Back in the early days when I
started
playing guitar and my interest was being sparked by the wonderful world
of fingerstyle acoustic blues and slide guitar, the sound of the
National made a mighty deep impression. Pivotal experiences
included listening and soaking up with every pore the excitement and
depth of sound displayed by so many National-twanging artists: Robert Petway singing Catfish Blues.
Son House and his Death Letter.
Bukka White Fixin' to Die on his way to Aberdeen.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe's powerful, ebullient gospel music.
Bo Carter with his Banana in Your Fruit Basket.
Tampa Red and his Duck's Yas Yas Yas.
Sol Hoopii like a jazzbo Hawaiian God Himself.
I Am the Black Ace, I Am the Boss Card in Your Hand.
Oscar Buddy Woods pleads Mama Don't You Sell It, Papa Don't You Give it Away.
Oscar Aleman, every bit as hot and sweet as Django Reinhardt himself, and many others...
Then there are the modern touring resophonic heroes, people that have become like an extended musical family of fathers, brothers and sisters:
American artists Taj Mahal, John Hammond, Bob Brozman, Steve James, Doug MacLeod, Robert B. Jones, Geoff Bartley, Paul Rishell and Annie Raines, Roy Book Binder, Robert Armstrong, Del Rey, Rich Delgrosso, Michael Roach, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Corey Harris, Spencer Bohren, John Mooney, Mike Gordon, Diamond Jim Greene, Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan, Harlem Slim, John-Alex Mason, Dave MacKenzie, Little Toby Walker, Dave Moore, Greg Brown, Joe Price, Bo Ramsey, Junior Barber, Pete Grant, Steve Creter, Fruteland Jackson, Mary Flower, Frank Corso, Hawkeye Herman, Jeremy Lyons, Scott Perry, The Original Snakeboy, Steve Arvey, John Hasbrouck, Dakota Dave Hull, Kari Larsen, Cam Waters, David Evans (former musical partner with Jessie Mae Hemphill), Tom Feldmann, Dan Phelps, David Jacobs-Strain, Pat Donohue, Mike Dowling, Shari Kane, Roy Rogers (Chops not Chaps), Johnny Winter, Paul Olsen of Scrapomatic and many others.
UK artists Dave Arcari of the Radiotones, The Blues Band's Dave Kelly (and his sister the late great Jo Ann Kelly), Michael Messer, The Notting Hillbillies' Steve Phillips and Mark Knopfler (also of Dire Straits), Roger Hubbard, Dave Foster, Martin Simpson, Mr. Downchild, Dave Peabody, Round Eyes Ray of the Hot Licks Cookies, Gypsy Dave, Aussie artist Jeff Lang and the late Irish legend Rory Gallager and many more all have had their lives altered irrevocably by this unique instrument.
In The
Beginning...
Invented in the USA by the Czech immigrant John Dopyera, Sr. in the 1920's, the first (and ultimate) National resonator instrument, the tricone guitar, was introduced to the world in 1927. Based in the Los Angeles area, the National company had a colorful, fascinating history and produced their most prized and beautiful guitars up until around WWII. In the 1930's you could purchase a Duolian single-cone guitar for 25 whole dollars! For the complete, complex story of the early days of the original National company, rife with cloak-and-dagger intrigue, check out collector and musician Bob Brozman's fantastic book, The History and Artistry of National Resonator Instruments (published by Centerstream/Hal Leonard).
A New Era:
The modern company, National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Inc. has taken the spirit and sound of National's best guitars of those halcyon years of the 20's and 30's and have created a line of guitars that are unrivaled in beauty of tone, playability and the very finest workmanship. Don Young and McGregor Gaines, the owners of National Reso-Phonic Guitars, worked for the OMI-Dobro company in the 1980's. Don had started making replacement parts for Nationals when he and McGregor decided to make National guitars. They set up shop in Don's parent's garage and initially made wood body instruments (the Islander, JazzBlues, M1 Mahogany and ResoLectric). In 1992 they started to make the brass body Style "O," using Bob Brozman's collection to create the Hawaiian motif. Their combined talent, drive and creativity have made a huge impact on the guitar world and their small factory in San Luis Obispo, California has produced over 15,000 instruments in the nearly two decades since the company's inception.
