Electric Dobro

[jromano23]

I came across this on Reverb this week and found it pretty interesting. It's missing the original pickup which has been replaced by a DeArmond. I bet it sounds cool. Has anyone ever played or come across one of these? There's no cone and the pickup sits where the cone would be, so it's basically like a hollowbody electric. The necks on these are supposed to be great from what I've read, though there seems to be only about a dozen out there.


reverb.com/item/50890089-1936-dobro-all-electric-vintage-original-acoustic-electric-pre-war-modified-dearmond-pickup-resonator-resophonic-mahogany-acoustic-1-of-12-ever-made

[leeophonic]

Looks interesting, probably better guitars out there to play though, so maybe a museum curiosity more than you favourite player.

Also just sold a mint M1 Tricone (NOS) for less than that (and it played like butter) no pickup though if that's what you want I would advise getting an electric guitar.

this Epiphone I have has the body of an acoustic but the honk of an electric.

Lee

[mitchfit]

wonder if it isn't priced kinda high for a modified guitar.

appears the pick up is directly mounted to the sound board. would likely be a screaming demon if amplified very much over acoustic volume.

IIRC, Jay Turser JT-res guits are a spider bridge {dobro style} offering that have magnetic and piezo pick up in a stock offering.

www.chorder.com/electric-guitars/jay-turser/jtres-502

to echo leeophonic's sentiment, unless you just want an old dobro to collect, these would be better suited for a player option if you can find one for sale. short run of manufacture.

mitchfit

[Michael Messer]

Hmmm... having hacked up the coverplate to fit an enormous pickup and removed the original blade pickup, this guitar is a curiosity with very little monetary value.

What a shame because it is rare and it looks in good condition.





Shine On
Michael

[jromano23]

Thanks, everyone. I agree and am mostly interested as a curiosity and not a buyer. That said, it does give off the vibe of a good player!

[Michael Messer]

I have played one that had its original pickup. It was a quaint, cool and rare collectors' item, but it really wasn't a great electric guitar.

This one has the modified Dearmond, which may or may not be any good.

Cutting a hole in that very rare and beautiful coverplate was a stupid thing to do, it makes me wince and weep every time I see it!

Shine On
Michael

[Noah Miller]

I had one of these a while back. It had the original pickup, though one of the coils had to be rewound. It was possibly the first hum-cancelling pickup ever installed in a guitar, based on the Audiovox patent, though I'm not clear whether Audiovox themselves made any dual-coil pickups prior to selling the design to Dobro. I agree that it was not a great electric guitar by modern standards, but nobody in 1933 really knew how an electric guitar was "supposed" to look, sound, play, etc. It played as well as any regular pre-War acoustic Dobro.

[The Beltona Kid]

Hello All, I owned a 14 fret all original " Dobro All Electric" for many years. I had Marc Schoenberger reset the neck. I played it thru a 56 Tweed Princeton and a reissue tweed bassman. It was far f**k**g out! I would have bought the one on reverb if it had not been hacked up. It had the best electric slide tone I have ever hear to this day. Sold it to Lynn Wheelwright when I needed the money. I still miss that guitar.
Best, Malcolm

[Michael Messer]

Mar 18, 2022 17:57:55 GMT The Beltona Kid said:

Hello All, I owned a 14 fret all original " Dobro All Electric" for many years. I had Marc Schoenberger reset the neck. I played it thru a 56 Tweed Princeton and a reissue tweed bassman. It was far f**king out! I would have bought the one on reverb if it had not been hacked up. It had the best electric slide tone I have ever hear to this day. Sold it to Lynn Wheelwright when I needed the money. I still miss that guitar.
Best, Malcolm

That is interesting because the only one I have played was not really anything more than a cool looking old piece. It certainly went to the right person when you sold it.

Shine On
Michael

[The Beltona Kid]

At least Lynn won't hack it up. It will never get played and enjoyed again. It had a lot of balls and a great big v neck. Dobro didn't have any idea what that guitar could sound like with a Jeremy Spencer plugged in!

[mendax]

I have the Dobro electric tenor N 419 and I have to say it one of my favorite electric guitars. I have used it in a number of recordings when I need a "Telecaster" sound. Whatever improvements National/Dobro may have made to the "Tutmarc/Stimson" design used in the earlier All Electrics (if any) was worth it in my opinion. Its weight for a tenor is its only con--it weighs a lot for its size!