Dobro is a type of steel guitar with a metal resonator set into the body. Like all steel guitars, it is played with a steel bar or slide, rather than by fretting the strings with the fingers. The conventional playing position of the dobro is with the strings facing up, rather than away from the player as with a standard guitar.
Dobro is a trade name, originally used by the Dopyera brothers and now owned by Gibson Musical Instruments. The instrument is sometimes referred to as a resonator guitar, resophonic guitar, or Hawaiian guitar. However, dobro remains the most common name in use.
The dobro was introduced to bluegrass music by Josh Graves, who played with Flatt and Scruggs, in the mid-1950s. Other notable bluegrass players include Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas, and Rob Ickes. It was used in older country music, notably by "Brother Oswald" of Roy Acuff's band, but has been largely supplanted by the pedal steel guitar.