National Style 1 Roundneck Resophonic Guitar (1930)
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Item #14072
National Style 1 Roundneck Model Resophonic Guitar (1930), made in Los Angeles, California, serial # S-229, nickel plated finish, German silver body, Mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This is a fine playing, early depression era example of one of the most original -- and distinctive -- fretted instruments of all time, the National "Silver Guitar" Tricone Style 1 "Roundneck". This one has had some re-working for playability's sake but remains largely original and a fine sounding National. 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 sensation in the opulent later 1920s, the top choice of most professional Hawaiian players. This Style 1 dates to 1930 just after the onset of the Depression; at the time National was rushing to get cheaper single-cone resonator designs were into production as these "Silver Guitars" had been their only real product line, and now fewer people could afford them. 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 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) very soft "V" profile topped by a bound ebony fingerboard with pearl dot inlay. The slotted headstock has Waverly strip tuners and the "National" logo decal on the face. The guitar bear the serial number S229 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 7/8 in. (98.7 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 13/16 in. (46 mm.).
This original Tricone shows some fairly light general wear and has been somewhat re-worked to be an excellent player without losing its vintage vibe. The neck was reset with a shim added behind the heel to improve intonation, which is indeed better than many old Nationals. There is an old split though the heel, neatly sealed up and well disguised, and the neck has a thin lacquer overspray from the heel to up just behind the nut. This is visible on close inspection, a strap button was added to the heel as well. The back of the neck has some finish wear down to the wood along the spine through this added finish. The headstock has some wear but was not overfinished and the somewhat fragile decal is largely intact with a couple of small edge chips.
The nickel plating on the body has some general wear including light corrosion dinks, scratching and some small dents mostly concentrated on the top in the area of the upper rim. There is less wear to the plating than many Nationals and the top of the handrest and coverplate are largely free of the common hand contact wear. None of the wear is too distracting from the overall appearance, and this Style 1 remains quite shiny overall.
The three cones are original; a set of modern National company replacements is included and can be installed if desired. The maple saddle is newer; the 3-point bridge crossbar unit, fluted tailpiece and engraved Waverly tuners remain original. The ebony fingerboard has been trued, refretted with wire somewhat larger than the original and rebound with correct style ivoroid; for some reason the side position marks were inlaid as small black diamonds; we don't know why this was chosen but they are easy to see while playing! The original bone nut has been shimmed up a bit.
This is an excellent playing "Spanish" round neck Tricone (at least partially due to the more recent attention paid to the neck and frets) and fabulous-sounding with a rich sweet tone. It even includes the original semi-hard shell case with some wear and a somewhat funky handle but still functional condition. Overall Very Good + Condition.
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This is a fine playing, early depression era example of one of the most original -- and distinctive -- fretted instruments of all time, the National "Silver Guitar" Tricone Style 1 "Roundneck". This one has had some re-working for playability's sake but remains largely original and a fine sounding National. 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 sensation in the opulent later 1920s, the top choice of most professional Hawaiian players. This Style 1 dates to 1930 just after the onset of the Depression; at the time National was rushing to get cheaper single-cone resonator designs were into production as these "Silver Guitars" had been their only real product line, and now fewer people could afford them. 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 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) very soft "V" profile topped by a bound ebony fingerboard with pearl dot inlay. The slotted headstock has Waverly strip tuners and the "National" logo decal on the face. The guitar bear the serial number S229 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 7/8 in. (98.7 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 13/16 in. (46 mm.).
This original Tricone shows some fairly light general wear and has been somewhat re-worked to be an excellent player without losing its vintage vibe. The neck was reset with a shim added behind the heel to improve intonation, which is indeed better than many old Nationals. There is an old split though the heel, neatly sealed up and well disguised, and the neck has a thin lacquer overspray from the heel to up just behind the nut. This is visible on close inspection, a strap button was added to the heel as well. The back of the neck has some finish wear down to the wood along the spine through this added finish. The headstock has some wear but was not overfinished and the somewhat fragile decal is largely intact with a couple of small edge chips.
The nickel plating on the body has some general wear including light corrosion dinks, scratching and some small dents mostly concentrated on the top in the area of the upper rim. There is less wear to the plating than many Nationals and the top of the handrest and coverplate are largely free of the common hand contact wear. None of the wear is too distracting from the overall appearance, and this Style 1 remains quite shiny overall.
The three cones are original; a set of modern National company replacements is included and can be installed if desired. The maple saddle is newer; the 3-point bridge crossbar unit, fluted tailpiece and engraved Waverly tuners remain original. The ebony fingerboard has been trued, refretted with wire somewhat larger than the original and rebound with correct style ivoroid; for some reason the side position marks were inlaid as small black diamonds; we don't know why this was chosen but they are easy to see while playing! The original bone nut has been shimmed up a bit.
This is an excellent playing "Spanish" round neck Tricone (at least partially due to the more recent attention paid to the neck and frets) and fabulous-sounding with a rich sweet tone. It even includes the original semi-hard shell case with some wear and a somewhat funky handle but still functional condition. Overall Very Good + Condition.
