National

At the National ResoPhonic Guitar Company in San Luis Obispo, CA, each instrument is finished with a multi-staged hand-textured finish for an individual look and semi-smooth surface profile.   This means that no two are alike. The thin-gauge steel body has flat cut "f" holes, a formed back, and period-correct, traditional non-ribbed coverplate. Each mahogany neck clears 12 frets to the body and features an unbound ebony fretboard complete with mother-of-pearl position markers. It has a vintage-style plain tuners, ebony nut, and its "National" stamped headstock logo completes the look this classic.

The National List Price $2400

This is an interesting National model that is no longer offered.  It has a large 1940s style headstock with the National crest decal, the word “Reso-Phonic” in white silkscreen, and then six art deco angled straight lines with “Radio” vertically and “Tone” horizontally between them in a fat, “circus” type font.  The East Indian rosewood fingerboard is inlaid with 9 grained ivoroid dotmarkers in 7 positions; the face has 6 deco cut-outs (3 on each side of the fingerboard extension) and a 10” diameter cover plate with the traditional design of 9 groups of 41 holes comprising diamonds.

The NRP Tricone borrows many of its features from our single cone NRP guitar. The body is made from thin-gauge steel and has a formed back. Each is carefully hand painted at our factory in San Luis Obispo, Ca. A mahogany neck clears 12 frets to the body and features an unbound ebony fretboard complete with inlaid mother-of-pearl position markers. Tuners are vintage-style engraved, open gear.

Its tuners are National brand; the nut material is bone (much like ourselves); the fingerboard is rosewood bound with ivoroid and displaying mother of pearl markers.  The fret wire (I know you need to know this) is .106 in width and .039 in height.   This model utilizes a 9.5” hand-spun resonator with a maple biscuit; the neck is hard rock maple so you know what kind of music you can play on it.  This is $1747 Discount Price or $1695 at our Cash Discount Price - but it is right now "on hold" for a local buyer.

There are few 20th Century art deco designs as beautiful as the design of the German Silver (which is a fancy way of saying nickel alloy) prewar National single cone mandolin that are as easy to play – and LOUD? Don’t ask! This 8-string powerhouse is remarkably powerful, with original hard shell case. There are few 20th century art deco designs as beautiful as the design of the German Silver (which is a fancy way of saying nickel alloy) prewar National single cone mandolin. This one plays nicely and sounds incredibly good.  THIS WAS $3087. IT IS NOW ON SALE:

a wonderful sounding and attractive wood-body resophonic instrument built with a slotted headstock, having an engraved headstock logo, vintage style National tuners. It utilizes a bone nut, an ivoriod heel cap, an ebony fretboard and a biscuit bridge. The guitar’s fetching, enticing body is made laminate mahogany - but then so were its prewar antecedents. It comes in a fine hard shell case.

The National List Price is $3600

A mahogany body combines with a highly figured Eastern hard rock maple veneer top. It has an actual rosewood fretboard; its solid peghead has a pearloid overlay, its body is equipped with a P-90 pickup in the neck position and there’s also the Highlander IP-1X Piezo pickup in the saddle. Extreme versatility, and the sound from the hidden hollers of Hell, right at your fingertips to do with as you please.

One of the loudest fretted instruments you will ever, in your life, hear. Handsome, robust, useful, full of both vim and vigor, this is a mandolin for the extroverted and the musician who needs to be heard.