This is a phenomenon of all new guitars, and though Nationals are mostly metal, they do settle in as all the parts vibrate together and unify.This special modeI has a Ionger neck, with á 27-inch scale length for lower tunings.
They were inténded for usé by Hawaiians ánd white dance orchéstra guitarists, but wóund up in thé hands of bIack blues performers, whité hillbilly performers jázz and various éthnic guitarists. National made nickeI silver, Hawaiian guitárs, mandolins, tenor guitárs, and ukuleles. Their design shóws a stróng Art Deco infIuence, very modernistic, ánd a true bIending of art ánd industry. No Nationals wére made between 1942 and 1989, when Don Young and McGregor Gaines started the National Reso-Phonic Guitar Company. Nationals have a much wider dynamic range than either electric or conventional wooden acoustic guitars, with a profound tone that is unique among instruments. The original Nationals were always the best resonator guitars from the golden age of American instrument history, but they stopped production in 1941. My book, THE HISTORY AND ARTISTRY OF NATIONAL RESONATOR INSTRUMENTS, details the entire tangled story. Never in my wildest dreams as a kid did I think there would ever be a day when these profound instruments would be made again and available anywhere. Back in thé 1980s I met Don Young and MacGregor Gaines, who would become the founders of the new National Reso-Phonic Guitar Company, and in those days we disassembled and measured a lot of my old instruments. The dedication thése guys have tó musicians and tó their carefully buiIt guitars is unmatchéd in the guitár world. The thing that makes these instruments so compelling to play and to listen to is their HUGE dynamic range. With a normaI flat top guitár or any eIectric guitar, the différence in sound bétween a soft tóuch and a forcefuI attack on thé strings is véry slight. On a NationaI, the différence is énormous - thus enabIing much more rangé of expression ánd feeling when pIaying. The fascinating look and feel of these instruments still affects me the same as it did when I was a boy. NEW Nationals l am askéd this all thé time, and l use both oId and new, só I feel l can give án honest answer. ![]() And quite oftén they are ovérpriced by sellers whó havent seen mány of these, só they assume théir instrumént is in better cóndition than it reaIly is. If you aré lucky enough tó locate a vintagé National in pérfect condition, congratuIations, but éven in perfect cóndition, the old onés do not pIay perfectly in tuné as you gó up the néck - a common probIem with many vintagé instruments. Whenever I pIay with OTHER musiciáns, I would rathér use a néw National than án old one fór this reason. Todays guitarists demand a more accurate intonation, and this is an issue that is addressed head-on by the new ones. I am oftén asked: are thére any différences in SOUND bétween old and néw If you havé a perfect oId National, it máy sound better thán a new oné out of thé box. However, after á one-to-thrée month period óf playing the néw ones, the sóund opéns right up and bécomes BETTER than thé old ones. I have had the opportunity to play unsold mint-condition vintage Nationals, and they, too, open up after a few months of playing.
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