1936 Old Kraftsman (Dobro M-32, Regal-made) Spider-Cone Resonator Guitar

Above: new video from 2023

Above: old video from 2020

Update October 2023: my pal Charlie is downsizing so this guitar is back here for resale after leaving for home in late 2020. It returned here exactly as it left but needing new strings. I'd call that a win! I've updated the description where necessary...

Despite its Old Kraftsman brand name, this Regal-made, Dobro spider-cone, steel-body, frosted green/gold duco-finished, resonator guitar is actually a rebadged Dobro M-32 model. Many of this series of Dobro instruments used aluminum bodies, but this steel-body variant is basically a Dobro-style take on the National Duolian. It might be my favorite old resonator guitar I've played. I'm not sure. I really like old single-cone, metal-bodied Nationals a lot for a variety of reasons and I adore steel-body Nats. The warmth, volume, sustain, and fullness of this guitar is hard to beat, though and it's pure eye candy. It makes the frequently-nasal/burred Dobro sound boom rather than feel too peaked. I like it!

Its owner sat-in with me for the nearly 3-hour fix-it session it took to get this thing going and he actually filmed and snapped pics of a bunch of the work on it, which was fun.

So, yes, these "fiddle-edge" Dobros are pretty hard to find. They're out there, but they're not as numerous as Nationals or wood-body Dobros. Internally, they're built just like a National, save that the dowel is curved where the cone sits to make way for its inverted shape compared to a biscuit-bridge cone.

Repairs included: a neck reset and associated blocking modifications inside the body (extra "island" under the dowel near the heel, changed support bars for the fretboard extension under the extension, a block for the tailpiece to mount to), fret level/dress, 5 new pearl dots at the fretboard extension, cleaning, new (compensated) rosewood saddle, and setup.

Setup notes: action is bang-on at 3/32" bass and 1/16" treble at the 12th fret. The neck had some teensy bit of relief in it so that was removed via level/dress of the frets so some frets are lower than others, though it plays as if there's no warp in the neck and you wouldn't notice unless I told you. The neck has stayed pat since 2020 so it's going strong. Strings are 54w-12 in gauge. There's plenty of room for action adjustment at the saddle -- it's nice and tall.

Scale length: 24 3/4"

Nut width: 1 13/16"

String spacing at nut: 1 1/2"

String spacing at bridge: 2 1/16"

Body length: 18 1/2"

Lower bout width: 14 3/8"

Side depth at endpin: 3 1/2" +arching

Body material: steel

Cone type: original Dobro spider cone, non-vented

Fretboard: rosewood

Bridge: rosewood saddle, aluminum spider

Neck feel: big V-shape, 10" board radius

Neck wood: mahogany

Weight: 7 lbs 8 oz

Condition notes: it's all-original save replacement saddle and additional internal blocks at the neck joint and tailpiece and the 5 pearl dots at the fretboard extension. There's minor wear and tear throughout and a dent at the top-lower-bass-bout, but overall it looks great and the frosted duco finish still shows-up everywhere. I especially love the golden-looking sides. One tuner button-shaft is bent. It's also rare that the original tailpiece is still in good order -- these are lightly-made and flex readily so many get snapped.

It comes with: a cool old '60s case with good lining.