My new (old) guitar

[snakehips]

Hi there !

Just thought I'd show off my new guitar.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f390/snakehips82/Burnley061.jpg

Its a National Style "O" resonator guitar - made in 1930 (76 years old !!!)

That's me on the left with the nickel-plated (brass bodied)and palm-tree stencilled beauty.
My band mate on the right is playing my 1934 National Duolian with original "duco" crystalline paint finish (steel bodied).
His own chrome-plated 1929 National Triolian (steel body) lies at his feet.
Now that's what I call heavy metal guitars !!

To his right is his 1920's Stella 12 string acoustic - it sounds like an antique mahogany wardrobe has been strung up with 12 strings - huge tone !

[Rick]

good pub too.

[ini]

Nice hairstyle, mate.

you have another pic of the guitar's body?
would like to see that finish bit better.. looks cool.

[snakehips]

Hi there !

OK ! Here are some closeup photos :

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/snakehips81/StyleOCoverplate1022.jpg
This is the back of the guitar. Note the Hawaiian scene - palm trees with branches opening out over the beach. The person on the boat in the lake with the volcanos in the background, the clouds, setting sun and stars too.

The front is the same except for the coverplate area is unetched.
In this second photo, I have removed the coverplate to reveal the 9.5" original resonator cone. The aluminium alloy for the resonator cone is spun on a lathe until the metal is very thin. Then it is pressed into the convex shape by one metal press/punch. Another press/punch embosses the spiral groove into the thin metal. This spiral groove increase the strength of the thin metal against the string tension of medium/heavy strings (13-56 phosphor bronze). The outer edge is corrugated into a couple of folds - to help the resonator cone vibrate freely.

This design is similar to amplifier speakers where an electrical signal goes past a magnet in the centre of a concave/convex paper cone. The magnet moves to the electrical signal (of music) and moves the paper cone to push air about (creating sound). In this guitar, instead of an electric signal moving the central magnet, the actual strings move the central wooden "biscuit"-bridge, transferring the energy to the resonator cone, amplifying acoustically the strings !!!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/snakehips81/StyleOCoverplate1018.jpg

Hope you like the photos !

One last thing !
This guitar has a modern acoustic pickup fitted to it, with a jack socket mounted in the treble-side F-hole.
The last owner also fitted a volume control on the bass-side F-hole. The volume control goes up to 11 !!!!!!!!!!!!

[ini]

Wow, that's some nice piece of art.

Never seen that, with build in speaker, cool stuff.
Thanks for the pics mate.

[Stew]

Hey rich that is beautiful. How amny is that you have now? I loved the sound you got on those beasts no need for amplification when big ole speaker built in.

Get in the jamroom and let the regulars hear these wonderful instrumants

Stew

[bigdoug]

that is a cracker, would love to hear it in the jam room too :smile:

[snakehips]

Hi there !

It is guitar hospital at the moment, down in London.

The neck angle needs a bit of work as it has shifted in 76 years !!

No truss rod in this one !! (just maple neck and stained black maple fingerboard)

There is some differences in sound between brass bodied and steel bodied resonator guitars (brass ones are usually nickel plated, steel ones are usually painted).

Also, from late 1934, they switched from 12 fret to body joined necks to 14 fret necks - actually by shortening the body by two frets. This had quite a bit of change to the sound too.
Then of course there are tricone guitars (the very original model) - with 3 smaller resonators (6" diam) inside instead of one big one (9.5").

Here is a pic of a some of mine :

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/snakehips81/BottleneckJohnvisit.jpg

And close-up of the tricone :
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/snakehips81/myavatar2.jpg

[ini]

Wow you have some exotic stuff there.

And that hairstyle is kick-ass, hehe.

[Stew]

Ini you should see how long it takes him to do the hair. I tell you 2nd wedding in history coming up where groo's hair takes longer than brides. First one was Elvis to Priscilla :smile:

[snakehips]

Hi again !!

How about my baritone re-necked National (with 17-76 strings !!)
Its got a 27" scale lingth and a 13.5 frte neck to body join !

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/snakehips81/BakeliteTriolian6.jpg

[Mr Smith]

You have some very nice old guitars there Richard!