New Dobro Idea

Subject: RE: New Dobro Idea
From: Lonesome Gillette
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 11:38 AM

Hey Mark, I guess you are right. The nut side cone would mainly only amplify the open strings, and to a lesser degree the leftover short strings on the nut side of the slide when you are "fretting" that you didn't dampen. Oh well, I didn't cut any wood yet. Eric

Subject: RE: New Dobro Idea
From: Mark Clark
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 07:23 PM

I don't know... It seems to me that the only notes sounding at the nut end would be the occasional open string. The strings between the nut and the slide are normally damped with the heel of the hand. That technique should prevent string vibration from reaching the nut. If the strings being sounded aren't damped one would expect the note at the nut to be determined by the string length minus the note at the bridge. My guess is that the whole thing would sound dreadful.

If you're interested in strange Dobro-like instruments, a friend of mine, Roger Anderson, builds specalized "resophonic" instruments including Banjos. People are already recording with his instruments. He has made five, ten and nine stringed resophonic banjos with outstanding results.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: New Dobro Idea
From: Lonesome Gillette
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 03:06 PM

wdyat12, No, I don't want to patent it . I've looked into patents for my other goofy musical contraptions and it seemed like too much of a pain to get involved in. There is one thing I would like to patent but it's expensive to do, or so I've been told.

Murry, I was over at MIMF today myself but everything was loading so slowly that I never got around to posting this idea.
I built a dobro before that was teardrop shaped, sort of Weissenborn like but the only curve on the sides went around the cone, the sides then angled up to the headstock. I put a fingerboard on just for position reference. It's on my website : www.guitarmachine.com
I don't know why I'd like to try this two cone thing. Just for fun I guess. Maybe it would sound cool because of some kind of phase thing that would happen with the two sound sources, or maybe it would just be louder, I don't know.

Eric

Subject: RE: New Dobro Idea
From: wdyat12
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 02:27 PM

Lonesome Gillette,

What would the atvantage be to install a cone arrangement at the nut? Just curious. If this is something you want to patent, I will understand silence. wdyat12

Subject: RE: New Dobro Idea
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 01:57 PM

I see no reason why this would not work. It would kinda sorta be like a Weissenborn. With your permission Eric I will post this on the MIMF forum where I am a member, or you can go to mimf.com and post it yourself.

Murray

Subject: New Dobro Idea
From: Lonesome Gillette
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 08:15 AM

I was thinking about a new kind of bluegrass Dobro type instrument It would have TWO dobro style cone arrangements, one at the bridge like normal and one at the NUT, there would be no neck, just a big body of some kind.There might need to be some sort of fret position markers rigged up and the tuning pegs might be a little tricky but otherwise would be an easy instrument to build. Any thoughts? Eric