Dobro
Sharon Sagar is the daughter of Paul Barth, the founder of Bartell Guitars. Paul started his guitar and bass manufacturing factory in Riverside, California, in 1964. As a teenager, Sharon worked in the factory in the summers and enjoyed getting to know the other dedicated employees who impressed...
Robb Lawrence loves playing the guitar as well as gathering the history of his instruments. He has written books and articles for magazines, including Guitar Player and has provided lectures and college classes mostly based on his deep interest in the early days of the electric guitar. Over the...
Bob Hardy was greatly influenced by the American rock and roll artists he heard on the radio as a kid growing up in 1950's Liverpool, during which time he was a pupil at the Liverpool Institute with George Harrison and Paul McCartney. A few years later, around 1961, he was blown away when a friend...
Jim Palenscar opened up his small shop, Steel Guitars of North County, in Oceanside, California back in 2000. While in college, Jim heard the steel guitar on Jackson Browne’s recording of “Redneck Friend” which soon led to a lifelong interest as a player and repairman of the instrument. When asthma...
Frank Murphy opened Frailers Guitar & Banjo Shop, which is situated in Runcorn, Cheshire on the banks of the River Mersey - just southeast of Liverpool England. The store was established as a retail outlet of quality new and used vintage stringed instruments from Dobros to Martin guitars. Frank...
Paul Franklin asked his father to help modify his pedal steel guitar, as he had ideas to create sounds and chord changes that were not possible on the instrument at the time. His father, also Paul Franklin, created and patented the Pedabro, which his son, Paul, used on classic recordings, such as “...
Rob Ickes is a world class Dobro player who was a founding member of the contemporary bluegrass band Blue Highway. He was named Dobro Player of the Year for the thirteenth time by the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association), and puts on a 4-day Dobro camp every year for aspiring players. ...
Gary Morse points out that playing a pedal steel guitar can be complicated. The pedal steel guitar has a series of levers and pulleys that when used often, such as in country music, require maintenance and tuning. Gary ought to know as he is one of the top studio musicians in Nashville, often...
Diane Magagna has been a pioneering woman in many ways within the music industry, including international sales of guitars. She has worked with many of the top luthiers and manufacturers over the years and has provided growth for each by expanding the reach of their products into new markets and...
Tut Taylor was a world renowned Dobro player, but did you know he partnered with George Gruhn and the two hired Randy Wood to form a music store in Nashville? Gruhn Guitars began as GTR, which was an abbreviation for George, Tut and Randy, when it opened in the 1970s. Although George would buy Tut...