In 1929, Dopyera left National to form the Dobro Manufacturing Company with his brothers Rudy, Emile, Robert and Louis, Dobro being a contraction of "Dopyera Brothers" and coincidentally meaning "good" in their native Slovak language.

Dobro Manufacturing Company licensed designs and supplied trademarks and parts to a series of vendors such as Kay-Kraft, Harmony (Sears) and Regal.

Production of all metal-bodied resonator instruments ceased following the US entry into the Second World War in 1941.

One of the few major players who is an exception to this rule is James Hill, who commissioned a specialized square-neck, high-action resonator ukulele from Beltona for the express purpose of playing in the lap style.

Several makers also offer metal-bodied reso-ukuleles with an artificially aged or rusted surface.

Resonator instruments may have round sound holes with screens or cut f-holes at the top of the face, or a hole cut into the side of the body angling up towards the player's face, through which the sound of the instrument issues.

Although the original aim of the resonator was increased volume, some modern instruments incorporate electric pickups, and players add pickups to non-electric instruments, and use the resonator purely for its distinctive tone.