Dobro Tonewoods

Tim Tweedale · From: Vancouver, B.C., Canada

I am in the final stages of planning a purchase of a Rayco resophonic (www.rayco.ca). My main concern at this time is to choose the best type of wood (all solid). I am hovering between maple and mahogany at the moment. Apparently maple has a very bright sound and mahogany is more mellow... birch is somewhere in between. Any specific advice (or links to threads, articles etc.) as to how these (or other) types of wood affect the tone would be appreciated a great deal. Yes, I do want to be able to cut through in a band context, but I want SOME richness, overtones, warmth.

Also, why are almost all the resos I see out there solid maple? What makes maple kind of the standard? I noticed that Jerry Douglas' signature Dobro is a mahogany... any thoughts on that?

-Tim

Steinar Gregertsen · From: Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.

This was discussed recently over at the IGS forum, seems that most agrees that the tonewood don't matter that much on a reso.
Check these threads: http://www.guitarseminars.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/004958.html http://www.guitarseminars.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/005337.html

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

Tone woods don't matter that much on a reso?

Balderdash! the type of tone wood, makes an audible difference on ANY acoustic instrument IMHO (okay, maybe not so humble).
http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum2/HTML/002720.html

Steinar Gregertsen · From: Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.

Mike D · From: Phx, Az

They flavor the tone, though I don't know if they effect the sound as much as the internal design does, and certainly not as much as other things like the resonator system. At any rate a similar guitar made from 2 different woods will certainly sound different, and some builders think that plywood sounds best of all.....

Also, why are almost all the resos I see out there solid maple?

I don't think that's the case, popular reso woods are Koa, Walnut, Maple and Mahogany. I couldn't tell you a breakdown between those woods.
Maple will typically be 'brighter' than mahogany, in general it's a harder/stiffer wood.
I would trust your builder to help you decide, after all you're trusting him to make you a guitar.

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Half-assed bottleneck and lap slide player. Full-assed Builder of resonator instruments.

Stephen Gambrell · From: Over there

I play a Guernsey. Ivan Guernsey builds THE finest resonator guitar on this planet, and probably this galaxy. Builds 'em out of birch plywood, says,"Why waste all that good wood on a speaker cabinet."
There are other builders with differing opinions, of course. Some of the maple Scheerhorns are beautiful, and the Benoits are works of art. But my guitars are tools, so all I ask them to do is sound good. And my (plywood) Guernsey does it best!

Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

There are definitely two schools of thought here by equally gifted and experienced luthiers: the plywood camp and the tonewoods camp. I base my opionin on what I've heard with my own ears. Just one example ... Pete Grant and I A/B'd his plywood National Model D with my Koa/Spruce Benoit. The National is a fine instrument with great tone and projection but everyone in the room commented on the deep sound of the solid wood Benoit. Help me out, Howard. is this my imagination?

Bob Stone · From: Gainesville, FL, USA

My two cents:

Which wood (or other material) is "best" for a reso is subjective. But every wood sounds different. The difference in tone between woods for reso guitars may not be as great as for non-resos, but there is always a difference. Resonator guitars with bodies of plywood and even man-made materials can sound really good, some say best.

I've probably played fewer than a dozen modern resos, so my sampling has been very limited. I am very surprised at the relatively warm tone of my friend's DeNeve all maple reso. It's certainly nothing like a maple arch top, for example. Similarly, another friend's Smith reso, with a body of man-made material, has a pleasing tone and is good and loud.

Kenny Davis · From: Great State of Oklahoma

Andy - I'm not Howard, but I'll respond. The wood does make a difference. As you well know Benoit stays very close to his own specs' on his guitars, except with a few customer-related requests. I have played the majority of the guitars he's built, and they all have their own personality. A Macassar/Spruce has far less bottom than my Macassar/Maple. I played a full Macassar guitar in March, and it sounds similar to mine. His Walnut/Spruce is much more mellow than his Walnut/Maple. The only guitars that have as much volume as mine are Eddie Ortego's Maple, and the white Maple/Spruce.

I had a big surprise when I played the Sycamore guitar in March. I can't attribute it to the wood, as he used the 70's style Dobro cone and a ebony capped maple bridge...But it sounded a lot like my '74 OMI with the smaller body!

Chuck Fisher · From: Santa Cruz, California, USA * R.I.P.

Well, I just say Amen, Kenny!

The notion the wood doesnt matter is like saying a speaker cabinet made of particle board sounds like a plywood one sounds like a solid oak one. All the physics of speake cabinet design are in play in a reso guitar.

That said, cones are a big difference, bridge material is a biggie.

Also, in my opinion, laminated guitars don't improve with age like solid ones. Also harder wood is brighter, and in general thinner wood=louder. These last observations are more obvious on non-resos but - they are there IMO

ok flame me now ( but don't scorch my Benoit)

CF

HowardR · From: N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville

Andy - I'm not Kenny, but I'll respond.

First, with regard to Tim's question. For as many that post here, those are all the different answers that you're going to get. Everyone has a preference. I find (for me) that a combination of walnut back & sides with a spruce top gives me the kind of sound that you have described. You really need to try different ones because this is so subjective.

I've not played a modern birch ply guitar so I cannot compare them. I believe that the Paul Beard - Mike Auldridge signature series is birch ply. Mike plays (or played) a Guernsey. The luthier Greg McKenna is a birch ply proponent.

Actually, I did briefly play Bob Hofnar's Guernsey, but it was very brief and I only had a thumb pick, so I can't really make a fair assesment. I did like it and I did like how it sounded, but to make a true comparrison, I'd really need to sit down with it.

As far as comparing tone woods, my faves are my Benoit California walnut/Engleman spruce and my Benoit all Koa (I gave in to temptation in Dallas) with regard to 6 stringers. The Koa is brighter than the Walnut/Spruce.

I would imagine that a builder could build two indentical guitars at the same times using the same materials, and they would sound different from one another.

Gregg McKenna · From: South Windsor, Connecticut, USA

Birch makes a nice tight soundbox (very important in resonator guitar construction). I also like to build with solid woods such as Walnut, Mahogany, and Sitka Spruce (as a top wood).

HowardR · From: N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville

I wonder what a combination would sound like? Say, birch back & sides, and a spruce top.

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