The Instruments:
National Reso-Phonic has
reissued the vintage classic
models including the single
cone brass bodied Style
O,
(now in 14-fret as well as 12 frets to the body) and engraved Style 3, and
brass
bodied tricones Styles 1
through 5.
All models
made after 1994 have excellent
adjustable double
trussrods. Innovations include many new models inspired by the classics: The Delphi is the steel-bodied equvalent of the early Duolian and Triolian single cone guitars, with several cool colors with a powdercoated "industrial" finish. The Polychrome Tricone is the fantastic steel bodied tricone. Both the Delphi and Polychrome Tricone also come in a Vintage Steel antiqued patina nickel finish that is very popular.
The Estralita Deluxe and M2 Mahogany are wood bodied single cone guitars that incorporate the best of the warmth and beauty of several of the vintage wood bodied models. The El Trovador has just been reissued as well.
Cutaway bodied new Nationals include the ultra-cool groundbreaking Reso Rocket and the brand new Tricone Cutaways.
My favorite new Nationals are the Baritone Tricones (in steel and brass bodies) which offer a longer neck and can be tuned as much as four or five half-tones lower for that extra-deep, gonad-rattling tone unrivalled by any other guitar. Most any single cone or tricone National can now be made as a Baritone guitar!
Great 12-strings are offered in most all models. The National ukulele is the cutest (big-sounding) little thing and comes in both metal and wood bodies, soprano and concert necks. They just introduced a fabulous new mandolin. Electric players are delighted by the ResoLectric guitars. One-of-a-kind custom art guitars are sublime. The Model D, Model D Deluxe and cowboy-roped Western D have delighted fans of the spider cone Dobro-type guitar.
What's New in 2008:
The Don - This 14-fret super-stunner is made of nickel plated German Silver. The ultimate single cone National.
ResoLectric Jr. II - The Res Jr. is back, this time with a sublime natural wood finish.
14-fret Style O
- Very popular, a reproduction of the 1936 model, replete with "chicken feet" coverplate and etched palm tree design.
Polychrome Tricone Cutaway, Vintage Steel Tricone Cutaway and Style 1 Tricone Cutaway
- A modern innovation of the classic tricone design.
The El Trovador
- A real beauty; all mahogany bodied, f-holed single cone guitar with a unique, larger and deeper body shape.
Lefty Tricones - finally available.
Frosted Duco Finish (in gold, green and grey) is stunning and now offered as an in-house upgrade.
Antique Brass Finish is now available for all brass bodied instruments. It's beautiful!
Baritone Guitars - Most all models, single cone and tricone, can be ordered with a Baritone neck. My favorite.
12-Strings - Available by special order for most all National guitars.
New Catalogue:
The new National Catalogue is a unique concept. It has 24 thick five-by-seven inch full color deco style cards with an instrument pictured on the front and full description and specs on the back of each card, suitable for framing.
It also contains two full-length CDs:
"Artists in Resonance II," an excellent compilation with 23 different artists (including myself) playing every model of National.
"Audio Catalogue III," with instrument comparisons, which will help you choose just the right National for you.
Order National Catalogue: $15 plus $3 shipping in USA and Canada, $5 everywhere else (One shipping charge, no matter how many items.)
Can you tell I love these guitars?
I play and record with several different new models myself; the Baritone Polychrome Tricone is my primary touring and recording National. I've been having a blast with the brave new world of the 12-string on my brass bodied, brass plated Style One 12-string Tricone. I have special uses for a Custom Baritone Estralita which is so beautiful looking and sounding, I can hardly stand it. My Radio Tone and Delphi get their workouts too.
I started my resophonic journey in 1979 on a 1930 steel bodied single cone Duolian. This is a truly great guitar, which has just been refurbished by Don and Mac and the gang. I had dropped this guitar in the ocean (not recommended!) back in the early 1980's while living on a sailboat in the Caribbean in my wayward youth, and when I sent it in to National it was a very sad looking, rust-bucket of a guitar. It came back reborn with a vintage, trippy crackle or "frosted duco" finish and new fingerboard. The guitar and I had a very emotional private reunion, songs coming back, seemingly playing themselves from over 20 years ago. Ultimately, a happy ending to what began as an unfortunate story.
