Finished my scratch build square neck Dobro. Believe it or not no set up issues, sounds quite good 1mo. and $250
Looks Good! Let's hear about the build. We can see it's an L-Body but what materials did you use? Neck wood? Body wood? Guts? Hardware? Come on man let's hear some braggin' on the Bad Boy!
2Bucks you have inspired me. I have been posting photos and comments all along. But to answer you. I laminated 3 sheets of 1/16 maple veneer for the sides, birch ply for top & back. Mahogany 3x3 for neck and scarf joint. Spider bridge sound system, Klauson tuners. Thanks for you comment.
sound bytes??
Having proved the body design, do you have any plans to upgrade the cone and spider?
To be honest it sounds pretty dam good right now, So no I have build several instruments. With pretty good results and the one thing I learned is so much fuss is made over having the best this and that. I don’t think it’s important. To me it’s the construction. There are certain things that have to happen. Like this project it’s the bracing to get the cone to project and descent set up Thanks for asking
Thanks. Just wondering about the swirls embossed in the outer portion of the import spider cone. Have never seen those on other spider cones. What is your assessment of their contribution to the sound?
SamCy the first time I let my teacher play it. He was very impressed with tone quality of the cone and asked about it. I bought on eBay as a kit cone, spider, tail piece, saddle and pickup. Free shipping $50. I’m very happy with it
Hey Peter, I was just scrolling through your post and share your enthusiasm for budget home builds! I managed to complete my build on a tighter budget (see my 100 euro post above). I 100% agree regarding the good results...I'm actually surprised at how good mine sounds, using a cheap ready-made body and the same Chinese hardware you used. Admitted I'm planning to upgrade the cone and spider when funds allow. A couple of comments...I used four simple dowel pieces to support the space between the 'front and back' of the body, two near the mesh grills and two just below the bottom of the cone. No other internal baffles etc. I figured an uncluttered open space would make the most of the tone and volume?
I also sprayed mine gloss black, mainly because the cheap plywood had already had coats of stain and varnish and wouldn't absorb further stain after stripping back. The black sets off the chrome really well.
Finally, I wonder if you felt the same when you finally finished... delighted with the result, but missing the challenge and fun of the build?
Tony glad you had the experience, very rewarding. I followed Beard plans for the most part. Other than ladder bracing the back I used 4 sound post under the well and 1/8 in. thick top and bottom plywood. No plans to upgrade It rings out and with lots of sustain. Play on Peter
Happy picking! Stay safe. Tony
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