The Influence of Earl Scruggs & Bill Monroe

THE Misunderstood Stepchild:
• The sixth member of the bluegrass family of instruments (the orphan child that Bill Monroe still refuses to recognize) and the only one invented in America, the dobro is still the least understood.

THE DOBRO FACTS:
• The Dobro was invented by the Dopyera Brothers in the 1920's
• The dobro is played face up
• The dobro is played with a series of picks.
• It is also played with a metal bar to fret strings.

THE HISTORY:
• The dobro has a controversial history. There are several different supposed dates and times that the dobro guitar was first produced/introduced. It all started as a search for a louder guitar. They wanted a guitar that could stand up trumpets, saxophones and banjos. John Dopyera and his 4 brothers created the dobro resonator guitar. John Dopyera introduced his creation by the end of 1928. It was called Dobro which is a combination of Dopyera Brothers. National then created their own dobro. Both sides sued eachother. They eventually merged in 1932 and formed the National-Dobro Company. National stopped making dobros after WWII. The started focusing on Electric Guitars. The Dopyera family continued their business and continued making them under the Hound Dog name until 1970 when they reacquired the DOBRO name. Today‘s Dobro guitars have a wide range of sounds. Their range varies depending on the body style and resonator type. The dobro is used a lot in bluegrass music and not too many people know much about it.