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Topic: Regal standard acoustic gtr > dobro??? |
John Pelz
From:
Kettering, Ohio, USA
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Posted 24 Jun 2004 5:33 pm |
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A friend of mine recently inherited a circa 1920s vintage Regal acoustic guitar, which for quite a while now has been set up to play as a standard guitar. He would like to raise the nut & play the guitar as a dobro. The neck on this Regal is a bit bowed, which makes playing standard guitar difficult; all the more reason to raise the nut & play it dobro-style. This Regal is not a reso -- just a regular acoustic guitar.
Anyhow, neither of us know anything about acoustic steel guitar, and we were wondering: 1.) can/should this guitar be strung up dobro-style; 2.) what kind of strings to use on such a raised-nut guitar; and 3.) what would be some good tunings to start out on? Thanks in advance for any help! |
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Steinar Gregertsen
From:
Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.
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Posted 24 Jun 2004 5:57 pm
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Hi John, just my two fingerpicks worth;
1 - Can't really see any problems with doing that, especially if the neck is already bowed. (There's most probably no truss rod in such an old guitar).
2 - Depends on the bracing I guess. If it's ladder braced (the bracing running parralell with the bridge), which I guess it is since it's so old, you must be careful not putting too much pressure on the top and bridge. I have an early '30s MayBell parlor guitar set up with Newtone Aloha's (.015-.056), but I was quite nervous the first couple of weeks with those heavy strings on and I haven't dared to tune it any higher than open-D (which is fine by me). I wouldn't start out with that heavy strings if I were you (maybe you should try with a set starting at .012 or .013).
3 - see point 2....... 
I'm sure there are others here who know much more about this than me, so they'll help you out.
Steinar
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www.gregertsen.com
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Travis Bernhardt
From:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 24 Jun 2004 10:33 pm
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Ditto, and 3) low bass 'G' which is (low to high): DGDGBD.
-Travis |
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John Pelz
From:
Kettering, Ohio, USA
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Posted 27 Jun 2004 1:48 pm
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| Anyone else have 2ยข worth? |
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Jay Fagerlie
From:
Lotus, California, USA
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Posted 27 Jun 2004 2:42 pm
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I have a 1959 Kay archtop single pickup that has a plywood body and a warped neck. I picked it up on eBay for $80.00 plus another $20 for shipping....
I have been playing it now for over a year as a 'dobro' and couldn't be happier. I've had numerous picker friends comment on how good it sounds. I liked it so much I picked up another one that is a 1949 all mahogony model and that one turned out the same-I raised the nut, put some heavy strings on it and it sounds wonderful.
Even if it's plywood-there is just nothing like a 50 year old guitar for putting out great tone.
Jay
editied for my poor spelling[This message was edited by Jay Fagerlie on 27 June 2004 at 03:43 PM.] |
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