National Style 1 Tricone Roundneck Resophonic Guitar (1928)
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National Style 1 Tricone Roundneck Model Resophonic Guitar (1928), made in Los Angeles, serial # 0510, nickel plated finish, German silver body, mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This is a lovely fairly early production example of one of the most original -- and distinctive -- fretted instruments of all time, the National "Silver Guitar" Tricone Style 1 "Roundneck". These gleaming metal-and-wood creations were introduced in 1926-7; they are still widely considered the finest acoustic instrument ever created for slide playing.
Tricones were a brief sensation in the opulent 1920s, especially popular with professional Hawaiian players. This Style 1 dates to 1928 before the onset of the Depression; at the time the "Silver Guitars" were National's only real product line. Cheaper single-cone resonator designs were still in the company's future. The Style 1 originally retailed for $125.00, a tremendous sum even during the roaring '20's. After the Stock market crash these German Silver guitars would be produced in ever-smaller numbers as the much cheaper Duolians, Triolians and Style 0's become National's breadwinning products. Roundneck Tricones are especially rare, heavily outsold at the time by the square-neck Hawaiian version.
The Style 1 with the gleaming unengraved nickel-plated body is the 'purest' example of National's Art Deco aesthetic, and mysteriously often seems to be the best sounding as well, although there is no scientific reason why! The Styles 2-4 with increasingly elaborate engraved bodies are even rarer but are built to the same specs, just more opulently turned out.
While all Tricones are exceptional slide guitars this roundneck "Spanish" Tricone is also an excellent and totally unique-sounding guitar for other styles of play besides the Delta Blues they are associated with. The German silver body has three spun aluminum cones fitted in a well in a triangle pattern under the tri-armed aluminum bridge that activates them, covered with a screen-hole coverplate with a central handrest. The mahogany neck has a fairly slim (for a National) soft "V" profile topped by a bound ebony fingerboard with pearl dot inlay.
This guitar has an unusual feature particular to 1928-9 Tricones-the top edge of the headstock is cut on an angle, sloping backwards from the face. Just why this was done is lost to history, but it is distinctive to instruments built at this time. The slotted headstock has Waverly strip tuners and the "National" logo decal on the face. The guitar bear a fairly low serial number 0510 stamped on the body under the tailpiece.
This particular Style 1 shows some repair work but remains a fine playing example suitable for both open-tuned slide and regular Spanish play with the rich and complex sound only Tricones produce. This is also an excellent and totally unique-sounding guitar for many other styles of play, offering a distinctive tone in any context.
Overall length is 38 1/2 in. (97.8 cm.), 14 3/16 in. (36 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 13/16 in. (46 mm.).
This original Tricone shows some general wear and was recently re-worked by 1920s-centric Fraulini Guitars' Todd Cambio to be an excellent player without losing its vintage vibe. The neck was reset, and a long grain split right down the center along the back from the first to ninth fret area sealed up. This is completely solid but not overfinished, so visible on close inspection. The back of the neck also has some fairly significant finish wear down to the wood. The headstock has some wear as well but the somewhat decal is largely intact.
The nickel finish on the body has general wear including minor corrosion, scratching and some small dents mostly along the rims. The top of the handrest and several areas of the coverplate have some odd finish loss where it looks like some sort of tape might have been applied, and there is some armwear to the upper edge. None of this is too distracting from the overall appearance.
The cones are modern NRP replacements (the originals were unfortunately crushed) and the saddle is new. The 3-point bridge crossbar unit, fluted tailpiece and engraved Waverly tuners remain original. The original frets have been polished out and show no subsequent wear, the fingerboard has some light wear in the lower positions. This is an excellent playing "Spanish" roundneck Tricone even with the repairs, and fabulous-sounding with a deep rich tone. It even includes the very rare original hard shell case with some wear and a somewhat funky handle but still functional condition. Overall Very Good Condition.
This is a lovely fairly early production example of one of the most original -- and distinctive -- fretted instruments of all time, the National "Silver Guitar" Tricone Style 1 "Roundneck". These gleaming metal-and-wood creations were introduced in 1926-7; they are still widely considered the finest acoustic instrument ever created for slide playing.
Tricones were a brief sensation in the opulent 1920s, especially popular with professional Hawaiian players. This Style 1 dates to 1928 before the onset of the Depression; at the time the "Silver Guitars" were National's only real product line. Cheaper single-cone resonator designs were still in the company's future. The Style 1 originally retailed for $125.00, a tremendous sum even during the roaring '20's. After the Stock market crash these German Silver guitars would be produced in ever-smaller numbers as the much cheaper Duolians, Triolians and Style 0's become National's breadwinning products. Roundneck Tricones are especially rare, heavily outsold at the time by the square-neck Hawaiian version.
The Style 1 with the gleaming unengraved nickel-plated body is the 'purest' example of National's Art Deco aesthetic, and mysteriously often seems to be the best sounding as well, although there is no scientific reason why! The Styles 2-4 with increasingly elaborate engraved bodies are even rarer but are built to the same specs, just more opulently turned out.
While all Tricones are exceptional slide guitars this roundneck "Spanish" Tricone is also an excellent and totally unique-sounding guitar for other styles of play besides the Delta Blues they are associated with. The German silver body has three spun aluminum cones fitted in a well in a triangle pattern under the tri-armed aluminum bridge that activates them, covered with a screen-hole coverplate with a central handrest. The mahogany neck has a fairly slim (for a National) soft "V" profile topped by a bound ebony fingerboard with pearl dot inlay.
This guitar has an unusual feature particular to 1928-9 Tricones-the top edge of the headstock is cut on an angle, sloping backwards from the face. Just why this was done is lost to history, but it is distinctive to instruments built at this time. The slotted headstock has Waverly strip tuners and the "National" logo decal on the face. The guitar bear a fairly low serial number 0510 stamped on the body under the tailpiece.
This particular Style 1 shows some repair work but remains a fine playing example suitable for both open-tuned slide and regular Spanish play with the rich and complex sound only Tricones produce. This is also an excellent and totally unique-sounding guitar for many other styles of play, offering a distinctive tone in any context.
Overall length is 38 1/2 in. (97.8 cm.), 14 3/16 in. (36 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 13/16 in. (46 mm.).
This original Tricone shows some general wear and was recently re-worked by 1920s-centric Fraulini Guitars' Todd Cambio to be an excellent player without losing its vintage vibe. The neck was reset, and a long grain split right down the center along the back from the first to ninth fret area sealed up. This is completely solid but not overfinished, so visible on close inspection. The back of the neck also has some fairly significant finish wear down to the wood. The headstock has some wear as well but the somewhat decal is largely intact.
The nickel finish on the body has general wear including minor corrosion, scratching and some small dents mostly along the rims. The top of the handrest and several areas of the coverplate have some odd finish loss where it looks like some sort of tape might have been applied, and there is some armwear to the upper edge. None of this is too distracting from the overall appearance.
The cones are modern NRP replacements (the originals were unfortunately crushed) and the saddle is new. The 3-point bridge crossbar unit, fluted tailpiece and engraved Waverly tuners remain original. The original frets have been polished out and show no subsequent wear, the fingerboard has some light wear in the lower positions. This is an excellent playing "Spanish" roundneck Tricone even with the repairs, and fabulous-sounding with a deep rich tone. It even includes the very rare original hard shell case with some wear and a somewhat funky handle but still functional condition. Overall Very Good Condition.