duganderson - Posted - 04/24/2025:  08:12:04

Curious what options are for a light and portable lap dobro?

Does anyone make a 6 string reso guitalele? Lightweight lap steel? etc?

SamCy - Posted - 04/24/2025:  10:16:40

Beard makes the Road-O-Phonic. It uses a mandolin spider cone, a shortened guitar spider, and a National style coverplate. It also has 3 pickups.

beardguitars.com/roadie/

wlgiii - Posted - 04/24/2025:  15:29:27

My preferred light/portable instrument is an old 30s Oahu squareneck- non-reso, but non-loud and non-heavy. It's 3/4 size, so there's a bit of adjustment to the scale, but it does quite well in its light/portable role.

They're out there; I usually see a few on Reverb.com when I browse.

SamCy - Posted - 04/24/2025:  23:35:11

Beard made a few 3/4 size resos some years back, called an E Minor, using a mandolin cone, mandolin spider, and custom coverplate. If you can find one.

 

hlpdobro - Posted - 04/25/2025:  05:43:02

Dobros are light & portable (try a banjo).

What are you trying to accomplish?

Rob OPhonic - Posted - 04/25/2025:  06:09:00

Jack Stepick a member here makes short scale Resos

wlgiii - Posted - 04/25/2025:  07:33:44

I'm with Howard on the weight- my dobro is a LOT lighter than my tricone. As for the portable part- When the car is packed with camping gear, 3/4 size + gig bag fits in a lot better than a full size in a hardshell case.

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 04/27/2025:  10:36:28

Here is an older version of the Beard website which is still available for viewing - this is the E-Minor page. I thought it was pretty cool at the time and I wouldn't mind having one now.

brian-price-p6cj.squarespace.c...nor-specs

Wildeman - Posted - 05/16/2025:  19:00:39

Not a reso but the old Hawaiian teachers of Hollywood mini square neck is a Weissenborn shaped student steel from the 20s-30s that can be had fairly cheap, and it's a lot of fun.

jacknj - Posted - 05/18/2025:  05:53:36

Check my travel size, 23" scale weissenborn style guitar in the classified section.

miktavus - Posted - 05/22/2025:  01:20:11

I've made some travel "Dobros" all with a 24" scale, but shrunk as much as possible given the constraints imposed by needing a headstock and the radius of the cover plate plus a bit at the tail end.

Details here youtube.com/channel/UCukt8nhLY...4x8k5eQFA

A further refinement to the sound of the mini mahogany one has been to ditch the two effects pedals (too bulky and weigh more than the instrument!) and use a Danelectro honeytone headphone amp which provides a bit of fixed reverb and tweakable volume boost. The non headphone output is connected to the input of the Flight Tiny amp.