A resonator mandolin, also called a “resophonic mandolin,” is a type of mandolin that uses one or more metal cones (called resonators) to create sound instead of the usual wooden soundboard (the top part of the mandolin). These instruments are sometimes called “Dobro mandolins” because early versions were made by the Dopyera Brothers, who later created the brand name “Dobro.” Today, the word “Dobro” is owned by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. In 1993, Gibson said they would ensure no one else could use the name “Dobro” except them.
Dobro ( / d oʊ b r oʊ / ) is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and made by its subsidiary, Epiphone. The word “dobro” is also used as a general name for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a guitar-making company started by the Dopyera brothers, called the Dobro Manufacturing Company.
The pedal steel guitar is a type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings. This allows musicians to play more varied and complex music than other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can produce sliding notes (called glissandi) and deep vibrato, which are similar to the sounds of the human voice.
The lap steel guitar, also called a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals. It is usually played horizontally across the performer’s lap. Unlike a traditional acoustic guitar, where fingers press strings against frets, the pitch of a steel guitar is changed by pressing a smooth steel bar against the strings while plucking them with the other hand.
The tenor guitar, also called the four-string guitar, is a smaller instrument with four strings. It is similar to the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar. This instrument was first created in its acoustic form by Gibson and C.F.
The cittern, also called cithren, is a stringed instrument from the Renaissance period. Experts are not sure about its exact history, but most agree it came from a medieval instrument called the citole. The cittern had a flat back, which made it simpler and cheaper to build than the lute.
The Mandobass is the largest and least common instrument in the mandolin family. It is sometimes used as the bass instrument in mandolin orchestras. Because it is so large, players usually hold it upright, like a double bass, with the help of an endpin that touches the floor.
The mandocello (Italian: mandoloncello, Liuto cantabile, liuto moderno) is a plucked string instrument in the mandolin family. It is larger than the mandolin and serves as the baritone member of the family. The instrument has eight strings arranged in four pairs, with each pair tuned to the same note.
The octave mandolin (in the US and Canada) or octave mandola (in Ireland and the UK) is a string instrument with four pairs of strings. The strings are tuned in fifths, from low to high: G, D, A, and E. It is bigger than the mandola but smaller than the mandocello.
The mandola (in the US and Canada) or tenor mandola (in Ireland and the UK) is a musical instrument with strings and frets. It is similar to the mandolin, just as the viola is similar to the violin. The mandola has four pairs of strings, which are tuned to the same notes as the viola (C3-G3-D4-A4), but one fifth lower than a mandolin.