Jerry Douglas: My Guitars

[Tom Spaulding]

New Modern Music Masters YouTube video: MY GUITARS

Jerry gives an in-depth tour of some of his favorite guitars, where they came from, and a bit of Dobro history.

[Mike Christensen]

Thanks Tom,that was interesting in several ways. The old ones surely had a different sound. It has been my personal thought for sometime that when the newer guitars came out a lot of the original sound I associated with the different players was lost pretty completely and had to listen to the style of playing rather than tone to ID the player.

[Brooks Montgomery]

He mentioned doing another one with his other guitars. I hope he does. I think his best tone was the late 80’s & 90’s with his RQ Jones dobro, and followed by his collection Scheerhorns that he played with Union Station.

[Howard Parker]

Yep..everyone has their favorites through the years.

I was at Beard Guitars during the period that Paul and Jerry collaborated on the Jerry Douglas "Blackbeard".

It was certainly a process, back & forth & back again..etc.

In the end, Jerry got the the guitar he wanted and he's been with Paul ever since.

I'll add that as a human being, Jerry is a joy to be around.

Funny as hell also!

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[Mark Eaton]

Cool video, Jerry emphasized the prewar guitars, and how they compare to the Deco-Phonic (which he simply calls the “Deco”) then ended the video with BlackBeard, which has become his “A” Game guitar, even though his earlier Beard signature guitars are more expensive with elaborate appointments. And his main BlackBeard fell off the back of a golf cart or similar vehicle at a festival a few years back resulting in long scary cracks to where Paul Beard performed major surgery to bring it back to life. Jerry could have had Paul send him a new BlackBeard, but I guess this is The One.

Another video on the “modern style” guitars would be good.

[gary pierce]

He mentioned doing another one with his other guitars. I hope he does. I think his best tone was the late 80’s & 90’s with his RQ Jones dobro, and followed by his collection Scheerhorns that he played with Union Station.

Brooks, I agree with this assessment, just listen to the live AK and Union Station recording. The Boy Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn comes to mind.

[Michael Kienhofer]

He mentioned doing another one with his other guitars. I hope he does. I think his best tone was the late 80’s & 90’s with his RQ Jones dobro, and followed by his collection Scheerhorns that he played with Union Station.

My vote is for the RQ Jones era in tone!

[Jerry Overstreet]

I was kind of expecting to see more brands and models discussed in depth, but considering he is endorsing Beard guitars, that is understandable. No 'horns, Reeds, RQJones etc.

It was also interesting seeing all the gadgets he uses while everyone thinks his tone is just from the guitar.

Having said that, my favorite is his Scheerhorn era.

[Dane Carlson]

Jerry could have had Paul send him a new BlackBeard, but I guess this is The One.

Mike Witcher told me that Paul sent Jerry quite a few BBs to try, and Jerry liked that one the best. After that, Paul sent Mike the rest of the batch from which to select his BB.

Evidently, the tone/projection on all the BBs varied quite a bit.

[Mark Eaton]

I was kind of expecting to see more brands and models discussed in depth, but considering he is endorsing Beard guitars, that is understandable. No 'horns, Reeds, RQJones etc.

It was also interesting seeing all the gadgets he uses while everyone thinks his tone is just from the guitar.

Having said that, my favorite is his Scheerhorn era.

Jerry, remember the TV show from many years ago entitled “You Asked for It?”

Here you go from Premier Guitar online, an extensive rig rundown from a few years ago profiling Jerry’s dobro and lap steel pedal board:

https://youtu.be/exfCjd8O3RM

[Mark Eaton]

Jerry could have had Paul send him a new BlackBeard, but I guess this is The One.

Mike Witcher told me that Paul sent Jerry quite a few BBs to try, and Jerry liked that one the best. After that, Paul sent Mike the rest of the batch from which to select his BB.

Evidently, the tone/projection on all the BBs varied quite a bit.

If there is quite a variance in tone/projection in a batch of an identical model guitar, that’s kind of a surprise, because one of the hallmarks of Beard guitars is consistency. Jerry said on his forum years ago it was a big reason he went with Paul in order to introduce a series of JD signature models to the market. Unlike what eventually became a debacle years prior with the Gibson/Dobro JD signature guitar. But I’ve never quite believed all of that myself - guitars all seem to end up a little different.

I think Mike Witcher gave me the Reader’s Digest Condensed version when he got his BlackBeard several years back, though I do recall him saying he had a few from which to choose.

Link below to Paul Beard repairing “Blackie” after it fell out of the back of a vehicle at a festival, that was four years ago. It likely wouldn’t make any difference when plugged in, but I wonder if Jerry notices a difference unplugged? Paul did a masterful job, and fortunately the big crack went back together cleanly. I’ve seen repairs of cracks on vintage Martins where they have cleats inside the guitar, I would think that might have an effect on the sound.

https://youtu.be/FdMWulv9fZk