This was sold to me as a 1979 Dobro Model 60. A member wrote and said they believe it is a model 63, and looking up serials has only confused me more. If my date/model is incorrect, please let me know.
Sounds great, holds pitch, has a barcus berry pickup installed. Other than needing a quick polish, she is in excellent shape. Hard shell case included.
Having trouble uploading pics on my phone. More soon.
$850 plus actual ship/ins
open to offers, possibly trades. cash is king
Last edited by Marc Stone on 24 Sep 2020 10:45 am, edited 3 times in total.
What would you be looking for in trade? What type of stuff?
That’s such a great price for that guitar! I’m surprised someone hasn’t snatched it up already! Very Cool Dobro!
Respectfully,
Jeff
Jeff Hilton VP,
Boss Katana 2X12 100 water.
Peterson Tuner, Many Pedals, Beautiful Steelers Choice Seat! Also play Blues Harp, have many harps, and Vintage Mics. Too much to list...I am Blessed!
I’m
Primarily a six string Blues/RnB guy. Vintage tube amps, cool acoustics, stuff like that.
Def more interested in cash, and if trading would like to keep it closer to market value of the Dobro, which is def more than my cash price. Thx!
That is a Dobro model 63 from the OMI years. I have one from 1974 and an old catalog from back on the day...LOUD! After looking closer at the photos I'm inclined to agree with Roger.
Marc Stone wrote:
Last edited by Doug Kaiser on 26 Sep 2020 5:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
I am pretty sure this did not come out of the factory as an 8 string. The 1st and the 8th strings overhang the neck and the tuners are not original for that year. Also, the slot in the peghead has been extended from the normal 6 string slot to accommodate the 2 extra tuning keys. Also, the nut is angled outward to have room to slot it for the two extra strings.
Roger
Last edited by Roger Aycock on 26 Sep 2020 4:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Here is a photo of a factory OMI Dobro 8 string headstock from the 1970s. Exactly like one I had for a short time on loan from a guy in the late '70s who was willing to sell or trade it to me if I liked it. The 8 string business didn't "take" for me at the time so I decided not to go through with the deal.
Below is a screen shot from Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars and you will notice in the right hand column the Model 63 8 string was being produced at OMI Dobro (Long Beach at the time) beginning in 1973.
There is the scanned Dobro brochure which has been on the internet for some time, circa 1974-75 and the 8 string is included.
I think the one I had for a bit in 1977 was about a 1975 but I wouldn’t swear on it.
Gene Myers was the previous owner. His name is on the case and they gave me a cpl his old LPs w the sale.
As for whether it's factory 8 or conversion, I'll defer to those more expert than myself. Personally I thought about that but saw pics of guitars set up similarly that weren't IDed as conversions, and I think the tuner spacing is too tight to have started out as 6 and been opened up to accommodate two more. That would make the original 6 unusually close together given the length of the headstock. But again, I'm not an expert.
At this point if there is significant debate about the provenance and hence value, I like it enough to keep it.
All info appreciated tho, I do like to be accurate in any listings.
This guitar looks factory to me with maybe the exception of the tuners. I owned several of the early OMI Dobro's and they all had plastic tuner buttons. Nice guitar someone should be happy with this one.
We know you are going to keep it for awhile Marc,you mentioned it earlier, but in the interest of "the convoluted history of the Dobro guitar" I'm beginning to wonder if it is in fact a guitar from a period where the headstock was "factory."
It's possible that they had orders for some 8 strings at a certain point but didn't show the "extended" headstock like the photo I posted earlier and did a modification like yours. I found photos of a couple others on line where the headstock looked similar.
There are a million stories about what went on at Long Beach and later Huntington Beach during the OMI era. There are Dobros from the late '50s and early '60s mad in El Monte and Gardena, and then the years where the brand was owned by Mosrite and moved up to Bakersfield.
Not to mention a million stories about the prewar Dobros in Los Angeles and the Regal factory in Chicago.
Mark Eaton - if this axe can help shed light on some mysteries, I'm happy to help however I can. Going through something similar with an old Gibson guitar I just bought. The neck has attributes from three distinct year ranges...
BTW my amateur postulation is that if it's factory (as I said head stock doesn't look modded to my inexpert eyes) perhaps there was a period where there wasn't enough demand to be or stay tooled up for eight string necks and neck joints, and this was an inexpensive workaround for someone ordering an 8.
But that is nothing more than a wild guess.
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