The Twelfth Fret ~ Since 1977 ~

National String Instrument Corporation

❌SOLD❌ National Squareneck Tricone Style 2.5, 1929

On January 1, 2023   /    
❌SOLD❌ National Squareneck Tricone Style 2.5, 1929

This National Squareneck Tricone Style 2.5 is one of the earliest resophonic guitars built, produced in 1929 in Los Angeles – with many components actually made by a nearby machinist and metalwork contractor, Adolph Rickenbacher. This is an early example of a production resophonic guitar – the first production took place in 1927.

Vintage
Price: $4,500.00 CAD

This instrument has sold

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❌SOLD❌ National Style 97 Squareneck Tricone Surfer Girl Resophonic, 1938

On February 8, 2020   /    
❌SOLD❌ National Style 97 Squareneck Tricone Surfer Girl Resophonic, 1938

Here is a rarity – a National Style 97 Square neck Tricone with the Surfer Girl motif on a sandblasted and enameled nickel plated brass body. These were built in small numbers from 1936 to 1940. By 1941, the materiel demands for the burgeoning war brought production of resophonic guitars to a halt. The ‘B’ prefix in the serial of this guitar is said to first appear in 1938. This National Style 97 likely dates to 1938. This rare model uses a 12-fret square neck on nickel plated brass body, treated with sandblasting to create various scenes, mostly based on Hawaiian imagery. On this guitar, the scene is of woman surfing with a palm tree in the mid field and volcano in the distance.

Vintage
Price: $6,550.00 CAD

This instrument has sold

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❌SOLD❌ National Dynamic Lap Steel Red and White, 1962

On August 16, 2019   /    
❌SOLD❌ National Dynamic Lap Steel Red and White, 1962

The National Dynamic Lap Steel was built from 1961 to 1968 for National String Instrument Corporation by Valco in Chicago, Illinois. National at this point had fallen far from its heyday after inventing the Resophonic guitar (plus mandolin and ukulele) to provide more volume to working guitarists. It was founded by guitarist George Beauchamp and luthier John Dopyera in 1927. Dopyera left National to form, with his brothers, the DoBro company in 1928 and produced single cone resonator models. Dopyera purchased a controlling share of National in 1932 and merged National and DoBro production. Many instruments like the National Dynamic lap steel were produced, along with matching amplifiers.   

Vintage
Price: $750.00 CAD

This instrument has sold

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THE TWELFTH FRET

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