Gottasmilealot - Posted - 01/27/2009:  20:51:29

Give me your opinion as to how this instrument compares to others in the price range for a beginner's dobro.

janetdavismusic.com/gibson_del..._dog.html

Thanks,

jaykellogg - Posted - 01/28/2009:  03:30:49

I like the Beard Gold Tone and the Wechter Sheerhorn better. The Wechter guitars are all laminater (plywood), but some of the Gold Tones are solid mahogany. The Wechter guitars have a bit more modern sound and the beards have a more traditional sound. The Whechter Guitars are imported bodies set up in the USA by luthiers trained by Tim Sheerhorn. The Beards are set up in two locations. Some are done at the Gold Tone facility in Florida by luthiers trained by Paul Beard and others are done at the Beard facility in Maryland by luthiers trained by Paul Beard. If I had my choice I would go with a Gold Tone solid mahogany set up in Maryland.

W. Jay Kellogg

Philsweep - Posted - 01/28/2009:  09:55:34

I bought a Gibson hounddog as my first reso guitar. I love the tone it is a bit on the mellow side. It stays in tune and seems to be well built. I bought this through a local music store and got a better deal than at Janet Davis but the local shop always beats everyone on price. The only other resonator I've played was a Scheerhorn which blew it out of the water ,wow ,but at $6500 I'll keep what I have for now. I haven't played any other entry level dobro's so I really can't compare just tell you that I like what I have.
Phil

El Dobro - Posted - 01/28/2009:  17:30:32

If you want to keep costs down, they're fine. Just depends on what you want to spend.

Don
myspace.com/eldobro
myspace.com/pasttimesband
pasttimesbluegrassband.com
youtube.com/user/pasttimesbluegrass

Gottasmilealot - Posted - 01/28/2009:  19:07:23

Thanks for the help. I heard the one with the f holes, and it sounded good. The Gold Tone's seem to be highly regarded in the price range. Decisions, decisions.

Gottasmilealot - Posted - 02/09/2009:  08:03:40

Oh well, I ended up buying this: cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...290318003

It seems like a reasonable setup to get started with. Thanks for all your help.

Arrowsmit - Posted - 02/09/2009:  13:54:04

Nice! Congrats on your new guitar.

Vic




The more I learn about playing this crazy thing the more I realize how very little I know about it...

El Dobro - Posted - 02/10/2009:  06:40:34

Looks like you got a darn good deal.

Don
myspace.com/eldobro
myspace.com/pasttimesband
pasttimesbluegrassband.com
youtube.com/user/pasttimesbluegrass

jaykellogg - Posted - 02/10/2009:  08:41:14

The one I had on my lap was a dream to play. (It wasn't mine).

W. Jay Kellogg

Gottasmilealot - Posted - 02/10/2009:  09:39:47

I can't figure out why no one bid on it. Everything appears to be new, and the guitar sounds great. I'm happy. Ebay can be good.

El Dobro - Posted - 02/10/2009:  10:25:03

Could just be the economy. I've seen some pretty good deals popping up on eBay.

Don
myspace.com/eldobro
myspace.com/pasttimesband
pasttimesbluegrassband.com
youtube.com/user/pasttimesbluegrass

Roy Lardbean - Posted - 04/07/2009:  15:17:10

I owned a Hound Dog squareneck for about an hour. When I played it in the store it played really well. When I got home I discovered that it was not tuned up to pitch (electronic tuner). I tuned it up good and proper and within an hour the neck/body joint started to separate, ... well crack actually! I took it back to the dealer and they took it back with no argument once they saw the crack. Now I probably just had a bad one, I really liked the sound and how it felt to play. The finish however looked really cheap. As things turned out I found a near mint '78 60DS for a great price shortly after that, but I most likely would have gone for the Gold Tone Beard.