mike gregory - Posted - 02/10/2014:  12:23:36

  .

The DODO is extinct. Dead.

The DOBRO is a trademarked name for resophonic instruments.

So, I figured I'd make myself a coffin-shaped resophonic instrument, and call it

"Dead As A DODrO"

MP3 Sound file on my music page banjohangout.org/myhangout/med...archived=

Edited by - mike gregory on 02/17/2014 13:00:44

Dead As A DODrO pic 1	Dead As A DODrO pic 2	Dead As A DODrO pic 3	Dead As A DODrO pic 4 PEGHEAD
Dead As A DODrO pic 5 Finished	Dead as a DODrO Pic 6 Brass handle as "UnderNut"	Dead as a DODrO pic 7 the tailpiece.	Dead as a DODrO pic 8 Another view of the finished project

Dave1climber - Posted - 02/10/2014:  12:54:07

I like it.  Very clever!!  The sound will be exactly what someone wants, along with the look.

Edited by - Dave1climber on 02/10/2014 13:04:42

mike gregory - Posted - 02/10/2014:  13:01:09

That long bunch of letters & numbers, in the line that starts with

"MP

is a link to the sound file

5B-Ranch - Posted - 02/10/2014:  13:26:27

Hey Mike you ever thought about making lap steels or a steel guitar the kind with ten strings and legs? I do like the sound of that Dead as a DoDrO! Why not send a email to Jerry Douglas and see if you can get s endorsement?

BNJOMAKR - Posted - 02/10/2014:  14:36:37

COOOOL, Mike!

mike gregory - Posted - 02/10/2014:  17:49:22

Yes. Mr. Branch,I have thought of making more complicated instruments.

But they are SO complicated.

Have you ever looked at the underside of a pedal steel?

I did try to make a banjo with a foot pedal to drop the 2nd string a half step.

It was designed to be played like a steel guitar, had legs.

Dropping the 2nd string half a step turns a banjo from open G to G minor, so, depending on where you push your slide, you get any minor  chord you need.

I've seen pictures of slide guotars, without foot pedals, made from ironing boards.

.....

I'm not looking to go into any sort of large-scale manufacture.

I'll make something for somebody, if they want, but as any self-employed luthier will probably tell you, it makes little sense to create odd-looking instruments and HOPE someone will buy them.

5B-Ranch - Posted - 02/10/2014:  18:14:33

Played steel guitar for awhile. And they are full of metal levers and pulleys. Maybe just lap steels??

mike gregory - Posted - 02/10/2014:  19:47:50

I did fire off an e-mail to the person who sorts the e-mails on the Jerry Douglas website, inviting her to decide whether or not to pass along the pictures, merely for the amusement of Mr. Douglas.

I hope everybody who sees the project is somehow amused by it.

When the weather is nicer, I hope to take it to a few jams.

It WOULD be nice if, by then,I have developed more skill at playing it.

I will admit:
The body design was VERY MUCH based on the coffin-shaped banjo case in Peter Seeger's little red book.

mike gregory - Posted - 02/11/2014:  17:46:26

And here's how the slide looks, as the epoxy is drying:

Explanation attached to the little picture

DODrO Slide

mike gregory - Posted - 02/17/2014:  13:01:57

Miss Aice took a picture of me and theDODrO, so I added it to the original post.

Kevin B - Posted - 02/18/2014:  04:59:01

Very cool Mike.  Lap steels are a bunch of fun.  Are you tuning it GBDGBD?

Jethro Aberdeen - Posted - 02/18/2014:  20:06:36

Wow, Mike that's one "deadly " looking Dobro. Good job.

kevin

mike gregory - Posted - 02/20/2014:  03:36:19

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kevin B

Very cool Mike.  Lap steels are a bunch of fun.  Are you tuning it GBDGBD?

---

Yes, I think so.

I'm new at this.

mike gregory - Posted - 02/20/2014:  11:04:29

OK, I checked.

GBDGBD indeed.

MrNatch3L - Posted - 02/20/2014:  13:42:22

Uncle Fester might even have traded in his blunderbuss for one of these! 

Edited by - MrNatch3L on 02/20/2014 13:46:01