Exploring the Resonator Guitar: A Beloved Instrument in the Bluegrass Scene

(headline image: Gold Tone Paul Beard Signature Series PBR Roundneck resonator guitar)

A resonator guitar, also known as a resophonic guitar, is a type of acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through one or more spun metal cones, known as resonators, instead of through the guitar’s sounding board or top, as in a traditional acoustic guitar. Originally designed to be louder than regular acoustic guitars, resonator guitars were developed to overcome the challenge of being drowned out by other instruments such as horns and percussion in dance orchestras. Despite their original purpose, resonator guitars gained popularity for their unique and distinct tone, and found a home in bluegrass and blues music, even after the advent of electric amplification, which solved the issue of inadequate volume.

Resonator guitars come in two styles: square-necked guitars played in the lap steel guitar style and round-necked guitars played in the conventional guitar style or steel guitar style. There are three primary resonator designs: the tricone, with three metal cones, originally designed by the first National company; the single-cone “biscuit” design of other National instruments; and the single inverted-cone design, also known as a spider bridge, found in Dobro brand instruments and instruments that emulate the Dobro design. Numerous variations of these designs have been produced under various brand names.

The body of a resonator guitar may be crafted from wood, metal, or occasionally other materials. Typically, there are two main sound holes, positioned on either side of the fingerboard extension. In single-cone models, the sound holes are typically either circular or f-shaped and symmetrical. The older tricone design has irregularly shaped sound holes. Cutaway body styles may truncate or omit the lower f-hole.

Dobro, a resonator guitar brand under the ownership of Gibson, is exclusively manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term “dobro” has also become a generic reference for any single-cone resonator guitar made of wood. Initially, Dobro was established as a guitar manufacturing company by the skilled Dopyera brothers, who designed a guitar that featured a solitary resonator cone facing outward. This unique innovation was introduced as a rival to the inward-facing tricone and biscuit designs that were predominant in the National String Instrument Corporation at the time.

The Great Dobro Sessions

“The Great Dobro Sessions” is a renowned country and bluegrass album released in 1994, produced by dobro players Jerry Douglas and Tut Taylor. It features ten American resonator guitar players, including Mike Auldridge, Curtis Burch, Jerry Douglas, Josh Graves, Rob Ickes, Pete “Bashful Brother Oswald” Kirby, Stacy Phillips, Tut Taylor, Sally Van Meter, and Gene Wooten. The album won the Best Bluegrass Album award at the 1994 Grammy Awards. Many of the artists featured on the album are highly regarded in the music industry and have made significant contributions to the development of the resonator guitar in different genres of music. Some artists, including Auldridge, Kirby, Phillips, and Wooten, have since passed away.

The New Reso Gathering

“The New Reso Gathering,” a music album produced by the renowned Farm Hands member, Tim Graves, presented some of the finest resophonic guitar and dobro players in the world at the time. This set, released through Pinecastle Records on June 12th, 2020, brought together the expertise and experience of prominent musicians in the bluegrass genre.

The album’s inspiration traces back to The Great Dobro Sessions. Eager to capture a similar ambiance in contemporary times, the recipient of the prestigious Master Gold “Dobro Player Award” assembled a group of twelve resophonic guitar players. The New Reso Gathering features a mix of both iconic and emerging dobro players, amplifying the album’s eclectic and dynamic nature.

The eminent musicians who lent their talent to The New Reso Gathering are Tim Graves, Fred Travers, Greg Booth, Greg Blaylock, Mike Webb, Matt Despain, Andy Hall, Brent Burke, Al Goll, Rex Wiseman, Kim Gardner, and Justin Moses. Their exceptional skills have resulted in a harmonious and unique album that celebrates the art of the resophonic guitar and dobro.

Leading Resonator Guitar Players

Abbie Gardner

Abbie Gardner, a musician hailing from Jersey City, New Jersey, is a dobro virtuoso, vocalist and composer who exudes a captivating aura through her charming smile. Her performances, whether as a solo artist or as part of the Americana harmony trio Red Molly, are distinguished by her exceptional slide guitar technique that underscores her poignant tales of love and heartbreak. Gardner’s solo performances center on the dobro as a lead instrument, deftly transitioning between a robust rhythmic foundation and scintillating lead lines that complement her vocals and compositions. On May 13, 2022, Gardner unveiled her latest recording, DobroSinger. The album was recorded in Gardner’s residence, devoid of studio manipulation or accompanying musicians.

