Flat Pickin' the Dobro

Anybody out there use a single flat pick for the dobro, as opposed to the traditional thumb and two finger picks?

Tut Taylor does it. "Tut taught himself to play the dobro. However, he didn't know that dobros were normally fingerpicked. He thought it was played with a flatpick, so that's how he learned to play. But he soon learned that he could hardly play tunes like the others that were playing with fingerpicks so he developed his own style and then wrote the tunes and arrangements to suit his flatpicking style".

As a beginner, I might want to learn flat pickin'.

Pros and cons?

I am new to the dobro , bout 5 months . I do know from playing the drums and Guitar that bads playing habits are hard to change .

John

I ,have a copy of tuts original Flat picking training Book ,it may put you on the right road. Cheers Bill W

Nothing wrong with learning to flatpick a dobro, but you really ought to try putting the finger and thumbpicks on and just getting used to them. Some roll patterns will be very difficult if not impossible with a flatpicking technique as well as playing two or three tones simultaneously.

I have had some classical guitar training and thought when I picked up the reso that I would play without picks, just like I do with guitar. I couldn't get satisfactory tone, and so I just put the picks on and played with them until I got used to them. Now I wouldn't know what to do without them!

I enjoy flatpickin the dobro. Finger picks are the mainstay of course (just so many more possibilities there), but its fun as a change up. I have also found that it makes you very conscious of note choice and sequence. It forces you to find the right note on just the right fret of the right string. Then, when you go back to the finger picks you'll really have it dialed in, just fill it out to taste. Pick up one of Tut's albums and work out some songs, its really good stuff.
Hey, Bill in Wales, is Tut's manual available anywhere? He doesn't have it on his website. I'd like to get hold of a copy.

mike d i am willing to let you have a copy of mine just let me know where to send it , and it is done. bil w.

I do alot of flet pickin with my dobro, but I always have my other pics on also. I like to have them on in case I want to throw in something a little extra I can use the other picks for a stronger tone. I just hold on to the thub pick like a guitar pick. Good luck