[johnnyboy]

I post this in case other Dobro players have similar problems. I recently purchased an OMI Dobro squareneck which I was told was a 1986 Model 60, but which a friend concluded was probably a 1976 Model 27. Regardless, I found that the tone quality was fine when playing open strings but the lowest wound strings sounded dead when barred. So some invasive work was needed. As it turned out, my friend was correct about the year. After removing the cover, spider bridge, and cone we saw the finish date pencilled on the inside of the body: 2/17/76. We also noticed what may have been the cause of the deadness of the lower strings: the cone had been glued to the body. Whether this had been done at the factory or by a previous owner I do not know. Perhaps someone out there in Reso-land can tell me about OMI's construction methods. We scraped away the glue and re-assembled. The dead tone of the lower strings had improved and overall the sound quality had brightened considerably. A happy ending so far.