Alexander “Sasha” Ostrovsky

Alexander “Sasha” Ostrovsky is a renowned musician from Russia known for his skillful playing of slide instruments such as dobro, steel guitar, and lap steel. He rose to fame as a member of the band Bering Strait, which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2003 and gained worldwide recognition for their traditional bluegrass sound. After the band disbanded in 2006, Sasha became heavily involved in session work and side projects, collaborating with various artists in the studio and on the road. He has since shared the stage and studio with several prominent musicians and continues to tour the world with country star Darius Rucker while doing session work in various Nashville studios. His versatility in multiple genres and proficiency with slide instruments has made him one of the most sought-after musicians in the industry.

Al Goll

Al Goll is a Dobro player who has been active in Nashville for the past decades. He has played with Leftover Salmon, Hayseed Dixie, and other artists. He is also an adjunct professor of Dobro at Belmont Academy of Music and has performed at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Goll has toured extensively in the US and Europe playing various genres of music, including country, bluegrass, and Hawaiian.

Andy Hall

Andy Hall is a musician and founding member of The Infamous Stringdusters, an acclaimed progressive bluegrass band. He has released several solo albums and played with many famous musicians. He won various awards, including the IBMA award for Instrumental Album Of the Year. Andy also teaches resonator guitar lessons through the online platform, ArtistWorks. His latest solo album, Squareneck Soul, features 10 instrumental bluegrass songs, with a guest feature by Billy Strings.

Billy Cardine

Billy Cardine is a slide guitar pioneer who has played at major venues and festivals around the world. He has collaborated with many renowned musicians, including John Paul Jones and Jerry Douglas. Cardine is also an award-winning engineer and producer, and his works have been featured on various television programs. He is a respected educator known for his gentle and thorough teaching approach, and he has taught in various countries. Additionally, Cardine is an innovator who helped design Moog Music’s first electric slide guitar. He has launched a prolific solo career and has collaborated with various groups and artists.

Bob Brozman (1954 – 2013)

Bob Brozman was an American guitarist and ethnomusicologist born in New York in 1954. He began playing the guitar when he was six and was known for playing National resonator instruments from the 1920s and 1930s, as well as Weissenborn-style hollow-neck acoustic steel guitars. Brozman was also an adjunct professor at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and a member of R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders from 1978 until his death in 2013. He authored a book on National Guitars called “The History and Artistry of National Resonator Instruments“.

Brent Burke

Brent Burke, who was raised by his grandparents in Pell City, Alabama, began playing guitar at the age of five. He was the first person to graduate from East Tennessee State University with a degree in Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music, which he completed in 2011. Brent’s musical skills were developed by jamming with his family band, Bluegrass Special Band, and listening to cassette tapes of Josh Graves. In addition to his studies, he played in the band Next Best Thing and toured with Rhonda Vincent’s band, The Rage, after graduation. Brent’s dream came true when he performed at the historical Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Ole Opry, both in 2011.

Cindy Cashdollar

Cindy Cashdollar is a talented musician who began her musical journey in Woodstock, New York, surrounded by talented musicians. She quickly gained recognition for her skill on the Dobro and lap steel and collaborated with renowned musicians such as Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Willie Nelson. She toured with Asleep At The Wheel for nine years, winning five Grammy Awards, and later collaborated with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Dave Alvin. Cashdollar has also released a solo album and created instructional videos. Her contributions to Western Swing Music have earned her several awards, and she has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. After 23 years in Austin, Texas, she returned to her roots in Woodstock.

Curtis Burch

Curtis Burch learned to play guitar from his father at the age of 10 and had a family band growing up. He joined and left the Bluegrass Alliance in 1971 to form New Grass Revival with bandmates Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, and Ebo Walker. Burch stayed with New Grass for 10 years, put out 6 albums, and toured worldwide with many notable performers. He performed on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion show and toured with Leon Redbone. Burch recorded with Norman Blake on the “O’ Brother Where Art Thou?” soundtrack CD, which won 5 Grammys. He is currently performing and recording with David Via of Virginia, and with his wife and brother in different projects.

Donna Herula

Donna Herula is a blues singer, songwriter, and resonator slide guitarist from Chicago who has been inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame. Her music blends traditional and contemporary blues styles. Her album “Bang at the Door” won “Best Acoustic Blues Album” at the 2022 Independent Blues Awards, and her original song of the same name won “Best AAA/Alternative Song” at the 2022 International Acoustic Music Awards. Donna was also named “Artist of the Year” at the 2021 Doc’s Blues Awards in the UK. The album received widespread critical acclaim and was featured on several “Best of 2021” lists from various publications and music charts. Her songs have also been played multiple times on the BBC and SiriusXM’s BB King’s Bluesville.

