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Topic: What dobro style guitar should I get? |
Henry Nagle
From:
Santa Rosa, California
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Posted 27 Apr 2006 5:20 pm |
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My apologies if this subject has been covered too many times.
I'm not getting any younger and I think it's about time I started learning to play dobro. What's the best deal? I'd prefer to find something used but I'm not attached to that idea. I can spend up to about $500.
Any ideas?
Thank you! |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 27 Apr 2006 6:55 pm
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| Beard Gold Tone.....best bang for the buck and no messy upgrades. |
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Jude Reinhardt
From:
Weaverville, NC
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Posted 28 Apr 2006 12:06 am
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Gold Tone Paul Beard Signature model. A lot of guitar for the money. I like mine very much.
Jude |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 28 Apr 2006 12:18 am
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Gold Tone Paul Beard Signature (remember Howard, it's not a "real" Beard, it's a Goldtone).
Make sure you get one that after being built in Asia, made a trip through the the Beard facility in Maryland for the final setup. Makes a big difference.
Resist the temptation to buy a new Regal off the shelf. One that has gotten a pro setup with an upgraded cone like a Quarterman is fine, but they don't come this way brand new, except for the Black Lightning model-and even those need additional setup work.
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Mark
[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 28 April 2006 at 01:19 AM.] |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2006 5:47 am
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The Black Lightning is a very nice guitar.
Regal is turning out some VERY nice resonator instruments. I bought an upgrade kit from Folk of the Wood for another Regal I have. 
[This message was edited by Erv Niehaus on 28 April 2006 at 06:49 AM.] |
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Keith Cordell
From:
San Diego
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Posted 28 Apr 2006 6:03 am
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| If your limit is hard at $500 the Goldtone is out. The regal Black Lightning is a decent guitar, if you replace the bridge saddles. Might need additional set up too. |
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John Sluszny
From:
Brussels, Belgium
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Posted 28 Apr 2006 7:15 am
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| Yes,but the GoldTone is worth the Xtra $$$ by far.Check "Elderly Instruments" They have some very nice descriptions of all the different square neck models ( Mahogany Standard,Maple Deluxe and Solid Mahogany). |
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Donald Blanford
From:
Vermilion, Ohio, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2006 9:14 am
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Keep an eye on www.reso-nation.org
Used goldtones show up frequently at very good prices. You can also search the archives for opinions on every brand. |
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Nathan Hernandez
From:
Riverside, California, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2006 9:21 am
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| I got my square-neck Hound Dog for $400 at Guitar center, and am very happy with it. My friends that play "Dobro's" were impressed with it as well. They do list for more but some times you can deal at that place. |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 28 Apr 2006 11:39 am
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That's a great price for a Hound Dog-good for you!
Not to be the "resosnob," but among the hardcore-unless it's a classic instrument or the occasional nice Gibson built Dobro, with a capital "D" - modern Dobros are lower down the scale of the more expensive instruments in terms of desirability.
The earlier Black Lightning Regals were known for having some neck problems-as in separation at the joint-but I am under the impression that the issue has been taken care of. They definitely need a setup-and a bone nut-and sometimes the nut is too low. Other than that, I think they're pretty nice for the money.
I have yet to play an off-the-shelf Regal that I was really pleased with. But I have played a few "hot rodded" Regals that were pretty nice.
To my ears, it's no contest between a Beard set up Goldtone, and an off-the-shelf Regal. The Goldtone wins hands down.
You can tell if a Gold Tone Beard has gotten the Beard setup by shining a bright flashlight through the screen hole on the bass side-a sticker will be there stating as much.
To add another ingredient to the soup-sometimes you can find a used Wecter/Scheerhorn for a little higher price than a Goldtone on Reso-Nation, and I just played one of these last week that sounded very nice and blows any Regal out of the water.
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Mark
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2006 12:09 pm
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How do do tell if you've got a GOOD dobro?
I thought they were supposed to sound like
fingernails on a blackboard.  |
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Henry Nagle
From:
Santa Rosa, California
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Posted 28 Apr 2006 12:39 pm
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That's just the sound I'm looking for, Erv. Actually, I can get that sound out of most any instrument!  |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2006 1:38 pm
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Ha!
I thought I'd get a rise out of somebody! |
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Nathan Hernandez
From:
Riverside, California, USA
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Posted 29 Apr 2006 9:57 am
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I just read (in another thread) that Gibson has discontinued some Dobro modals,,,,,so some places would be willing to wheel and deal on these models.
heres an E13, these are electric guages
1.E 014
2.C# 017
3.B 020
4.G# 024w
5.E 030w
6.D 034w
7.B 038w
8.G# 046w |
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Nathan Hernandez
From:
Riverside, California, USA
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Posted 29 Apr 2006 10:09 am
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| just woke up, that E13 tunning go's someplace else, sorry. |
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Jude Reinhardt
From:
Weaverville, NC
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Posted 30 Apr 2006 2:07 am
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The advice was given - Make sure you get one that after being built in Asia, made a trip through the the Beard facility in Maryland for the final setup. Makes a big difference.
I've never understood this but have heard it on different forums when talking about the Gold Tone PBS model. The bodies are made in Asia and they are assembled here with Paul Beard components. In the Beard shop by Beard technicians to Paul's specifications or in the Gold Tone shop to Paul's specifications. Same components and I suspect the same quality in assembly. As you may guess mine doesn't have the magical paper sticker under the sound hole screenff that indicates it was put together in the Beard shop. I bought mine used so didn't really know if it had been tweeked by the former owner. Didn't care as it sounded great. When I changed the strings the first time I also checked the cone tension screw adjustment and tweeked it a little. Now it's set up to my specifications and it still sounds good. I think you can trust the guys at Gold Tone to put it together properly to Paul Beard's specs.
Jude |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 1 May 2006 10:29 am
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Jude, I sort of used the info in your post as a "segue" to a question that is on the Reso-Nation site right now.
It doesn't necessarily answer what makes a Goldtone facility setup different than a Beard facility setup on the same model guitar-but it explains some of the details at Beard, and the post above it contains some info regarding a Tim Scheerhorn setup.
Also-I wouldn't automatically assume that the guitars set up at Goldtone get the same skill level and attention to detail that they receive when spending time on the workbench at Beard in Maryland.
Click on this and check it out:
http://tinyurl.com/g3hnf
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Mark
[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 01 May 2006 at 12:18 PM.] |
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