The
advantages
of new Nationals
over vintage Nationals:
1. New Nationals have very good intonation, the vintage Nationals intonation are all a bit off.
2. New Nationals have fully adjustable truss rods in the neck. The vintage Nationals have no truss rods at all. My 1930 Duolian's neck had to be constantly re-shimmed, and had a bowed neck. New guitar's necks are solid as a rock and stay wherever you adjust them.
3. New Nationals have a lifetime of music ahead of them. Vintage ones, though quite a few are great instruments and have the legendary mojo of the olden days, need much more care, maintainence and are already seventy or eighty years old. Guitar players, by and large, tend to prefer new Nationals.
4. New Nationals have superior cones; vintage cones are often crushed, muted and banjo-like in tone from years of dust, petrofied bird's nests, playing and other general (ab)use. Don and McGregor and the craftsmen at National have really perfected the spun aluminum resonator, the heart of the instrument, and if something untoward happens to your cone, such as a hefty drop of the guitar or the cone's accidental use as a pot pie pan or frisbee (just kidding, I hope!), you can easily get fantstic new replacement cones at a nominal cost. You can always keep your original vintage cone, but I think the best sound comes from the new ones.
5. The staff at National are friendly and very responsive to the player's needs. If you ever have a technical question, you can give National a call and talk to a real human being who will help you.
1. New Nationals have very good intonation, the vintage Nationals intonation are all a bit off.
2. New Nationals have fully adjustable truss rods in the neck. The vintage Nationals have no truss rods at all. My 1930 Duolian's neck had to be constantly re-shimmed, and had a bowed neck. New guitar's necks are solid as a rock and stay wherever you adjust them.
3. New Nationals have a lifetime of music ahead of them. Vintage ones, though quite a few are great instruments and have the legendary mojo of the olden days, need much more care, maintainence and are already seventy or eighty years old. Guitar players, by and large, tend to prefer new Nationals.
4. New Nationals have superior cones; vintage cones are often crushed, muted and banjo-like in tone from years of dust, petrofied bird's nests, playing and other general (ab)use. Don and McGregor and the craftsmen at National have really perfected the spun aluminum resonator, the heart of the instrument, and if something untoward happens to your cone, such as a hefty drop of the guitar or the cone's accidental use as a pot pie pan or frisbee (just kidding, I hope!), you can easily get fantstic new replacement cones at a nominal cost. You can always keep your original vintage cone, but I think the best sound comes from the new ones.
5. The staff at National are friendly and very responsive to the player's needs. If you ever have a technical question, you can give National a call and talk to a real human being who will help you.
If you are interested in purchasing any new National, I would be happy to help you.
I am an official dealer for National, and I can help you get them direct from the factory to your exact specifications. All instruments come with hard case and no sales tax, unless you live in Iowa. I can usually meet most any other dealer's prices as well.
I offer total support before, during and after every purchase, to get you set up right to follow your string-twanging dream. I've sold dozens of new Nationals directly to satisfied pickers all over the world. I have over 30 years of experience as a touring performer and recording artist, and I'm very, very proud to be associated with this great company.
Please do email or call me at 319-338-3614 anytime, and I can get you prices and answer any questions.
Ask about custom features, too, including inlays, engraving, special finishes, custom headstock options, etc.
All models can have Highlander Pickups installed at the factory. These pickups really are the very best, specifically designed especially for Nationals, and since they are not easy to retrofit (and very few repair people should be trusted with a National of any kind, trust me...), it's highly recommended that you get them installed at the factory.
Thanks for tuning in!
yours truly, Catfish Keith
PS. All of my new Nationals (five different models are pictured above) can be heard on my more recent solo CDs, which are always available at concerts and directly from Penny and myself, direct to you, through this website. Thanks, -CK & PC
www.nationalguitars.com
www.highlanderpickups.com
Catfish Keith is a National
Artist/Endorser and an Official National Reso-Phonic Dealer.