My first reso!

[fredkinbom]

After two years of sliding on Weissenborn and electric lap steel I've finally gotten myself a reso! ;D It's a 1976 OMI Dobro, that seems to have been tweaked to sound its best - it has a spun cone (original or upgrade, I don't know), a brass nut, a piece of felt under the tailpiece and ebony bridge inserts and it sounds SWEET! Here is a sample of its sound:



And some pics:





I play without fingerpicks on the sample but will work on getting more comfortable with picks - the ProPik Fingertones with a Golden Gate thumb pick seems like the way to go for me. The strings are... Michael Messer Newtone Nationals , D tuning.

I'm hooked!

Cheers,

Fred

[Michael Messer]

The first of many I hope!!!!!


Here is a bar of chocolate for you


Shine On
Michael

[Ian McWee]

That's a fine guitar Fred - and lovely playing too....you're now a certified 'conehead' ;D

Slide On!

Ian.

www.diamondbottlenecks.com

[Bill Stig]

Nice bit of film there Fred. They get a bit of a slating those OMI Dobros but they can sound pretty sweet and are a mile better than the Gibsons.
Have you heard Kelly Joe Phelps? He gets a good sound using the flesh of his fingers - it suits his soft voice.


Bill

[Michael Messer]

It is the metal-bodied OMI Dobros that get all the critisism. The wood-bodied OMI Dobros are pretty good, especially if you get one that was built when John Quarterman worked there as cheif cone maker. Don Young was an OMI employee and he built some lovely wood-bodied instruments.

Shine On
Michael

[lee holliday]

Michael is right about the wod bodied OMi Dobro,s with a few mods they are great , and they are still affordable. OMi built to a budget with plastic nuts and cheap tuners, but with a good set up (Dave King has worked his magic on several) they are great.
Look out for the custom models in the catalogue that I will remind Michael to load up, ( yes the OMi catalogue I loaned you Michael !)
I will catch up with you on Thursday @ 21 South st.
Regards Lee.

[Bill Stig]

I still believe that the metal bodied OMIs are a lot better than the Gibson ones. Mine's not in the same league as a National style O, but then again it cost me about a third of the price. The same model for a Gibson version I've seen for a lot more than I paid and there was no comparison.

Do you have the years that John Quarterman was working there Michael?

Bill

[Michael Messer]

Lee, I do apologize. I have just put the Dobro brochure out to scan and upload to the forum.

Bill, I do have those dates somewhere. I will find it and let you know. OMI was way ahead of the current Gibson attempts at making these instruments. From what I have seen lately on the Gibson, Martin and Fender websites, they have all lost the plot and are manufacturing instruments that are not worthy of the brand names they carry.

Shine On
Michael

[fredkinbom]

Thanks all for the comments, info and chocolate! Michael and Lee - I look forward to seeing that OMI catalogue!

I am very pleased with this Dobro's sweet and mellow sound (that was what I was after, rather than the "snarly", to my ears a bit hard "modern" bluegrass Dobro sound).

Fred

[Michael Messer]

Fred, that 'snarly' modern sound is not the guitars, it is the players! Bashful Brother Oswald AKA Pete Kirby described it as playing five string banjo on a Hawaiian guitar. An interesting point of view.

Shine On,
Michael

[fredkinbom]

Well, it didn't take long for me to start tinkering. I wanted to adjust the intonation slightly and ended up opening the Dobro up.







All went well though. The intonation is now better, I tried how turning the tension screw affected the sound and left it where I liked it best, and I think the Dobro sounds even louder now. And it was interesting! ;D

Could anyone tell from the picture if the cone is original or an upgrade?

Cheers,

Fred

[Deleted]

Congratulations and I think you're going to fall in love with that guitar! They're a blast to play and own.

My 1976 Dobro cone is original to my knowledge and is stamped. No spin marks at all. Many years ago I was told during this era they were stamped. Your cone is absolutely a spun cone. Don't fret it and play your heart out my friend;-) Pun intended- It could be original and I am no expert but if I HAD to guess I would say it's a replacement. Many "new" spun cones were pushed as being superior even in the late 1980's (they still are today). I don't know if you can buy a stamped Dobro cone anymore. Also the bridge inserts I suspect are not original... I bet someone before you "souped it up."

[LouisianaGrey]

I can't say for certain but for as long as I've been seeing them Quarterman cones have had a brass washer, whereas that looks like aluminium, so my guess would be that it isn't a Quarterman cone.

[fredkinbom]

Thanks folks for the input! I asked over at the Reso-Nation forum too, which is 99.9% Dobro oriented, and US luthier Gregg McKenna confirmed it is an original stock OMI cone.

Cheers,

Fred

[Michael Messer]

I seem to have missed this thread's development. That is an original OMI Dobro cone. with 30 or so years ageing process behind it, I would not change it for a new one.

Close it up, play it, and maybe have another peep in a decade or so. I never open Nationals or Dobros unless I really have to. Once every decade is acceptable.

Shine On
Michael.