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Hey guys, I have recently gotten a hair up my a$$ to get a dobro or resonator. What should I get?? Should I get like a $400ish Fender and stick a fishman in it, or should I really spend a bit more and get a real Gibson one? I know the real ones have the square necks that need to be played like a lap steel. I am a pretty decent slide player, I just want to add a different color to my solos. I have been playing around with some old school country and southern rock stuff, so would a resonator with a normal neck be the right thing? Just need a point in the right direction.

Get one with a normal neck, not the square neck, IMO.

I've checked out most of the dobros out there, and have come to the conclusion that only the chromed bell brass ones have the sound I like....the authentic tone.
I wouldn't buy a wood one, but only because they sound too much like a regular acoustic. Of course, the Dobro Co, National, and Gibson ones are the best, but damn, they're expensive! Out of all the budget dobros like Fender, Dean etc., I've found that the best one is a Johnson. Johnson acoustic guitars are junk, but their dobros are made by a different subcontractor, out of Korea, who makes them by hand and does a great job copying real expensive vintage ones. They even offer engraving for a few bucks more. I had a friend who lent me his, for a few years, and I loved it, but he took it back. By luck, I found the exact same one, used, and only paid about $450 for it. New, they're around $680, which is still a bargain. Keep your eye on Ebay for a Johnson Resonator. The necks are high quality, and they sound just as good as dobros costing 3 times more. Way, Way better than the Deans and Fender! I just checked Ebay. Those Johnsons for $175 are no good, but I did find this one for sale.
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The one pictured is mine.I'd look for a used National Delphi on Ebay. It's a reissue of the National Duolian from the 30's. Excellant!

Also: quot;Dobroquot; guitars have the bridge connected to a spider assembly type resonator that's like a speaker cone that faces outwards. National Duolian and Triolian (and Delphi) guitars are the opposite: the cone faces inward with the bridge sitting on a maple bisquit that drives the cone like the voice coil and magnet of a speaker.

Dobro's are normally used in country and bluegrass and played only with a slide...like a lap steel. Although there are some round neck Dobros that can play like a regular guitar.

Resonators like the Duolian, Triolian and Delphi are used for blues and can be played like a normal guitar or with a bottleneck type slide worn around your finger. Those are the ones you see guys like Keb Mo and Son House playing.

They sound differant.

Lew

By the way, thanks for reminding me. I haven't played mine lately, so I'm spending the evening now with it. I used to play slide all the time, but my mind has been off them for awhile. Even if you don't own a dobro, it's cool to take any guitar and tune it to open G or D.

Out of all the budget models IMO the best are made by Regal (Saga Musical Instruments). They are probably made in the same factory as many of the other Dobro copies, but IMO the woods are better. Listen to what Lews post stated. The biscuit style vrs the Spider style bridge makes a huge difference in the tone and the amount of sustain the instrument will have. I own a Regal wood body which has the spider resonator, and I have a mid 60's Metal Dobro(?) that has a buscuit style. When it comes to brass body style resonators there is nothing that really compares to the volume, tone and clarity of a National Tricone IMO. Everything else is a long way away from that sound. There are a few things other than bridge type and wood vrs Brass. Most of the budget models use a 1 11/16th wide neck where the real Dobros and Nationals use a 1 3/4quot; neck. The wider neck offers a larger amount of string spacing so it is easier to finger pick whan playing slide. This is one of the most important differences IMO. Most slide players use the fingers of the right hand to mute other strings. If the string spacing is to close it gets real hard to do this properly (espicially if you have chubby fingers). This is the major difference between my Metal body and my wood body. The wood body strings are just a touch too close together. Even though you can get a decent Dobro for around $500.00 today, I would recommend saving a little more and buying the real thing. They just sound and play better. I also feel that National makes a much better product than Dobro does. I will not buy another resonator unless it is a National Tricone. Thats the sound I want! If you would like to see my Dobros go to my gear in my sig and check them out.