Greetings. New here.
I play clawhammer banjo and mandolin and guitar and a bit of fiddle with music friends every week and a couple of larger sessions a month. All old -time. I have played and performed a lot of other music for years but have settled on old time as the most satisfying, nothing like getting into a groove.
At 73 years old my aging body isn't liking the pressures and wear and tear on my left wrist. I am in pain after I play for a couple of hours. I have tried a lap guitar setup using that adaptor nut, and there is no pressure or pain from this left hand position. So I am adding a lap dobro to my arsenal anticipating the future and my desire to keep banging out the tunes without pain as long as I can.
Question: In looking at various resonator models I see varying widths of the nut. I know it's relative to each player, but is there any general consensus that wider is better? I can see how that might be good for angling the bar for chords. Right now I am looking at two used Gold Tone models with really differing nut widths, 1.975 (1 15/16") and 1.634 (about 1 5/8"). My hands are large-ish. Any general feedback on nut width would be welcome. And any general ideas about first purchase welcome, too. I've done some searching on here already and have ideas.
Thanks,
Carlos
Is one of those GT’s sq neck and one round?
I have never seen 1 5/8 spacing on a squareneck . Way too narrow. 1 15/16 is fine.
The Beard spec is 1 7/8
h
quote:
Originally posted by skydogIs one of those GT’s sq neck and one round?
Both are square neck. I called the dealer and he will get back to me to confirm that measurement. Update - they remeasured and it is indeed standard 1 7/8" width nut.
Edited by - carlosoly on 07/03/2026 09:59:35
quote:
Originally posted by hlpdobroI have never seen 1 5/8 spacing on a squareneck . Way too narrow. 1 15/16 is fine.
The Beard spec is 1 7/8
h
Thanks for the confirmation. I called the dealer and they remeasured it at 1 7/8.
Edited by - carlosoly on 07/03/2026 10:00:40
I’d look for a new dealer
quote:
Originally posted by skydogI’d look for a new dealer
Nope, this one's reliable. (I don't want to give the name out. ) They deal with these instruments all the time. It was just a glitch. The guy on the phone texted me right away and was thankful I caught it. In fact I may ask for a discount (if I decide to buy.)
quote:
Originally posted by carlosolyquote:
Originally posted by skydogI’d look for a new dealer
Nope, this one's reliable. (I don't want to give the name out. ) They deal with these instruments all the time. It was just a glitch. The guy on the phone texted me right away and was thankful I caught it. In fact I may ask for a discount (if I decide to buy.)
Don't let your strings get dusty.
Carlos, you can't go wrong with a Gold Tone/Beard reso. And since the confusion is cleared up regarding nut width - wide is what you want.
A popular alternative, and nowadays more bang for the buck since the Gold Tones have taken some serious price increases in the past several years is the Recording King Phil Leadbetter Signature model. Very nice guitar for the money though it has gone up in price as well. The only real negative, though some folks are fine with it, is the guitar comes with a 1 3/4 inch nut. A little tight on the string spacing, especially if you have big hands. They flat screwed up because the two lower priced RK squarenecks were spec'd with 1 15/16 inch nuts. Quite a few players have done nut conversions on the Leadbetter to make it wider and though I guess it works okay, to me these wider nuts on a somewhat narrow neck look awkward.
I've never been part of the old time scene here in Northern California so my knowledge of clawhammer banjo is pretty basic. I do know that some players use picks of different kinds but it seems most clawhammer players don't.
You may already have the next part covered: If you're a clawhammer player with bare fingers on your picking hand, unless you're only playing dobro quietly in your living room, along with a groove-on-top dobro bar, you will want to invest in thumbpicks and fingerpicks. The picks give you power and volume, with the heavyish strings and picking reasonably hard to "excite" the cone, the picks are a must to get pleasing tone.
quote:
Originally posted by skydogDon't let your strings get dusty.
I have no intention of letting them dusty or rusty. Good advice.
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