Original Musical Instrument Company

Original Musical Instrument Company, commonly abbreviated as OMI and later shortened to Original, is an American musical-instrument brand associated primarily with resonator guitars. The company was established in 1967 by brothers Rudy Dopyera and Emile Dopyera, members of the family that had helped develop and commercialize the resonator-guitar design. Its first instruments were sold under the Hound Dog name, reflecting the company’s early effort to build a recognizable product identity around metal-bodied and other resonator instruments. The company’s history is closely connected with the Dobro name. In 1970, Original reacquired the Dobro trademark, which had been sold in 1966 to Semie Mosely of Mosrite. Although the business continued using Hound Dog branding for a period, the return of the Dobro name strengthened its connection with one of the best-known names in American resonator guitars. Dobro instruments became the company’s principal commercial identity and remain the most historically significant products associated with the business. In 1993, Gibson acquired Original Musical Instrument Company. Following the acquisition, Gibson changed the company’s name to Original Acoustic Instruments and moved its manufacturing operation to Gibson’s headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. The transaction brought the Dopyera-derived resonator-guitar business into Gibson’s broader portfolio of guitar and musical-instrument brands. Gibson subsequently continued the production and commercialization of Dobro resonator guitars through its Epiphone subsidiary. Original is therefore best understood as a specialist heritage brand rather than a broad, independently operating musical-instrument company. Its importance comes from its connection to the Dopyera family, the Dobro trademark, and the continued availability of resonator guitars within the Gibson-Epiphone product structure. Resonator guitars use an internal metal cone or resonator system to increase acoustic projection and produce a distinctive metallic, roots-oriented tone. They have particular associations with blues, bluegrass, country, folk, Hawaiian music, slide guitar, and related American musical traditions. Publicly available reference material provides limited information about the company’s current standalone corporate activities, leadership, sales, and geographic distribution. The brand’s documented commercial role is concentrated on resonator guitars, especially Dobro instruments marketed through Epiphone and the wider Gibson distribution network.

Original Musical Instrument Company was formed in 1967 by Rudy Dopyera and Emile Dopyera, two of the original Dopyera brothers associated with the development of resonator guitars. The new company was created to manufacture and sell resonator instruments, continuing a family tradition that had already played an important role in the history of amplified and mechanically projected acoustic guitars. The company initially introduced instruments under the Hound Dog brand. These guitars used resonator construction, in which one or more metal cones help project the instrument’s sound and give it a characteristic bright, metallic voice. Resonator guitars became especially important in American roots music, including blues, country, bluegrass, folk, and slide-guitar performance. The Hound Dog name gave Original a product identity while it developed its manufacturing and commercial operations. Original’s corporate history became particularly significant through its relationship with the Dobro trademark. The Dobro name had been sold in 1966 to Semie Mosely of Mosrite. In 1970, Original reacquired the name. The company continued to use Hound Dog branding for some time, but the return of Dobro connected the business again with a historically prominent resonator-guitar marque. Dobro subsequently became the best-known commercial name linked with Original’s resonator instruments. Gibson Corporation acquired Original Musical Instrument Company in 1993. After the acquisition, the company was renamed Original Acoustic Instruments, and its manufacturing operation was moved to Gibson’s headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. This change integrated the specialist resonator-guitar operation into Gibson’s larger musical-instrument organization rather than leaving it as a fully independent manufacturer. Gibson continued producing Dobro resonator guitars through Epiphone, its subsidiary and affiliated guitar brand. As a result, the historical Original Musical Instrument Company name became less prominent in consumer-facing marketing, while the Dobro name remained central to the products derived from the company’s business. The Original brand is consequently associated with a lineage of resonator-guitar manufacture more than with a broad contemporary product portfolio. The available reference material does not document a separate modern corporate leadership team, public listing, financial performance, or a comprehensive international retail network for Original. Its documented present-day role is as a Gibson-controlled heritage business whose resonator-guitar products are produced and commercialized through the Gibson-Epiphone structure.

• 1993

  Acquired by Gibson

  [1]Original Musical Instrument Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Gibson acquired Original Musical Instrument Company, later renamed it Original Acoustic Instruments, and relocated manufacturing to Nashville.

• 1970

  Dobro name reacquired

  [1]Original Musical Instrument Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Original reacquired the Dobro name after it had been sold in 1966 to Semie Mosely of Mosrite.

• 1967

  Company founded

  [1]Original Musical Instrument Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Rudy Dopyera and Emile Dopyera established Original Musical Instrument Company to manufacture resonator guitars.

• 1967

  Hound Dog instruments introduced

  [1]Original Musical Instrument Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company’s early resonator guitars were produced and sold under the Hound Dog brand.

A specialist heritage brand focused on American resonator guitars and the Dopyera family’s resonator-instrument legacy.

• Resonator guitars · 1967

  Hound Dog resonator guitars

  Hound Dog was the first documented product brand used by Original Musical Instrument Company. The instruments were resonator guitars designed around the mechanically amplified acoustic construction associated with the Dopyera family. Their branding represents the company’s early commercial identity before the Dobro name became more prominent.

• Resonator guitars · 1970

  Dobro resonator guitars

  Dobro resonator guitars are the principal product line associated with Original’s later history. The Dobro name returned to the company in 1970 and became closely connected with American resonator-guitar traditions, including blues, bluegrass, country, folk, and slide playing. Gibson continued the line through Epiphone after acquiring Original.

• 1993

  Gibson acquisition and operational integrationM&A

  Background

  Original Musical Instrument Company operated as a specialist resonator-guitar manufacturer with a strong connection to the Dobro name.

  Action taken

  Gibson acquired the company, changed its name to Original Acoustic Instruments, and moved manufacturing to Gibson’s Nashville headquarters.

  Aftermath

  Dobro resonator guitars continued under Gibson’s ownership through the Epiphone subsidiary, while Original became less visible as a standalone consumer brand.

  Source

• 1970

  Reacquisition of the Dobro nameStrategy

  Background

  The Dobro trademark had been sold in 1966 to Semie Mosely of Mosrite, while Original was developing its own resonator-guitar business under the Hound Dog name.

  Action taken

  Original reacquired the Dobro name and continued developing its resonator-guitar business, although Hound Dog branding remained in use for a period.

  Aftermath

  The Dobro name became the most prominent consumer-facing identity associated with the company’s resonator guitars.

  Source

1. 1Original Musical Instrument Companyen.wikipedia.org