Dobro Duolian 1995

Built in 1995, this Dobro Original Duolian comes from the mid-1990s OMI period, when Original Musical Instrument Company was still building Dobro-branded resonators in Huntington Beach, after Gibson acquired the company and brand in 1993. Dobro itself traces back to the Dopyera brothers’ late-1920s resonator designs, best known for the spider bridge and outward-facing cone that became a cornerstone of bluegrass and country slide.

The Duolian model is a deliberate sidestep from that classic spider setup. The Model 90 Duolian was marketed as a “Bottleneck Special” and built around a National-style single cone with a biscuit bridge, paired with the moon-and-stars coverplate and etched “Hawaiian” scenes on the plated bell brass body. That construction gives a quick, direct attack and a drier, more percussive midrange, which suits bottleneck blues, ragtime runs, and rootsy chord work.

By the mid-1990s, OMI was one of the last US builders still making these traditional metal-body resonators in small numbers, and the Huntington Beach shop continued using many long-standing production techniques from the earlier Dobro tradition.

Dobro’s voice is inseparable from players like Josh Graves, Mike Auldridge, and Jerry Douglas, who pushed resonator guitar from early country into modern bluegrass and beyond. This metal-body Duolian format also shows up in the wider guitar world; a circa-1995 Dobro Duolian was included in Mark Knopfler’s recently auctioned collection.

This example has a slim neck, very minor playwear, and tiny dings on the neck. Frets are in great condition. Includes original case with logo. Weight is 4000g.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Model family: Model 90 “Duolian” / “Bottleneck Special”
• Body: bell brass body, plated
• Body artwork: etched “Hawaiian scene” style engraving
• Soundholes: Dobro-style f-holes (rolled openings)
• Resonator: single cone, National-style, approx 9.5 inch
• Bridge: biscuit bridge assembly
• Coverplate: moon and stars pattern with handrest
• Neck: maple or similar hardwood roundneck, sunburst finish, slim feel
• Neck reinforcement: adjustable steel reinforcing rod
• Fingerboard: rosewood, flat, dot inlays
• Frets: 19
• Scale length: 24 1/2 in
• Neck joins body at: 14th fret
• Overall length: 38 3/4 in
• Body width: 14 1/8 in
• Body depth: 4 1/2 in
• Tuners: 3-a-side, commonly Grover mini Rotomatic style
• Tailpiece: trapeze style
• Nut: bone
• Case: original hard-shell case with logo
• Weight: 4000g