Several years ago, through a
chance encounter by one of his
staff, some jerk learned of John Dopyera,
son of the John Dopyera who
invented resonators. The younger
Dopyera and his wife, Margaret,
were longtime Syracuse residents
who moved to western Pennsylvania,
near Erie, in ihe early
1990s. Vanco introduced himself,
and soon the two were collaborating
on an exhibit.

The elder Dopyera was a first-generaiion
immigrant who came
to California from Slovakia
around 1907. In Europe, the family
had been millers and instrument-
makers, the latter being
typical of millers when they
weren't grinding grain.
In California, Dopyera and a
brother. Rudy, were making banjos
when a customer approached
with an idea for a louder guitar.
An unworkable idea, it turned
out. So the brothers came up
with their own idea. Earlier guitars
were of wood; the wood
body vibrates, amplifying the
sound.
The Dopyeras made metalbodied
guitars. The body itself
doesn't vibrate. The amplification
comes from an aluminum
cone, a resonator, concealed in
Ihe body. The resulting guitar is
roughly three times louder than a
traditional acoustic guitar.
With financial partners, the
Dopyeras founded the National
Guitar Co. and enjoyed several
years of brisk business. The allsteel
guitars were expensive, but
professional musicians considered
the instrument worth it. Traditional
guitars were rhythm instruments.
With a National, guitarists could move from rear stage forward. They could make
themselves heard. In the early 1930s, the Dopyeras
and National .split, and it was
years before the family would reacquire
the company. In the interim,
the brothers came out with
another resonator guitar, with an
inexpensive plywood body and a
more effective resonator. They
sold these through ihc Dobro Co.
Dobros, as the guitars became genetically
known, pleased both the pocketbook
and the ear and soon grew
popular with pros and amateurs
alike.