Posted by tomw on June 20, 2002, 10:02 pm
Hey, Phil, I posted a response or two on the other bb...I'll give it a shot here, too. One thing about your Delphi, it's *steel* bodied. If your Dobro is brass (check it w/ a magnet...I don't know much about post wwII Dobros) that accounts for a large part of the different sound, especially when you talk about more volume and use the word 'crisper'. Another factor in the sound difference is the quality of the aluminum cone itself. The one in the National is probably a good one, as the guys who recently bought National also purchased a large portion of the old machinery from pre-WWII. I'm guessing here, maybe someone else knows, but the National cone is possibly spun on same machine w/ same tolerances as the original Nationals. Dobro may be a lesser quality cone, resulting in different sound. Setup is another factor in the sound of these instruments. Since you now have a 'small' collection, you should buy Bob Brozman's book on the National Guitar Company to learn the fascinating history of these guitars, the players, plus how to set them up correctly! I personally like the sound of prewar brass Dobros for finger style guitar playing w/o slide. I recently bought one but it needs a neck set, but I've played others that I liked.
Ari plays a National Delphi for some of his gary Davis and BB Fuller stuff if I'm not mistaken.
--Previous Message--
: You may recall some exchanges a few months ago
: when I was defending my Dobro for playing
: BBF blues. This Dobro has a bisuit bridge
: like the Nationals and is made of bell
: brass. Some of you told me to get rid of
: the Dobro. Well I have not dome that but I
: have bought a National Delphi and it
: sounds great. More volume and crisper than
: the Dobro. I stand corrected. But given
: the same bridge and cone set up why such a
: difference in te sound?
: Phil
:
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