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Topic: Gold Tone (Paul Beard) 8 String Dobro |
Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Posted 8 Nov 2012 4:18 pm |
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Here's my mini-review with some audio samples of this nice instrument. It came with really old and dead strings so maybe it will have more brightness with new strings.
8 String Dobro Web Page
Greg |
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Billy Gilbert
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 8 Nov 2012 6:06 pm 8 string Gold Tone
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Hey Greg, It sounds great to me . Nifty playing too. One of my 8 string resos just don't like the Beard 8 string dobro set. A slightly lighter set works fine. This guitar has a 24" scale. My other 8 string which has a Gold Tone body and custom 8 string neck likes the Beard strings fine. It has a 24.5" scale.  |
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Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Posted 9 Nov 2012 5:29 am
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Thanks for the info on the strings Billy. In the G tuning the bottom string is so low and large it kinda just creates a THUD sound when I hit it. Think I'd rather have a ninth chromatic on top or tune the whole thing up to A or C and get he lower strings up a few pitches.
Greg |
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Howard Parker
From:
Maryland
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Posted 9 Nov 2012 7:29 am
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You might try A6. It's Auldridge's favorite tuning these days. He puts the chromatic on top. Fuller then C6 and the low F# reacts better with a .056 or similar.
fwiw
h |
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Rich Gibson
From:
Pittsburgh Pa.
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Posted 15 Nov 2012 9:04 am
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I have my Mckenna 8 string tuned to A6 and it works well for me.I also found the G6 gauges difficult.I do play the dobro more as an acoustic lap steel than traditional dobro but i did find that i have to pick much harder to get the sound i want(moving the cone?)
No big news to real dobro players i know,but just my experience.I also prefer Brite Bronze as opposed to the traditional bronze.
There are some examples on my website www.pedalsteelpittsburgh.com of the 8 string with the Brite bronze in A6.
Greg you may notice I used some ideas from your lap arrangements on Panhandle rag and Texas Playboy(intros in particular).You have a great site,I have found it very informative and useful on a number of occasions. |
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Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2012 12:16 pm
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Thanks Rich and Howard! I just ordered a set of strings to make up Shot Jackson's 7 stirng tuning in E. I am going to add either a 9th on top or a 6th in the middle top of the tuning to round out the 8 strings. It's may be a long winter and I need to keep busy doing something!
Greg |
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Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Posted 16 Nov 2012 2:59 pm
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Getting a great tone now! New John Pearse bronze strings in the Key of E with a 6th note on the 2nd string. G#'s tuned slightly flat. It now sounds like a dobro.
E - .014
C# - .016
B - .017
G# - .022W
E - .030
B - .038
G# - .046
E - .056
Greg |
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Edward Meisse
From:
Santa Rosa, California, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2012 11:59 am
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My 8 string McKenna is tuned to Buddy Emmons' C6 tuning withe the chromatic D on top and the A on the bottom. My intent is a little different than most people though, I think. I aim for a less cliched sound and as much versatility as possible. I specifically do NOT want to sound like a, "Dobro." And I'm hoping to acquire an 8 string tricone soon in order to help with that. (Note: the word cliched above is not intended to be a put down. I'm only stating the fact that the, "Dobro," sound has been effectively pigeon holed into hard core country music sound. I do think this is unfortunate. The instrument is capable of anything.)
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Amor vincit omnia |
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Dave Thier
From:
Fairhope, Alabama, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2012 12:07 pm
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| Edward Meisse wrote: |
| (Note: the word cliched above is not intended to be a put down. I'm only stating the fact that the, "Dobro," sound has been effectively pigeon holed into hard core country music sound. I do think this is unfortunate. The instrument is capable of anything.) |
I'm thinking you might want to listen to some of the modern dobro players, Douglas, Ickes, Kohrs, Cardine, Hall, etc. |
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Edward Meisse
From:
Santa Rosa, California, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2012 12:27 pm
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Auldridge, Cardine and Ickes have done some of my favorite resonator recordings. Douglas has gone outside traditional genres. I need to check those others out. I am happy to see that some players are moving farther afield. But they tend to be the exceptions in both skill and daring. Definitely NOT ordinary or even just very good players. Kohrs and Hall. Never heard of them. I'll look them up. I really need to get to a reso summit.
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Amor vincit omnia |
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Dave Thier
From:
Fairhope, Alabama, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2012 12:43 pm
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Randy Kohrs and Andy Hall of the Infamous String Dusters. Check them out on You Tube.
There are many players who go beyond the cliched country licks. Another good example is Orville Johnson who occasionally posts here. I think there are enough of these players now that the dobro is no longer effectively pigeon holed into country music.
Sorry for getting a bit off topic. I certainly commend your use of alternate tunings on the 8 string! |
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Howard Parker
From:
Maryland
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Posted 17 Nov 2012 1:05 pm
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Yeah...The "dobro centric" world has exploded and moved in 50 directions at once. There are dozens of great young players doing all kinds of stuff.
There doesn't seem to be a dobro "box" to be outside of anymore. There's no line in the sand to cross over.
It is a wonderful time to be a dobro player.
h |
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Gary Lee Gimble
From:
Fredericksburg, VA.
