incoming pre-war regal/dobro GAS

[WezV]

well, i have been after a reso for a while - mainly for a bit of slide/lap playing and noticed this on ebay last week.  the auction just finished and all being well it will be on its way to me soon


its a pre-war regal dobro

after a few searches i found the previous owner had asked about it on the Michael Messer forum and had it dated to 1934ish.  certainly no later than 1937.  Michael also suggested a good deal would be about £500 with it easily doubling that in a guitar shop, so at £411 i am pretty happy - its about what i was looking at spending on a new one

So, its obviously a basic model and not the prettiest reso out there, but it doesnt really matter with reso's, some argue that the laminated ones are much better for the bluesier stuff anyway.  the odd things are the wooden cover and the stella 'idento' tail piece, both of which are original to the guitar but a version like this was not really ever advertised as far as anyone can tell. 

at the time regal were making dobro's under license, buying all the metal arts from dobro so best guess is that they had a shortage of the chromed parts from dobro and decided to improvise (stella were also chicago based which explains the tail piece)... they were knocking them out so fast back then it would not surprise anyone. 

i did find some pics and clips of a similar (but earlier) wooden covered one  and if mine sounds anything like this i will be happy :)
http://pickinparlor.nationalguitar.com/_Rain-38-Thunder-Bottleneck-Blues/audio/689719/51645.html
http://pickinparlor.nationalguitar.com/_Regal-Dobro-193039s-/photo/8752882/51645.html

[WezV]

now why would i go and post it in this section :?

[HTH AMPS]

looks great Wez, I love a bit dobro action - been a while since I've played acoustic blues, would love a dobro and get back into that.  our bass player played me something on his ipod that we recorded around 8-10 years ago, one room mic, very bluesy, will see if I can dig it out and post a copy.

[WezV]

yeah, go ahead

i also have a ceramic slide coming which should be interesting
http://www.stoneslides.com/

i am more used to lapsteel and am kinda used to a heavy chromed steel and think it does a lot for the tone having something so heavy, but i want to try non-lap slide playing with this and i dont like the idea of a heavy brass or steel slide hanging from my finger - apparently the ceramic has the tone without the weight so it should be interesting

[Telerocker]

Looks very nice! I'm not a slideplayer, but I love Ry Cooder.

[Ian Price]

Looks good Wez although the guitar does look rather sad with those tea bag strainer eyes and hand support thing.

[DavidRees]

Wez if you don't get one with the ceramic - Ian McWee at Diamond Bottlenecks is your friend - lots of options - mail him to discuss what your going to be playing and how and you will get the best advice ever. His work really is that good!  8)

[WezV]

yeah, i looked at the diamond stuff, it was my first option but the website was not working right and i wanted to get one ordered in

[38thBeatle]

Great stuff Wez- looks to be a bargain.

[AndyR]

Nice one Wez, looks well righteous :D

On the slides, try a bunch - they're like picks, none are "better", just different. After trying all sorts, I seem to have settled on a set that's out all the time: clear glass, chromed steel, brass. Funnily enough, they're all standard Dunlops (although my old piece of brass pipe a drummer cut for me in the 80s is still there ready as well). I find I need glass and the two metals available for the different tones I want.

However, the more expensive diamonds, mudslides, etc, that I tried over the years are all back in the slides box gathering dust :lol:

[WezV]

i remember one i had was thin aluminium given out free on the cover of a guitar mag.  cant see anyone being convinced to learn slide after using aluminium though.  its a stupid material for the job

i have a brass one somewhere and seem to remember it feeling scratchy - maybe just needs a good polish

[PhilKing]

it looks like an interesting guitar.  I've tried brass & ceramic slides, but I've realised that I'm not really a slide player!  I like the lap steels a lot more for slide.  However I'd like a Dobro for acoustic playing.

[choucas09]

Great find and price, I'd love to have that. Judging from the sound clip I think a ceramic slide will suit it very well. I've got all sorts of slides, but only use ceramic these days. I love the tone and playability (lightness) of them and don't particularly miss the big sustain I get from my chunky metal ones.

 Things have improved quite a bit strings wise for resonators with a lot of choice now esp if you shop on the American net including exotics like silver plated reso strings. I'm going to go over to Elixir's log life ones as if it's not your everyday style they'll pay dividends.

[HTH AMPS]

i have a brass one somewhere and seem to remember it feeling scratchy - maybe just needs a good polish

thats exactly how my fave brass slide sounds, but thats what I like about it.

my heavy glass slide is much smoother and purer in the 'note' you get - and gives more sustain.

my small aluminium slide is only for electric playing and is very lightweight, maybe only 1.25" long.

ain't got any ceramic ones so can't comment.

[ToneMonkey]

Nice find Wez.  I've never really been a fan of that finish to be honest as I've always thought it looks a bit like an ashtray I used to own  :lol:

I can vouch for Ian at Diamond too, he's a friend of a friend and a top bloke (but being so feckless, I haven't seen either of them for a couple of years).  Incidentally, speaking of being feckless, an envelope containing a neck plate has turned up in my house again.  I'm fairly sure it's been posted twice now, but the bloody thing keeps hanging around.  I'll take it up to the post office and wave it off next time.