A resonator mandolin or "resophonic mandolin" is a

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

whose sound is produced by one or more metal cones (''

resonator A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior. That is, it naturally oscillates with greater amplitude at some frequencies, called resonant frequencies, than at other frequencies. The oscillations in a resonator ...

s'') instead of the customary wooden soundboard (mandolin top/face). These instruments are sometimes referred to as "

Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

mandolins," after pioneering instruments designed and produced by the Dopyera Brothers, which evolved into a brand name. The trademark "Dobro" is currently the property of the

Gibson Guitar Corporation Gibson Brands, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation) is an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was forme ...

. When Gibson acquired the trademark in 1993, they announced that they would defend their right to its exclusive use. The resonator mandolin was developed in parallel with the

resonator guitar A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through the bridge to one or more spun metal cones (resonators), instead of to the guitar's sounding board (top). Resonator gui ...

. The resonator guitar was originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars. A resonator mandolin is generally somewhat louder than a standard wooden mandolin, and has a different tone quality and distinctive appearance. Though resonator guitars are often played flat in the lap

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

style, resonator mandolins are almost exclusively played in the conventional manner.

History

National String Instrument Corporation

The resonator mandolin was developed by

John Dopyera John Dopyera ( Slovak: ''Ján Dopjera''; 1893–1988) was a Slovak-American inventor and entrepreneur, and a maker of stringed instruments. His inventions include the resonator guitar and important contributions in the early development of the ...

, 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 ukulele A resonator ukulele or "resophonic ukulele" is a ukulele whose sound is produced by one or more spun aluminum cones (''resonators'') instead of the wooden Sound board (music), soundboard (ukulele top/face). These instruments are sometimes referre ...

s 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 Slovak () , is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, written in Latin script. It is part of the Indo-European language family, and is one of the Slavic languages, which are part of the larger Balto-Slavic branch. Spoken by appro ...

. This company primarily produced guitars, but also produced resonator mandolins and

s that employed a cone-and-spider resonator rather different from 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 manufactured by the Regal Musical Instrument Company in Chicago, Il 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.

Manufacturers

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

* National Reso-Phonic * Regal * Beltona * Rigel Instruments * Commodium * James Curtis * Del Vecchio * Donmo * Fine Resophonic * Patrick Arbuthnot (Chanticleer) * Dave King * Bill Little * John Morton * Glenn Nelson * Ron Oates * Phillips * Republic Guitars * Kurt Schoen * Tut Taylor * Wailing Guitars * Pete Woodman Guitars

Players

* Bert Deivert *

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. ...

Rich DelGrosso Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling **Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

John Kruth John Kruth is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist best known for his highly energetic “Banshee Mandolin” style of playing. He has also worked as a music journalist and has authored several book about popular music. Biography He is al ...

David Grisman David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

Win Butler Edwin Farnham Butler III (born April 14, 1980) is an American-Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist. He co-founded the Montreal-based indie rock band Arcade Fire with his wife Régine Chassagne. Early life Butler was ...

* Steve James

References

* — A comprehensive history and overview of these pioneer resophonic instruments

External links

Reso-Nation - Online Community For Reso-Enthusiasts. Website for ''Resonance'', a newsletter for resonator guitarists.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Resonator Mandolin Mandolin family instruments Resophonic instruments