National Town & Country Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1956), made in Chicago, natural lacquer finish, maple body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, molded black plastic hard shell case.
This striking and super stylish Populuxe-influenced National solidbodies of the mid-late 1950's came in several variations (most notably the "standard" Town & Country and the fancier Glenwood) but were generally a single overall design. They feature a flat-topped solid but heavily routed maple body, the unique metal-cored "stylist" adjustable-pitch neck and 2 powerful Valco pickups. With ivory celluloid body and neck binding and fancy block fingerboard inlay the Town & Country is a fairly fancy guitar, and with the accent on plastics looked very modern at the time. The pickguard is back-painted clear lucite with a raised cream center section. The back of the body is covered in heavy cream celluloid (great for preventing belt buckle wear!) while the headstock is faced in black plastic with a nifty raised chrome logo like a '50's car. The control circuit is relatively complex with a large 3-way master selector lever near the jack and individual tone and volume knobs for eack pickup, PLUS the 2-pickup combination making for 6 small knobs lined up on the bass side of the body. This looks daunting sounding but in action is actually quite versatile and the guitar has a wide range of sound from a sharp twang to some flat-out raunch when pushed. These well-made guitars are some of the 1950's coolest unsung solidbodies; when new they were fairly expensive (CMI sold these alongside Les Paul standards, and not for a whole lot less money!) and stand today as a relative bargain in a vintage solidbody.
Overall length is 38 in. (96.5 cm.), 12 1/8 in. (30.8 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.). Very clean overall; some light general wear (most noticeable the pinstriping and logo on the raised section of the pickguard partially worn off) but no serious areas of loss. There are small areas of finish disturbance on the bottom edged of the headstock where the guitar sat in a hanging rack and a very slight (repaired) separation to the headstock wing laminate on the bass side by the low E tuner. The tailpiece is a 60's Hofner-made short trapeze that is not original, anthough it looks cool and fits the guitar well. A good playing and great sounding example-includes a modern molded plastic case that fits well and makes up in practicality what it lacks in romance. Overall Excellent Condition.