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Edward Meisse
From:
Santa Rosa, California, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2012 6:09 pm
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That is some mighty fine playing, Gary. And if what Howard says is true, I've definitely gotta get out more.
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Amor vincit omnia |
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Edward Meisse
From:
Santa Rosa, California, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2012 6:16 pm
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It looked to me like 8 string tunings were a sub theme of the thread. Tunings and what they are intended to accomplish is a frequent subject around here. That's all I really meant to talk about. Sorry.
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Amor vincit omnia |
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Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Posted 18 Nov 2012 11:19 am
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I have come full circle on my dobro preferences. After initially loving the dobro sound of Josh Graves and Shot Jackson, I grew tired of all the simplistic sounds and imitators of the instrument as used in early bluegrass and with early acts like Johnny and Jack. I then discovered Jerry Douglas when he was perhaps 17 at Ponderosa Park in Salem, OH. He was amazingly fast and played complex material. Along came Seldome Scene and Mike Aldridge and his progression of G, C6 and A6 tunings and more expansion of the Dobro into the resophonic era. I had just about all of his records.
Lately I find myself preferring jazz piano (Art Tatum), pedal steel with lots of "pedal sounds" and good old fashioned Shot and Josh on the dobro. No they are not lightening fast or advancing the art as others have and are. But their sound is pure, their tone is warm, they were playing great old tunes with the best pickers and singers of their day.
So I have gone from 6 string G dobro, to 8 string C6/A6 swing back to the pure sounds of Shot Jackson. Simple playing but full of style and personality and emotion. Just personal preference on my part but it's where I am right now.
Greg |
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Howard Parker
From:
Maryland
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Posted 18 Nov 2012 11:23 am
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Greg Booth
From:
Anchorage, AK, USA
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Marty Rifkin
From:
Santa Monica, CA
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Posted 22 Nov 2012 4:17 pm
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Greg...on my 8 string dobro I use a G6 tuning, but the 8th string is tuned to a Bb (higher than the 7th string, 1/2 step lower than the 6th string. Usually a .048W or.050W). On strings 3, 4 & 8 you get a IV7 chord (no root), a diminished chord and some other cool substitutions. If you move the bar up 2 frets, you get a V7 chord and from there you'll easily come up with other ideas. Great for swing.
There are lot's of cool chromatic runs utilizing the 6th & 8th string, too. And of course, a 1 minor chord by skipping the 6th string.
An advantage of staying with a G tuning is when you play the 8 string dobro in a standard bluegrass situation. On my '54 Fender Stringmaster, I use the same tuning but in A6.
Low to high G6: Bb G B D E G B D
Low to high A6: C A C# E F# A C# E |
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Nate Hofer
From:
Overland Park, Kansas
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Lee Gillespie
From:
Cheyenne, Wy. USA
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Posted 10 Aug 2016 3:30 am 8 atring goldtone
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| when I received by Goldtone 8 from Paul..I was highly disappointed. No projection..... no tone... so it wound up on the stand in the back part of my puter room. I called Paul at the time and I was told that there was nothing could be done due to the cone design and the number of strings. After about a year I bit the bullet and called Paul and said I was sending it back and wanted him to install his legend cone and work his magic. Cost me over two hundred dollars .. BUT.... now I have an instrument that is decent and playable. Upgrade made all the differnce. Lee |
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Guy Cundell
From:
More idle ramblings from South Australia
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Posted 10 Aug 2016 4:22 am
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I don't think McKenna is still building, Nate.
I have a Goldtone/Beard 8, strung .056 to .016. Tuned to G6 it sounded good but with not much power. At A6 it is fine and cuts through fine in a group of guitars and fiddles. Tuning up made all the difference. String spacings are 68mm across at the bridge and 54 at the nut which is almost the same as my Fender Dual 8 Pro. I think it is very good value axe.
Pretty old strings, but here is a sound file.
https://soundcloud.com/guy-cundell/walking-the-cat |
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Steve Branscom
From:
Pacific NW
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Posted 10 Aug 2016 8:19 am
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I don't think Gregg is building anymore but you can find 2 or 3 McKenna's at Gruhn Guitars. I think there was a 7 string along with 2 8 strings. $900 or $1000.
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Steve |
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Nate Hofer
From:
Overland Park, Kansas
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Posted 11 Aug 2016 4:13 am
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| Is there any general difference in performance between McKenna and Beard Gold Tone? |
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Jim Bates
From:
Alvin, Texas, USA
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Posted 11 Aug 2016 5:58 pm
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I have an original Dorbro 7 stringer, that I use mostly tuned as you do : h-l E,C#,B,G#, E (or F# retune as need),D,E. If it were 8 string would use: h-l
E,C#,B,G#,E,D,B,E.
I used the 7 stringer for a Hawaiian Strolling band, when we would stroll through dinner crowds at our Luau's. Also for vintage western swing.
FYI,I spent this morning with Jim Adams, a great builder of reso guitars, who recently moved to Houston area. He showed me a couple of his recent resos: 8 string with 22 1/2 scale (in process) and a 24" scale 8 string ready to ship. Also he is building resos with fiberglass/ resin bodies.
So now we have a local reso luthier who can set up any reso.
Thanx,
Jim |
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