Eric Sardinas

Eric Sardinas is an American blues-rock slide guitarist known for his live performances and use of the electric resonator guitar. He was born on November 10, 1970, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sardinas started playing guitar at the age of six and was influenced by Delta blues legends such as Charlie Patton, Bukka White, Big Bill Broonzy, Elmore James, and Muddy Waters. He has performed on the Bo Diddley tribute album and was signed to Steve Vai’s Favored Nations record label. In 2008, he released “Eric Sardinas and Big Motor” on Favored Nations in the U.S.

Fred Travers

Fred Travers is a highly respected dobro player and accomplished vocalist in the bluegrass circuit. He is currently playing for The Scene and was previously a member of the Gary Ferguson Band and the Paul Adkins Band. Travers learned to play the dobro from Mike Auldridge and joined the Seldom Scene in 1995, replacing Auldridge. He is known for his engaging vocals on Seldom Scene favorites such as “Walk Through This World With Me” and “From This Moment On.”

Gene Wooten (1953–2001)

Gene Wooten was an American dobro player and multi-instrumentalist, born on June 5, 1953, in Franklinton, North Carolina. He became serious about music while studying at Appalachian State University and moved to Nashville in 1977. Wooten played with many famous Bluegrass stars, including the Osborne Brothers and Del and Ronnie McCoury. He won a Grammy Award for his work on the all-star dobro album The Great Dobro Sessions. He was a member of the Country Gazette and the Sidemen, the house band of musicians at the Station Inn in Nashville. Wooten was named dobro player of the year by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America for three years. He recorded one solo album and was known for his craftsmanship with wooden instruments. Wooten passed away on November 7, 2001, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Greg Blaylock

Greg Blaylock is a skilled dobro player who has performed for large audiences. He began learning guitar at age 8 from his grandfather, who taught him the dobro and banjo in subsequent years. Blaylock won talent shows and a state championship as a teen, and went on a tour sponsored by the Southern Arts Federation at age 17. He has toured with various bands over the years, including Tina Adair and the Dale Ann Bradley Band. Blaylock has also appeared on the album The New Reso Gathering.

Greg Booth

Greg Booth is a musician who started with the banjo and then moved on to the pedal steel guitar in Alaska during the oil boom of the 70s and 80s. He played up to 7 nights a week and 7 hours a night, which allowed him to develop a unique style. After picking up the dobro, he quickly gained success, winning the RockyGrass dobro competition after only one year of playing. He has a popular YouTube channel with over 10,000 subscribers and has taught at many music camps. He currently plays the dobro and banjo with the Kathy Kallick Band and has appeared on six of their albums.

Ivan Rosenberg

Ivan Rosenberg is a musician who gained a dedicated following for his recordings of melodic, expressive acoustic music on dobro and clawhammer banjo. He has played on several CDs and co-written the 2009 Song of the Year for which he earned an IBMA Award. He has also engineered and co-produced recordings for various artists and performed throughout North America with musicians such as Chris Coole and Chris Jones. Ivan is also in high demand as an instructor and has taught at music workshops such as Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamp and the Grand Targhee Music Camp. He learned to play dobro mostly from records and only had a few lessons. He was a part of various bands, the first being Widow’s Creek where he played guitar, banjo, and dobro. Likewise, he also played with “The Crazy Water String Band,” which toured the Czech Republic.

Jerry Douglas

Jerry Douglas is a renowned and highly influential American Dobro and lap steel guitar player, as well as a record producer. He has won fourteen Grammys and is considered one of the most innovative recording artists in American roots music. Douglas has played on over 1,600 albums, collaborating with a diverse range of artists such as Garth Brooks, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Mumford & Sons, and Elvis Costello. He has also produced albums for numerous artists and is the co-director of the Transatlantic Sessions. Douglas is a member of Alison Krauss and Union Station and also leads his own bands, The Jerry Douglas Band and The Earls of Leicester. In 2004, he was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts in the United States.

Jimmy Heffermnan

Jimmy Heffernan is a highly respected Nashville session player, sideman, and producer known for his skill with the resonator guitar. He has been active in the professional music industry for nearly thirty years, playing with various bands and artists such as Joe Diffie and Brad Paisley. Jimmy has also collaborated with Dobro® legend Mike Auldridge and pedal steel guitar ace Hal Rugg on the classic album, The Resocasters. These days, Jimmy is devoting more time to teaching Dobro workshops and has recently taught in England and Munich.

