1936 Dobro Electric Hawaiian Guitar and Amp
The merger of National and Dobro shouldn’t have created
any significant marketing challenges for the resulting corporation. Dobro
guitars were intended to be cheaper than their National counterparts, and if
there was actually a significant overlap in price range between the two brands,
the difference in sound meant that Nationals could be sold alongside Dobros
without redundancy. Still, for some reason, National-Dobro sold similar electric
instruments under both names. In fact, the corporation’s first electric lap
steel was introduced with a new name altogether: Supro. While intended to be
cheaper than its National and Dobro counterparts, the cast aluminum Supro steel
was similar to the National and Dobro models that followed it except for a
smaller, less ornate body. The decision to produce a similar product under three
brands is baffling, especially for an instrument that was still in its infancy
and without wide demand.
The Dobro and National
Electric Hawaiian guitars followed similar evolutionary paths in their brief
production lives. The fretboards were lengthened, tone controls were added, and
pickup height adjustment screws were introduced to improve string balance. Both
had 25” scale lengths and real frets that would never actually come in contact
with a string. Both were available with 6 or 7 strings and were intended to be
paired with matching amplifiers. Initially, these amps featured rectangular
black cabinets with resonator-style cover plates over the speakers; later models
featured striped coverings and shield-shaped speaker cutouts.
The steel above is probably a year or so younger than the
amp below, which appears to be a very early example from 1935.
Each sold for $67.50 plus $15 for
a case for the steel; at $150 total, Dobro was at the same price as Gibson’s
EH-150 set. Both the steel and the amp are in
exceptionally good condition given their age, and both are in perfect working
order. The amp has very low headroom, even with the steel’s moderate-output
pickup. Aside from normal servicing on the amp (including a modern grounded
power cord), neither piece has any damage or replacement parts. Like my National
steel of the same era, this Dobro exhibits a casting flaw: a void at the
surface.