Resonator mandolin by jekky
History
National String Instrument Corporation
The resonator mandolin was developed by John Dopyera, who sought to produce a guitar that would have sufficient volume to be heard alongside brass and reed instruments. In 1927, Dopyera and George D. Beauchamp formed the National String Instrument Corporation to manufacture resonator guitars under the brand name National, adding tenor guitars, resonator mandolins and resonator ukuleles to their product line within a year.
National mandolins were produced until 1941. The company also made resophonic mandolins sold under the Supro brand.
Dobro
In 1929, Dopyera left National to form the Dobro Manufacturing Company with his brothers Rudy, Emile, Robert and Louis, Dobro being a contraction of “Dopyera Brothers” and coincidentally meaning “good” in their native Slovak language. This company primarily produced guitars, but also produced resonator mandolins and resonator ukuleles that employed a cone-and-spider resonator rather different than the one- and three-cone components of the Nationals. Dobro Manufacturing Company licensed designs and supplied trademarks and parts to a series of vendors such as Kay-Kraft, Harmony (Sears) and Regal. George D. Beauchamp retained control of the National String Instrument Corporation. The two companies clashed in court from 1931 until 1935, when the Dopyeras prevailed and the National-Dobro Corporation was formed. The company moved to Chicago in 1936-37.
Mandolins sold under the Dobro brand had wooden bodies. Mandolins sold under the National brand had metal bodies. Production of all metal-bodied resonator instruments ceased following the US entry into the Second World War in 1941.
Rudy Dopyera in particular continued to build instruments on his own throughout his lifetime, into the 1980s. He produced a few resophonic mandolins under the Safari brand name.
Variations
Fake resophonic mandolins
Some inexpensive mandolins sold during the 1930s and 1940s had a wooden top with a resonator cover plate screwed to it. These instruments had no resonator cone, nor did they have a hole cut for one. The cover plate served only as a decoration.
Blue Comet “resonator” mandolins
Blue Comet is an inexpensive 1930s brand of mandolin that featured an extra wooden sound chamber encircling the body. Somewhat resembling a banjo tone ring, this chamber contained several small soundholes with metal screen covers. While the sound chamber may indeed affect the tone or volume of the mandolin, Blue Comets do not contain resonator cones and are not truly resophonic. They are usually dark brown with F holes. Similar mandolins were sold under the Beltone brand and a couple of other brand names.
Reso-Electric
Although the original aim of the resonator was increased volume, some modern instruments incorporate electric pickups, and players add pickups to non-electric instruments, and use the resonator purely for its distinctive tone.
In 1938 and 1939, National made a limited number of “Silvo” electrics using the same triangular metal body as the Style 1 resophonic mandolin. The Silvo pickup was housed in a bakelite disc that replaced the cover plate. However, since Silvos do not have a resonator cone, they are electric but not truly resolectric.
Former and Current Manufacturers
Former Manufacturers
Dobro Manufacturing Company (USA)
Regal Musical Instrument Company (USA)
National String Instrument Corporation (USA)
National-Dobro Corporation (USA)
Rigel Instruments
Current Manufacturers
Patrick Arbuthnot (Chanticleer)
Beltona
Commodium
James Curtis
Del Vecchio (Brazil)
Donmo (Australia)
Fine Resophonic (France)
Johnson / Recording King / Republic (these are various brand names for National copies made in China)
Dave King
Bill Little (Gadgie)
John Morton
National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Inc. (USA)
Glenn Nelson (Mockingbird Music)
Ron Oates
Phillips
Kurt Schoen
Tut Taylor
Wailing Guitars (UK)
Pete Woodman (Pete Woodman Guitars)
Players
Bert Deivert
Sam Bush
Rich DelGrosso
Ry Cooder
John Kruth
David Grisman
Win Butler
See also
Mandolin
Resonator guitar
External links
Reso-Nation – Online Community For Reso-Enthusiasts.
Website for Resonance, a newsletter for resonator guitarists.
Further reading
Brozman, Bob (1993). The History and Artistry of National Resonator Instruments. United States: Centerstream Publishing (Hal Leonard). ISBN 0-931759-70-6. A very comprehensive history and overview of these pioneer resophonic instruments
Categories: Mandolin family instruments | Resophonic instruments
About the Author
I am an expert from Frbiz Site, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as skate guards, wrist stabilizer.
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