Johnny Bellar

Johnny Bellar is a highly skilled musician who specializes in playing resophonic and lap steel guitars. He began his career by winning his first dobro competition shortly after graduating from high school. He went on to perform with the Stoneman Family for 10 years, appearing on several popular music shows. Bellar has also performed or recorded with other artists such as Tommy Cash, Wilma Lee Cooper, Faith Hill, and Boxcar Willie. He won the National Resonator Guitar Championship in 2005 and was inducted into the Old-Time Music Hall of Fame in 2007. The Guitar Journal also voted him one of the top twenty dobro players in the world in 2014. Bellar’s performances have spanned across a variety of genres including children’s music, bluegrass, traditional country, classical, and gospel.

John Fairhurst

John Fairhurst is a musician from Wigan, UK, who has spent his life traveling and playing music, collecting stories and drawing inspiration from varied musical styles and experiences. He has released five albums over the last decade. His music is described as heavy blues for heavy times and is influenced by the discontent felt in the western world. He believes that as an artist, he is duty-bound to comment on the times in which we live and face them head-on. He has performed in various venues and festivals around the world, and his music continues to expand from its blues basis through collaborations with musicians from different cultural backgrounds.

Josh Graves (1927–2006)

Josh Graves was an American bluegrass musician born in 1927 and known for introducing the resonator guitar into bluegrass music. He joined the Foggy Mountain Boys in 1955 and was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1997. He also performed with the cast of In the Heat of the Night for a Christmas CD called “Christmas Time’s A Comin'” released in the early 1990s.

Josh Swift

Josh Swift is an accomplished bluegrass Dobro player who won the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Dobro Player of the Year award in 2017. He was a member of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver for 12 years. He has received multiple award nominations, including two GRAMMY nominations in 2016 and 2017 for his work with the band. Furthermore, he owns a recording studio called Cowbell Fever Studios, where he produces and engineers many recordings. Moreover, he also endorses his own Signature Series Model of Resophonic Guitars. Swift began his music career performing in gospel music with his parents as a child and later joined Set Apart and Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain before joining Doyle Lawson. He is a dedicated promoter of bluegrass music and his hometown of Sparta, Tennessee, where his studio is located. Currently, he plays with The Isaccs and Lyle Lovett while also being an experienced multi-instrument recording artist and producer.

Justin Moses

Justin Moses is a multi-instrumentalist who is known for his versatility in acoustic music. He is a Nashville session musician and has played with various artists such as Alison Krauss, Garth Brooks, Emmylou Harris, and many others. He started his musical journey playing the mandolin at the age of six and later became a part of various bands. Not only that, but he has performed on national TV shows such as The Late Show and The Today Show and has also been honored by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Justin is married to Sierra Hull, a renowned mandolin player and singer-songwriter, and the duo often performs together. He has been named the IBMA Dobro Player of the Year twice. Justin recently signed with Mountain Fever Records and released his album “Fall Like Rain” in January 2021.

Lou Wamp

Lou Wamp is a musician who has been playing instruments since childhood. He studied music at Cadek Conservatory and fine art at the University of Tennessee. He fell in love with the resonator guitar in the late 70s and has since toured in various bands. Likewise, he has performed at many festivals and was asked to be on the faculty at Reso Summit in Nashville in 2009. In 2005, he released a CD of mostly original music called “ResOlution“. Lou Wamp works as a musician, teaches dobro lessons and workshops, and performs regularly in the southeast.

Luboš Novotný

Lubos Novotny is a renowned dobro player from Czech Republic, known for his work with the folk band Duo Cis and newgrass group Prudusky. He has been named “Dobro Player of the Year” several times by different festivals and associations, and has released two solo recordings. Lubos also performs with a group called Testify. He has won the “Best Dobro Player” award from the Bluegrass Association of the Czech Republic every year from 2000-2006.

Martin Gross

Martin Gross is a German virtuoso resonator guitar player who started playing guitar when he was 15 years old. After learning different techniques and styles, he fell in love with fingerpicking and ragtime in 1975. He had his first experience with the Dobro in 1977, which led him to buy his first Dobro in 1978 and his first square neck in 1979. Martin Gross played with several bands throughout his career, including Southern Comfort, The Paper Pardners, and Hard Times. He recorded his first solo CD in 2004, and he continues to play with The Four Potatoes and Phoenix Stringband. Martin Gross also participated in the Sore Fingers Week in 2007.

Matt Despain

Matt DeSpain is a musician who is known for his skillful playing of the dobro. He has been a member of several bluegrass bands over the years, including American Driver and Wildfire, and has also played on numerous recordings by other artists.

