1990s Dobro California Girl Metal-Body Resonator Guitar

Overview: Talk about your statement guitars, eh? This has "mud flap girls" all over it, etched into the body finish. The lady on the rear is even toting high heels and sitting on a turned-around chair. Is it wonderful? Is it horrible? Is it poor taste? Is it the best taste? Who's to know? It gets a chuckle and turned heads every time someone notices the subject matter in the shop, though!

Interesting features: This outwardly looks a lot like a National Style O, but it has a Dobro-style spider-bridge cone inside and the wider, '30s-style Dobro coverplate, too. The dowel for the neck extends through the whole body but has a good curve on it in the under-cone area which is pretty cool to see. The sound is similar to National metal-body guitars (ringy, overtone-rich, and with a lot of punch) but warmer and more upper-mids-humped. The neck is slim and fast, with a good, quick feel and a board radius tighter than most Dobros.

Repairs included: It's had a previous neck reset and the angle is good. Sarah and I had to muck-about solving an S-curve issue at the neck joint/fretboard extension area and that got solved by taking a heavy hand to it in the level/dress process on the frets. After that it got some saddle adjustments and cone seating adjustments and a setup. It's playing spot-on and is ready to go.

• Weight: 8 lbs 9 oz
• Scale length: 25"
• Nut width: 1 21/32"
• Neck shape: slim-medium C
• Board radius: 10"
• Depth at first fret: 27/32"
• Depth at seventh fret: 59/64"
• Body width: 14"
• Body depth: 3 1/4"
• Body: metal
• Cone type: single cone (Dobro/spider)
• Bridge: spider bridge w/maple saddles
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: maple
• Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 54w-12 lights
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium

Condition notes: There's a little usewear in evidence here and there all over (light scratching, tiny dot-nicks, etc.) but overall it's in good order. There's a hilarious, oversized "USED" stamp/press-in on the back of the headstock. It's fitting for the way the guitar portrays women, but... what can I say? Who stamps that in giant letters?

It comes with: It has a good hard case.

Consignor tag: STRB