RIP Rudy Q Jones

[Brad Bechtel]

https://www.facebook.com/Bottom-Dollar- ... 7/?fref=ts

It is with great sadness we report the passing of Dobro master (builder and player) Rudy Q. Jones (1943-2015). We have few details but hope we know more soon. Rudy suffered from Parkinson’s but we don’t know if that was a factor in his death. He was often a Bottom Dollar Boy, as was the case in this video. We will always love him like a brother. RIP in Jesus reso-man.

Here's a 1982 article on him and his guitars.

[Mark Eaton]

The Facebook link didn't work for me, but I'm guessing Brad that you were trying to link Kyle Schoonover's comment on the Squareneck Journal page which was simply, "I'm told Rudy Jones passed away."

And if that is indeed the post to which you are referring, I don't doubt Kyle - but that is the epitome of "few details."

[Mark Eaton]

I was on the Jerry Douglas forum earlier and he indeed confirmed that Rudy Q. Jones passed away. Jerry always has interesting things to say about the dobro, and I have quoted his post below.

Yesterday we lost one of the building blocks of our family in this dobro world we live in. Rudy Jones passed away from complications from Parkinson's disease. He has been battling this for some time and I think many of you know that. It's a tough thing to know about and not be able to stop such a terrible situation. But folks, that's not in our hands.

Rudy and I met sometime around 1975. With the knowledge he had gleaned from the Dopyeras in California he started building reso guitars in the little town of Wanette, Oklahoma. He took over a corner building there and set up his jigs and saws and started making walnut guitars. They had thin bodies but were loud as hell. He called them "Banjo Busters". he really wanted me to play one, but I was still hung up on my old model 37. It's hard to give up an old friend, but as we talked about woods and body cosmetics, we came to an agreement about mahoghany and the depth of the upper and lower bouts of a guitar I would try to play. I was working with the Whites at the time and my style was changing too because of the voices I was working with and our migration toward more (at that time) mainstream Country music.

The guitar Rudy built me was really kind of a fluke. Broken several times during it's assembly and always expertly put back together by Rudy, even microwaved in an industrial oven he had acquired for short intervals over a couple of weeks. I paid Rudy for the guitar and slowly started finding it was my new voice.I had no idea what an impact that guitar was going to have on my career. It is on most of the recordings I did for others in my most serious session-playing period. That would be from 1985 to 2000. About fifteen sessions per week and countless artists and songs. That guitar just recorded so well. It had the clean highs and defined lows that made the dobro stand out on the radio during that period. Mostly because of it's unique construction, which was the first of it's kind. Rudy used sound posts and baffles much like the inside of a speaker cabinet and was one of the first reso luthiers to realize that sound in these guitars moved much the same as light or water might. Reflecting off hard surfaces and guided by the obstacles in its path.

I played that guitar until Tim Scheerhorn placed one of his magnificent works in my hands. The Jones is now in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

We all owe Rudy a huge debt of gratitude for the direction Resonator guitars have gone in these "modern" times. I know I do especially. Rest in peace Rudy. You were a good one.

Rudy Q. Jones would be hailed as a giant in the guitar industry if the dobro were as popular as some of the other stringed instruments. Brilliant innovations and a little quirky I guess at the same time.

I got a kick out of the part in the Josh Graves biography where Uncle mentioned that Rudy gave him his first Jones, but Jerry had to pay for his!

Many dobro enthusiasts believe that the best tone of Jerry's career came from that mahogany R.Q. Jones. I'd say he'd gotten a lot more than his money's worth out of that great sounding guitar.

Rest in Peace R.Q. Jones.

[Jon Light (deceased)]

Wonderful post, Mark. Give a whole lot of context and info to someone who is not of this culture.

[Bill L. Wilson]

I met Rudy while working at a studio in OKC. It was an honor to get to play an electric guitar in Rudy's Bluegrass band, back in the early '80's. He was an excellent builder, and player. We had a lot of fun opening a show for The Happy Goodman Family, eating Rudy's fantastic smoked ribs, and just havin' a good time pickin' and sangin'. I regret not ever having enough money to have him build me a resonator guitar. Always wondered where he ended up, hadn't seen him in 30yrs.

[Mike Neer]

RIP Mr. Jones and thank you.

[Tom Middleton]

Wow, this is a shock. I lived in Wanette and worked for Rudy during the time he was making Jerry's guitar. I knew his bother Joe and his son Bucky as well as his wife and dsughter whose names escape me. He had a little chihuahua named John Paul that he loved. After wet sanding guitar bodies all day we would sit around and play and tell stories. I learned a lot about the dobro and fiddle from Rudy. He loved to joke around, had many friends that would stop by the shop. I was 24 years old and sleeping under the camper shell in my Chevy pick up, parked at the back of the shop in Wanette. Once Rudy moved to Florida I lost touch. I had no idea he was sick. He was passionate about his craft, a good singer, a good dobro player and a good fiddler. He loved his family and friends and was a good Christian. So long old pard.