Mike Auldridge (1938–2012)

Mike Auldridge was an American Dobro player and graphic artist who was a founding member of The Seldom Scene, a bluegrass group. He was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Maryland. Auldridge began playing guitar at the age of 13 and was inspired by his uncle, a steel guitarist who had performed with Jimmie Rodgers during the 1920s. He worked as a graphic artist until the Washington Star-News folded in 1981, after which he began playing music full-time. Auldridge died on December 29, 2012, at the age of 73, after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. He was a four-time Grammy nominee and won numerous awards, including Frets Magazine’s “Dobro Player of the Year” and the National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Mike Webb

Mike Webb is a musician from rural Tennessee who learned to play dobro and banjo from the late Bashful Brother Oswald, a longtime member of Roy Acuff’s band. Webb has played with various artists including Wilma Lee Cooper & the Clinch Mountain Clan, Buddy Jewell, Charlie Louvin, Marty Stuart, and Tanya Tucker. He was a member of a duo with Charlie Collins for 11 years until Collins’ death, and later joined the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band, appearing on the Grand Ole Opry and performing comedy. Webb is also involved in his community, often doing benefits for the Senior Citizen’s Center and other worthy causes.

Mike Witcher

Mike Witcher is a highly talented and respected resonator guitar player who began playing the instrument at the age of 14. He has played with many well-known artists, including Dwight Yoakam, Peter Rowan, and Sara Watkins. He is also a gifted teacher and has developed an effective method of teaching the resonator guitar, which he has shared through his two instruction books and at various music camps and workshops around the world.

Pete “Bashful Brother Oswald” Kirby (1911 – 2002)

Bashful Brother Oswald was an American country musician who was born in Sevier County, Tennessee, in 1911 and died in 2002. He popularized the use of the resonator guitar and Dobro, playing as a session musician on numerous records, including the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1972 album Will the Circle be Unbroken. Oswald started his career as a musician playing for square dances, and he worked on the Buick assembly line in Flint, Michigan, but he was laid off during the Great Depression. Afterward, he returned to music, playing in bars, cafes, and beer gardens and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry with Roy Acuff’s Crazy Tennesseans band. Oswald later released his self-titled debut album in 1962 on Starday Records and joined the Rounder Records label in the 1970s, releasing around a half dozen albums over the years.

Phil Leadbetter

Phil Leadbetter is a bluegrass musician born on March 31, 1962, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He started playing the resonator guitar in 1974 and joined the Knoxville Newgrass Boys the following year. In 1982, he played daily at the Knoxville World’s Fair and later joined Grandpa Jones and Vern Gosdin before becoming a member of JD Crowe And The New South in 1990. Phil recorded two CDs with the band, and the 1994 recording “Flashback” received a Grammy Nomination. In 2001, Phil became a founding member of the band Wildfire. He has also released two solo CDs, “Philibuster” and “Slide Effects.” In October 2014, he was awarded “Dobro Player Of The Year” at the IBMA Awards. Phil was inducted into The Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame on November 28th, 2015.

Rob Ickes

Rob Ickes is a Dobro player from the San Francisco Bay Area. He was introduced to the Dobro at the age of thirteen and has since become one of the most innovative players in the bluegrass scene. He is a founding member of the highly esteemed band Blue Highway, and has collaborated with a wide range of musicians. Furthermore, he has won the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Dobro Player of the Year award a record-setting fifteen times and is the most awarded instrumentalist in the history of the IBMA awards. Rob is also a gifted teacher and founded ResoSummit, an annual instructional event in Nashville.

Tim Graves

Tim Graves is a prominent dobro player and featured vocalist for the bluegrass group, the Farm Hands. He comes from a musical family, with his uncle Josh Graves being a member of the bluegrass hall-of-fame and credited with introducing the dobro to bluegrass music. Tim Graves has played with various bands throughout his career, including the legendary Osborne Brothers, and has recorded with many well-known bluegrass artists.

Tut Taylor (1923–2015)

Robert Arthur “Tut” Taylor Sr. was an American bluegrass musician known for his distinctive flat-picking style on the dobro. He was a member of several bands, including The Folkswingers, Dixie Gentlemen, and John Hartford’s Aereo-Plain band. In 1970, he co-founded the instrument shop GTR in Nashville and later co-founded the Old Time Pickin’ Parlor and Tut Taylor’s General Store. Taylor recorded hundreds of reels of tape to preserve bluegrass music and donated about 500 reels to the Steam Powered Preservation Society. He won a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album in 1995 for his work on The Great Dobro Sessions with Jerry Douglas. Taylor passed away on April 9, 2015.

Sally Van Meter

Sally Van Meter is a professional musician known for playing the dobro, but also plays other instruments such as rhythm guitar, banjo, and lap steel. She is self-taught and learned by ear from listening to records of musicians like Duane Allman and Lowell George. Sally was a member of the Good Ol’ Persons band for 21 years before moving to Colorado in 1996, where she became involved with the Denver Folklore Center.