L
Lewguitar
Guest
Re: Here's the guitar of my dreams:
I am going to sell that Bassman. I haven't decided what to ask for it though. I thought I'd wait until after Christmas.
As for building a modern replica, for some reason National won't make one out of German Silver.
They do make one out of brass and one out of steel. The odd thing is, the cheaper Polychrome Tricone National makes and does in that powder coat colored finish is made of steel...and actually sounds better than the chrome plated brass model that is alot more expensive!
Steel sounds better than brass.
But it's the German Silver ones from the early 30's that sound the best of all.
Lew
I am going to sell that Bassman. I haven't decided what to ask for it though. I thought I'd wait until after Christmas.
As for building a modern replica, for some reason National won't make one out of German Silver.
They do make one out of brass and one out of steel. The odd thing is, the cheaper Polychrome Tricone National makes and does in that powder coat colored finish is made of steel...and actually sounds better than the chrome plated brass model that is alot more expensive!
Steel sounds better than brass.
But it's the German Silver ones from the early 30's that sound the best of all.
Lew
Curly
Moe's Bluesman
Re: Here's the guitar of my dreams:
here's a cool Polychrome:
Polychrome
these things have a pretty warm tone ... one of the best ways to get a good sounding Tricone at a reasonable price
here's a cool Polychrome:
Polychrome
these things have a pretty warm tone ... one of the best ways to get a good sounding Tricone at a reasonable price
L
Lewguitar
Guest
Re: Here's the guitar of my dreams:
Yep...in fact, as I mentioned, the Polychromes actually sound better than the much more expensive chrome plated brass deluxe model. I've had my eyes on one of those for some time. Lew
Curly said:
Yep...in fact, as I mentioned, the Polychromes actually sound better than the much more expensive chrome plated brass deluxe model. I've had my eyes on one of those for some time. Lew
Re: Here's the guitar of my dreams:
Hey Lew, here's another one: http://www.folkwaymusic.com/instruments/resonators.html
When I bought my National, I played a Polychrome and a Delphi. The Delphi had that really ballsy blues sound I wanted. I bought the Delphi. No regrets, but I'd still like to have a Tri-cone.
Are three cones really better than one?
Hey Lew, here's another one: http://www.folkwaymusic.com/instruments/resonators.html
When I bought my National, I played a Polychrome and a Delphi. The Delphi had that really ballsy blues sound I wanted. I bought the Delphi. No regrets, but I'd still like to have a Tri-cone.
Are three cones really better than one?
Re: Here's the guitar of my dreams:
I dunno about this. I talked with George Gruhn about this a while ago. He's never sold one for over 6K. He pointed out (rightly so) that while vintage Nationals have great bodies, they often have problematic necks. I'm not sure about this neck. I know that some of them had a layered neck, with a stiff maple board between the neck and fretboard. There is no adjustment to these necks, and since the seller makes a vague reference to a neck issue, I'd be leary, especially with it being a roundneck. Warped necks can be pricey to have fixed...when they can be fixed. Somebody with deep pockets might snag it, but for those of us without, I'd say look elsewhere. It looks nice, but his pics aren't very good and don't illustrate most of the issues he's describing. Buying stuff like this on eBay is really a risk, more than I'd be willing to take, at least. I got burned once with a prewar Dobro, before I knew what I know now. I was lucky and sold it to a dealer who could do the repairs it needed and resell it. I recouped most of my cost. When it comes to vintage guitars like this I'd rather go thru a reputable dealer, methinks.
I don't think I could bring meeself to buy a steel or brass body at this point, after having played a real tricone last year. There is no comparison. I'd have to save up/unload some stuff and wait till I could get the silver. Those Tricones are really nice. Much different-sounding than the rest. More refined, I think. More guitar-like and less banjo-like. The nickel-silver are all good tho. I like the Duolians I've played.
Here's a guy who makes em with nickel-silver. He told me the wait is 6 months, but I read in the PSG forum that it's more like 2 years. $2650 for a parlor guitar, $3150 for a tricone. The tricone on his site has a florentine cutaway, which I think I'd like. I bet he'd make a non-cut tho. I don't think those prices are bad at all, assuming they deliver the goods. Some of the fancier National RIs are in the $2500 range, aren't they? I don't know a whole lot about this guy's guitars. Never played one, but they are gorgeous things, and faithful to the National vibe. I'd love to have the mojo of an old one, but tone and playability trumps mojo in my book, especially when it can be had for a lot less coin
http://members.aol.com/metalgitar2/phillips.html
There's a Philips for sale on eBay right now, too. I think it's a tricone. Don't have the link.
There's also a builder in Paris that makes nickel-silver guitars, I'll have to dig around to find info.
I dunno about this. I talked with George Gruhn about this a while ago. He's never sold one for over 6K. He pointed out (rightly so) that while vintage Nationals have great bodies, they often have problematic necks. I'm not sure about this neck. I know that some of them had a layered neck, with a stiff maple board between the neck and fretboard. There is no adjustment to these necks, and since the seller makes a vague reference to a neck issue, I'd be leary, especially with it being a roundneck. Warped necks can be pricey to have fixed...when they can be fixed. Somebody with deep pockets might snag it, but for those of us without, I'd say look elsewhere. It looks nice, but his pics aren't very good and don't illustrate most of the issues he's describing. Buying stuff like this on eBay is really a risk, more than I'd be willing to take, at least. I got burned once with a prewar Dobro, before I knew what I know now. I was lucky and sold it to a dealer who could do the repairs it needed and resell it. I recouped most of my cost. When it comes to vintage guitars like this I'd rather go thru a reputable dealer, methinks.
I don't think I could bring meeself to buy a steel or brass body at this point, after having played a real tricone last year. There is no comparison. I'd have to save up/unload some stuff and wait till I could get the silver. Those Tricones are really nice. Much different-sounding than the rest. More refined, I think. More guitar-like and less banjo-like. The nickel-silver are all good tho. I like the Duolians I've played.
Here's a guy who makes em with nickel-silver. He told me the wait is 6 months, but I read in the PSG forum that it's more like 2 years. $2650 for a parlor guitar, $3150 for a tricone. The tricone on his site has a florentine cutaway, which I think I'd like. I bet he'd make a non-cut tho. I don't think those prices are bad at all, assuming they deliver the goods. Some of the fancier National RIs are in the $2500 range, aren't they? I don't know a whole lot about this guy's guitars. Never played one, but they are gorgeous things, and faithful to the National vibe. I'd love to have the mojo of an old one, but tone and playability trumps mojo in my book, especially when it can be had for a lot less coin
http://members.aol.com/metalgitar2/phillips.html
There's a Philips for sale on eBay right now, too. I think it's a tricone. Don't have the link.
There's also a builder in Paris that makes nickel-silver guitars, I'll have to dig around to find info.
