Dobro
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Gibson (1993–present) |
Dobro is an American
The Dobro was originally a
History
The roots of the Dobro story can be traced to the 1920s when Slovak immigrant John Dopyera, instrument repairman and inventor, and musician George Beauchamp were searching for more volume for Beauchamp's guitars. Dopyera built an ampliphonic (or "resonator") for Beauchamp, which was patented in December 1929.[1] In mid-1929, Dopyera left the National String Instrument Corporation to start the Dobro Manufacturing Company along with his brothers Rudy and Ed, and Vic Smith. National continued operating under Beauchamp, Barth et al.[1] Dobro is both a contraction of 'Dopyera brothers' and a word meaning 'good' in their native Slovak, but also in many Slavic languages. An early company motto was "Dobro means good in any language." In 1930, the Dobro company name was changed to Dobro Corporation, Ltd., with additional capital provided by Louis and Robert Dopyera. Dobro was, during this period, a competitor of National.[1]
The Dobro was the third
The Dobro was louder than the tricone and cheaper to produce. In Dopyera's opinion, the cost of manufacture had priced the resonator guitar beyond the reach of many players. His failure to convince his fellow directors at National String Instrument Corporation to produce a single-cone version was a motivating factor for leaving.
Since National had applied for a patent on an inward-facing single cone (US patent 1808756),
In the following years, both Dobro and National built a wide variety of metal- and wood-bodied single-cone guitars, while National also continued with the tricone for a time. Both companies sourced many components from National director
In 1964, the Dopyera brothers revived the Dobro brand name. They sold the name to
The Dobro was first introduced to country music by Bashful Brother Oswald, who played dobro with Roy Acuff starting in January 1939.[9]
The first and second prototypes of the Dobro created by the brothers reside at the invention's birthplace of Taft, California, in a museum about the town's oil production history.[10]
On June 19, 2019, a 1933 Dobro Resonator Guitar Model 27, owned by David Gilmour was sold at auction for a record $112,500.[11]
Epiphone Dobros
Existing and past models of resonator guitars manufactured by the Gibson Company are:[7]
- Hound Dog
- Round neck
- Deluxe round neck
- Deluxe square neck
- M-14 metal body
- Gibson's Phil Leadbetter resonator series
References
- ^ a b c d Supro guitars and amplifiers By Michael Wright on Vintage Guitar
- ^ US patent 1808756, Beauchamp, George D., "Stringed musical instrument", published 1931-06-09, issued 1931-06-09.
- ^ US patent 1896484, Dopyera, Rudolph, "Musical instrument", published 1933-02-07, issued 1933-02-07.
- ^ The guitars that Chicago built by Chris McMahon on Premier Guitar, 17 Oct 2013
- ^ a b c "Gibson brands". 5 July 2014. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014.
- ^ US Trademark Registration Number 0950801, January 16, 1973
- ^ a b "Epiphone Bluegrass instruments". www.epiphone.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ "Epiphone Bluegrass collection". www.epiphone.com. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
- ISBN 978-0786692026
- ^ "Museum in Taft, California". Archived from the original on 2021-08-03. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
- ^ "Live Auction 16980 – The David Gilmour Guitar Collection: Lot 39". www.christies.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
External links
- History of the Pre-War Dobro Archived 2021-08-03 at the Wayback Machine by Randy Getz