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| Dobro | |
|---|---|
| Name | Dobro |
| Background | string |
| Classification | Chordophone |
| Developed | 1920s |
| Inventor | Dopyera family |
| Related | Resonator guitar, National String Instrument Corporation |
Dobro is a resonator guitar family originating in the United States in the 1920s, developed to amplify acoustic sound before widespread electric amplification. It features a metal resonator cone and distinctive tone used across Country music, Blues, Bluegrass music, Hawaiian music, and Folk rock. The instrument has been associated with touring performers, recording studios, music festivals, and instrument manufacturers that shaped 20th‑century popular music.
The instrument emerged when members of the Dopyera family departed National String Instrument Corporation and formed the Dobro Manufacturing Company to build a resonator design as a patent response to the National Style designs. Key early figures include John Dopyera, Rudy Dopyera, and investors linked to Gibson and Martin (C.F. Martin & Company). The Great Depression, the rise of electric guitar pioneers such as Les Paul and Leo Fender, and recording industry shifts influenced production, distribution, and adoption by artists in studios in Nashville, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. Mid‑century consolidations involved companies like Valco, Dobro Corporation, and later mergers with Gibson Guitar Corporation that affected branding, patents, and manufacturing locations. Festivals such as MerleFest, Newport Folk Festival, and venues like the Grand Ole Opry propelled public awareness during the folk revival alongside figures from Country Music Hall of Fame membership rosters.
Standard examples incorporate a single or tricone metal resonator cone mounted beneath a wooden or metal body, following engineering principles used by acoustical researchers at institutions like Bell Labs and workshops influenced by luthiers such as Luthier John Dopyera traditions. Components include a soundboard, resonator cone, spider bridge or biscuit bridge, neck, fretted fingerboard, and tuning machines from makers including Grover, Gotoh, and Waverly. Woods such as Sitka spruce, mahogany, and maple are common, while finishes follow practices traced to Steinway & Sons varnish techniques and industrial coatings used by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Construction variations include roundneck and squareneck formats, wooden and metal bodies, single-cone and tricone architectures influenced by patent literature contemporaneous with Steinberger innovations. Hardware choices often mirror components used by Gibson and custom shops like National Reso-Phonic Guitars.
Players employ fingerpicking, flatpicking, slide, bottleneck, and lap steel approaches derived from traditions associated with artists who performed at venues like Ryman Auditorium and festivals such as Cambridge Folk Festival. Techniques draw on repertoires and methods related to performers affiliated with Opry broadcasts, studio sessions in Nashville, and field recordings archived by organizations like the Library of Congress. Slide technique uses metal or glass slides similar to those associated with Robert Johnson, while fingerstyle patterns reflect lines played by musicians from Doc Watson to Don Reno. Crosspicking, tremolo, and hybrid picking echo methods popularized by players appearing on labels such as RCA Victor and Columbia Records.
Common tunings include open tunings paralleling those used in Hawaiian music—open G, open D, and open C—alongside sixths and alternates popularized in regional styles recorded in Bristol Sessions and studio catalogs by Starday Records. Pitch standards align with A=440 Hz conventions adopted by orchestras like the New York Philharmonic and recording studios governed by technical standards from organizations such as the Audio Engineering Society. Slide players often use tunings to facilitate major chord shapes and melodic runs favored in Bluegrass music arrangments heard on Rounder Records releases.
Notable players connected to the instrument appear across genres and labels: Josh Graves, Noam Pikelny, Jerry Douglas, Sandy Bull, Pete Drake, Tut Taylor, and session musicians who recorded for Decca Records and Capitol Records. Influential makers and companies include Dopyera brothers, National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Gibson, Dobro Corporation, Valco, and boutique luthiers working in the tradition of Martin (C.F. Martin & Company), Weissenborn builders, and modern custom shops supplying artists on tours with acts like The Byrds, The Band, Eagles, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Collectors and museums such as the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum preserve historic examples.
The instrument is prominent in recordings and performances linked to Bluegrass music pioneers sponsored by shows on Grand Ole Opry, in Blues field recordings archived by the Smithsonian Institution, and in cross‑genre collaborations with artists associated with Rolling Stone coverage and major festivals like Glastonbury Festival. It informed soundtracks for films produced by studios like Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. and appeared in television programs broadcast by networks including NBC and PBS. Its timbre influenced arrangements on albums released by labels such as Blue Note Records, Nonesuch Records, and Island Records across folk, country rock, and Americana movements.
Care regimes follow standards promoted by conservators at institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and museum luthier protocols used by Metropolitan Museum of Art technicians: temperature and humidity control, regular fretboard conditioning with products from manufacturers akin to Dunlop Manufacturing, hardware lubrication using compounds similar to those in Permatex catalogs, and periodic setups by luthiers trained in traditions linked to Gibson and independent repair shops in music centers like Austin, Texas, Nashville, and Los Angeles.
Category:Resonator guitars Category:String instruments