of the weissenborn style guitar-but it's the dobro sound that really gets in your blood-you mentioned the "growl," on a good wood instrument-there's nothing like it!

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Mark

[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 19 January 2006 at 09:03 AM.]

Maple or Mahogany? Well, the price speaks for the Mahogany, but maple binding instead of plastic is a nice extra... Problem is, if I get a Deluxe Maple one, that would set me back substantially and that Weissenborn baritone would be even further away on the horizon...

I guess I am not alone with the not-enough-money-for-the-gear-I'd-LIKE-to-get problem!

Would you think getting one on mailorder from Elderly Instruments would be a good deal? $550 for mahogany without case I think. And then they have a maple with a few dents for $675... Hm... I'd doublecheck on Beard set-up naturally.

You mahogany owners out there seem so pleased though, and I just want a decent instrument to learn on. Is it worth the extra ornamentation of the maple one? Does the mahogany one look "cheap" in any way?

Then there's the option - as I'm a regular guitar player who's only a beginner on steel - of getting a dirt-cheap crap dobro just to learn... But I guess everyone here would advice against poor quality instruments? How about that?

Thanks again for all the help - this place is great!

Warm greetings,

edit: Fred-having played the Gold Tone side by side with a cheaper brand...there was no comparison. The Gold Tone was thick and rich an had that hound dog wailing sound that drew me to the instrument nin the first place. The other guitar which sells for half the price of the Gold Tone sounded very thin and just didnt have "it". Loked cheap as well compared to the Gold Tone. The difference in price is only a couple hundred dollars but the difference in sound IMHO is well worth that extra money. The GT i tried was the mahogany and looked and souded wonderful...no evidence of cheapness at all.

[This message was edited by Ben Jones on 20 January 2006 at 08:51 AM.]

One caveat about the maple model: they initially came out with a sunburst finish that got mixed reactions ... some people thought they were "too yellow." The scratch-and-dent guitar at Elderly appears to have the new finish, but if you're shopping online make sure you get good pictures.

I play the Maple Deluxe and get nothing but compliments on its sound. The Mahogany model is also fantastic.

Take the leap, my friend!

Drew

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Drew Howard - website - Fessenden guitars, 70's Fender Twin, etc.

Cheers,