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BigWoolyBanjo - Posted - 08/11/2008: 10:31:06
Hey all,
I'm a banjo player who's been bitten by the dobro bug, and am searching for my first one.
I found a listing for a used Epiphone that has a round neck. They guy's asking $150 with no case. He says it's a $500 instrument. He also says you can fret it or play with a slide.
First off, can I play slide on this round neck? From what I've read, I'd need to change out the nut to make the action a lot higher. I want to play blugrass dobro.
Secondly, is this instrument worth looking at for that price?
Any comments or suggestions are welcome.
Thanks,
-Jeff
Brad Bechtel - Posted - 08/11/2008: 11:22:09
I'd look elsewhere if I were you. Although you could use an adapter nut to raise the strings and play it lap style, I don't feel Epiphone resophonic guitars are good quality instruments, even at that price.
If you want to play bluegrass dobro, get a squareneck resophonic guitar. How much are you willing to spend?
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Brad''s Page of Steel:
well.com/user/wellvis/steel.html
A web site devoted to electric and acoustic lap steel guitars
BigWoolyBanjo - Posted - 08/11/2008: 12:16:08
Hey Brad,
Thanks for the reply.
I'm really trying to do this on the cheap, so $150-250 is about all I'm going to be able to scrape up right now. I'll probably do this the way I did with banjo: start out cheap, make sure I like it, upgrade, then keep the cheap one to take camping.
I had a feeling that this deal might not be the best thing for me, but wanted to run it by someone who knows better than me.
Used is probably going to be the way to go. Do you have any suggestions on brands that I could look for that might be real cheap used, but not fall apart on me?
-Jeff
meldooby - Posted - 08/11/2008: 13:23:30
For the money you're talking it's going to have to be Chinese. If you're lucky maybe a Korean Fender. I've never seen a good review on the Fenders, but I have one that I set up and put a good set of strings onit, and it plays sweet.
Mel
Dobro Don - Posted - 08/12/2008: 08:06:29
quote:
Originally posted by BigWoolyBanjo
Hey all,
I'm a banjo player who's been bitten by the dobro bug, and am searching for my first one.
I found a listing for a used Epiphone that has a round neck. They guy's asking $150 with no case. He says it's a $500 instrument. He also says you can fret it or play with a slide.
First off, can I play slide on this round neck? From what I've read, I'd need to change out the nut to make the action a lot higher. I want to play blugrass dobro.
Secondly, is this instrument worth looking at for that price?
Any comments or suggestions are welcome.
Thanks,
-Jeff
Just to add some additional information here.
I have two fellow band mates who both ended up getting one of the Ephiphone "The Biscuit" round neck resonator guitars (for bottle neck playing, not lap style).
One got an older version of the model used and the other ordered one new. One of the guitars sounds really pretty good (a little thin but still pretty good) the other is not that great. These purchases were made a few years ago when there really weren't a lot of alternatives.
A third friend got one of these from a pawn shop and swapped in a Quarterman cone and the thing sounds really good.
The point is you never know how good or bad one of these instruments is until you get it in your hands.
On the other hand, there are now all kinds of alternatives, Beard/GoldTone and Wechter/Sheerhorn, to name a couple, that have reliably good sounding and playing instruments in a variety of price ranges.
Don
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"Music creates unity among peoples, cultures and nations. Music can touch the soul making it our universal means of communication."
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