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Any other squareneck players here?
For those unaware, a squareneck is the guitar you see played lap style. The neck is literally square and the strings are nearly an inch off the fretboard, so there's no playing it like a regular guitar. They're usually strung pretty heavy (16, 18, 28w, 35, 45, 56 is the standard), and tuned to an open chord. Most bluegrass guys use what's called high G (low to high, GBDGBD). Others like open D (DADF#AD). They're also usually called Dobros, after the most popular early manufacturer.
A few years ago, I got into playing bluegrass. I love a lot of the music, but many of the instruments have a lot of very defined roles. The dobro doesn't seem to carry that baggage, largely because not that many people play them. I have no desire to spend a lot of time on an instrument so a purist can tell me I'm doing it wrong, so the dobro appeals to me.
It's a weird instrument coming from guitar. You fret with a heavy slide called a tone bar, and pick with a thumb pick and two finger picks. I play a Recording King RR-60-VS and use a BlueChip thumb pick and Propik finger picks.
For anybody who's interested, here are a couple of my favorite dobro-centric songs:
Justin Moses (he's playing all the instruments here)
For those unaware, a squareneck is the guitar you see played lap style. The neck is literally square and the strings are nearly an inch off the fretboard, so there's no playing it like a regular guitar. They're usually strung pretty heavy (16, 18, 28w, 35, 45, 56 is the standard), and tuned to an open chord. Most bluegrass guys use what's called high G (low to high, GBDGBD). Others like open D (DADF#AD). They're also usually called Dobros, after the most popular early manufacturer.
A few years ago, I got into playing bluegrass. I love a lot of the music, but many of the instruments have a lot of very defined roles. The dobro doesn't seem to carry that baggage, largely because not that many people play them. I have no desire to spend a lot of time on an instrument so a purist can tell me I'm doing it wrong, so the dobro appeals to me.
It's a weird instrument coming from guitar. You fret with a heavy slide called a tone bar, and pick with a thumb pick and two finger picks. I play a Recording King RR-60-VS and use a BlueChip thumb pick and Propik finger picks.
For anybody who's interested, here are a couple of my favorite dobro-centric songs:
Justin Moses (he's playing all the instruments here)
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