SallyH - Posted - 03/26/2024:  10:14:20

Hi all.

I am looking to sell my Dad's dobro, but I am struggling to identify much about it or its value. It is labeled D1032750 stamped on the top of the head.

Any help would be great!



Thanks,

Sally

Edited by - SallyH on 03/26/2024 13:16:47

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 03/26/2024:  14:07:27

Gibson purchased the Dobro company located in Huntington Beach, California in 1993, and continued to make the guitars there until sometime in 1997. They shut down the operation  and moved it to Nashville, resuming production in 1998. 

Prior to the Nashville move the serial numbers had different formulas going back decades.

Your dad's guitar definitely has a Gibson serial number from 1998 or later. The "D" refers to wood body. The numerals can be confusing, so in this case a picture (or pictures) are truly worth a thousand words. The serial number tells us nothing about the guitar model.

Gibson produced the Nashville made Dobros at the Opry Mills facility near The Grand Ole Opry from 1998-2010. In 2010 there was a massive flood on the Cumberland River, the Opry Mills facility where they also made banjos and mandolins was heavily damaged, and the company decided not to go through repairs and reopen the factory. These were the last of the Dobro brand guitars built in the U.S., and Dobros after that have been built in China at a factory that is part of  Epiphone, a long time Gibson subsidiary. 

*Edited - I see you posted photos on your home page.  I will see if I can get them into this thread. 

Edited by - MarkinSonoma on 03/26/2024 14:10:18

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 03/26/2024:  14:33:19

The best and most clear photo is the one with the fireplace in the background, but for some reason it wouldn't "take" for me to post it here. Sally, you can share it in a post here from your phone as I explained earlier. A photo of the guitar back would be helpful as well. 

This one is fuzzy and out of focus, click on it to enlarge.

Edited by - MarkinSonoma on 03/26/2024 14:35:06

 

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 03/26/2024:  14:41:14

Gibson Dobro Serial Number, but to be taken with a grain of salt - they switched the formula at different times. 

This is a Model 60D Squareneck, the model produced in largest numbers.

The "1" after the D is supposedly the year and the last numeral "0" is the decade. Based on that I believe it is from 2001.

Looks to be in very good to excellent condition , but the photos aren't close enough and clear enough to be super accurate. 

Nashville made Dobros are a mixed bag among players and enthusiasts. Some were nice guitars, and others could be real dogs. They usually did a nice job on the outer appearance but there could be sloppy work in the interior, and the sound wasn't always there.

The coverplate is known as the "poinsettia" style which is desirable.

Check out Reverb.com and see of there are some like this for sale. Likely worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000 to $1200. But there are some  silly asking prices on that site, and I've scrolled down and found some that have been  listed for sale for months, and sometimes more than a year.   

Edited by - MarkinSonoma on 03/26/2024 15:00:51

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 03/26/2024:  15:06:49

I realize now that I deleted the part about posting a photo in the thread rather than on your home page. 

Make sure you are in Rich Text. Look below where it reads "Upload Photos." Click on that, then "Choose File." It should take you to the photo library on your phone. You should be able to figure it out from there after you select a photo - it will appear below then you can upload it to a post.