I have some Dobro questions

[GTSP]

I am far from a Mosrite efficianato. What is the deal with these Dobro's that have been popping up on Ebay lately? Are they true Mosrites or did Mosrite just buy them out & put their name on a totally different desinged guitar? Are they considered true vintage Mosrites? What are the differences? How 'bout the neck? What do you Dobro owners think of them?

Thanks

[Deke Dickerson]

The story as I understand it, GTSP, is that Semie Moseley bought the "Dobro" name from the Dopyera Brothers around '66 (correct me if I'm wrong, folks). He moved some of the guys from the Dobro operation down in Los Angeles (coincidentally, the Dobro name had been owned by Standel for a couple years previous to Mosrite buying the name, so this all makes sense in the grand scheme of things) up to the factory in Bakersfield and they began making dobro instruments at Mosrite.

the Mosrite dobros are not real dobros, as far as the Dobro geeks are concerned. They were mostly electric instruments used in folk-rock and modern country for a dobro-type sound, but they shared little in common with the Reso-phonic instruments made in the 1930's under the Dobro name.

They are also not very Mosrite-like, either. The necks on many of them are very typical Mosrite necks--slim, narrow, low frets, etc., but that's where the similarity ends.

They are cool but they occupy a bizarre middle ground in the guitar world--the Dobro guys don't really like them, and the Mosrite guys don't really like them. But they do have their fans....

Deke

[vjf1968]

The story as I understand it, GTSP, is that Semie Moseley bought the "Dobro" name from the Dopyera Brothers around '66 (correct me if I'm wrong, folks). He moved some of the guys from the Dobro operation down in Los Angeles (coincidentally, the Dobro name had been owned by Standel for a couple years previous to Mosrite buying the name, so this all makes sense in the grand scheme of things) up to the factory in Bakersfield and they began making dobro instruments at Mosrite.

the Mosrite dobros are not real dobros, as far as the Dobro geeks are concerned. They were mostly electric instruments used in folk-rock and modern country for a dobro-type sound, but they shared little in common with the Reso-phonic instruments made in the 1930's under the Dobro name.

They are also not very Mosrite-like, either. The necks on many of them are very typical Mosrite necks--slim, narrow, low frets, etc., but that's where the similarity ends.

They are cool but they occupy a bizarre middle ground in the guitar world--the Dobro guys don't really like them, and the Mosrite guys don't really like them. But they do have their fans....

Deke

Deke,

Are you referring to the Californian, the model that Glen Campbell played on his "Goodtime Hour"?

[Deke Dickerson]

Yes, but the Californian was only one of several Dobro models that Mosrite made.

There was the "Uncle Josh" model, which was their attempt at a recreation of the 1930's style square-neck acoustic resonator Dobro....which could also be ordered with a pickup.

There was the "Richmond" model, which was basically the round-neck "Spanish" style version of the Uncle Josh...which could also be ordered with a pickup.

There was the "Columbia" model, which was a 12-string version....like the others could be acoustic or electric.

There was the "Monterey" model, which was a little 3/4 size instrument with a smaller body, which could also be acoustic or electric.

There was the real oddball, the D-8 5-string banjo dobro, which I've also seen in a tenor (4-string) banjo version.

The Californian was the best seller, it was vaguely like a Celebrity with a resonator and two pickups, which could be ordered in a 6 or 12-string style.

I'm just quoting out of the Mosrite catalog from 1968. There is a photo showing about 20 of these things piled up for a photo shot, so they must have made at least that many! ha ha.

Seriously though, you do see the Californians but the others are pretty rare.

All in all I think the dobro experiment was a failure and a total money-loser for Mosrite, one of the many things that contributed to them declaring bankruptcy in the late 60's.

Deke