The National Style 2.5 Tricone Squareneck, or ‘Style Two and a Half’ is very close to the Style 2, with just a rose engraving on coverplate’s hand rest making the difference. Introduced in 1927, the Style 2 was the top of the National line, with a brass body with nickel plating. The wooden components, such as the headstock, are Mahogany, except for the Ebony fingerboard. National Resophonic guitars were a radical, major innovation in musical instrument design.
Steel
The Gibson EH-500 Skylark, built from 1956 to 1968, was built in the waning days of the popularity of Hawaiian music; the EH stands for Electric Hawaiian in the same way that the ES designation stands for Electric Spanish. In 1968, Gibson ceased production of not only the Skylark, but their entire line of steel guitars.
The Michael Messer Lightning is a nickel-plated bell brass body, 1930’s style 12-fret single cone resonator guitar, intended to provide the tone and vibe of a vintage blues guitar, and it does this well. You get the vintage look and tone, but with modern playability and reliability at an affordable price. These are great instruments for fingerstyle and bottleneck blues playing. The Michael Messer Lightning has the characteristic attack, projection, resonance and volume of a ‘steel body’ guitar. As expected, it’s bright, but with a warmth and depth that avoid harshness and add a sweetness to the edge. The modern features include an adjustable truss rod.