Who Invented the Dobro?

The Dobro is an acoustic guitar with a metal resonator built into the body. The resonator, which is cone shaped, amplifies the sound of the guitar. The Dobro was created in the 1930s and is still a popular instrument today.

Dobro Creation

John Dopyera and his brothers created the first Dobro in the early 1930s. The Dopyeras wanted to make a louder guitar.

The Name

The Dopyeras, whose parents were from Slovakia, created the name Dobro. Dobro is a name that is both a combination of the words "Dopyera brothers" and the a word that means "good" in their parents' native tongue.

Popular Use

Josh Graves was the first used the Dobro in popular music. Graves, a bluegrass musician in the 1950s, began using a Dobro with the Scruggs-picking style. The Scruggs-picking is still the most popular method of playing a Dobro.

New Ownership

The Dopyera family bought and sold the Dobro name several times after creating the first Dubro production company. In 1993, the Gibson Guitar Corporation bought the rights to the name Dobro.

Other Names

The Dubro is often called a resonator or resophonic guitar. B.B. King is one famous musician who plays the Dubro.