Lehigh Valley Folk Music Society
Instruments
Resonator Guitar (Dobro)

During the 1920s, George Beauchamp, a Los Angeles guitarist, took his vision of a mechanically amplified guitar that could stand up to the loudness of the banjo to John and Rudy Dopyer, two Slovakian immigrants who had already patented several improvements for banjos. In 1927, John Dopyera perfected a design utilizing three aluminum cones, and his brother Rudy suggested a metal body to enhance amplification, and the National tri-cone resonator guitar was born. Following that, John Dopyera began developing a more affordable woodbody guitar with a single cone, and in 1928 he introduced his new invention under the name DOBRO® -- a combination of DOpyera and the BROthers. Their resonator guitars were initially well-received, and many were produced throughout the next several decades, until after the 2nd World War when their mass production gave way to the emergence of the electric guitar. However, the Dobro and its unique acoustic character remained prevalent in much of country and acoustic blues music over the next 50 years and the instruments were made and sold by the Dopyera family members under the name of the Original Musical Instrument Co. Finally, in 1993, Gibson acquired O.M.I. and brought together all the best qualities of the original woodbody and metalbody resonator instruments. Whether the music is blues, Hawaiian, country, or bluegrass, DOBRO® guitars have the "twang" sound that sets them apart from all other acoustic instruments in folk music. Often tuned to an open major chord, such as G major, the 6-stringed Dobro is laid horizontally on the lap, the fingers of the right pluck the different strings while the left hand slides up and down the neck using a cylindrical object that fits on the finger to create the unique sliding sound. The resonator feature of the Dobro produces a natural amplication so brilliant that the Dobro stands comfortably above the rest of the band.

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