Dobro 101

A look at the iconic bluegrass slide box.

- JIMMY LESLIE

DOBRO IS ON my mind because of doing some gigs with a talented Bay Area player named Adam Bowers (he plays in the groups Poor Man's Whiskey and Go by Ocean) and working with him to prepare for my upcoming interview with perhaps the greatest Dobro player of all time, Jerry Douglas. So what exactly is a Dobro? That's a simple question with a complex answer.

THE MODERN DOBRO

The Dobro is a six-string acoustic square-neck resonator with a raised nut and a single spider-style metal resonator cone. It's primarily a bluegrass instrument, and practically all bluegrass cats call their instrument a Dobro, whether it is truly and historically a Dobro or not. Conversely, Hawaiian players still call it a steel guitar, not a Dobro, even if it is one.

Most modern Dobros have wooden bodies and are played with a solid steel bar in an open tuning. The instrument can be set on one's lap or on a stand, but it's generally played standing up using a strap that facilitates playing it in a face-up position, as if it were on one's lap like a lap-steel.