2021 National Reso-Phonic Tricone Raw Resonator Guitar - Used

$3,450.00

Details

This Tricone Raw was crafted in 2021 by National Reso-Phonic in their workshop in San Luis Obispo in California. It’s in excellent lightly played condition with just a hint of fret wear. The body is made from German Silver, the same material as the National Tricones made in the late 1920s and early 1930s and it features the Raw, unpolished look.

If you think of what acoustic guitars sound like in the 1920s when this model was designed, playing a Tricone like this one will give you an idea why guitarists were so excited by them 90 years ago. The easy volume, without forcing, and the rich resonance and sustain, were a revelation as the electric guitar hadn't been invented yet. The current National Resophonic company has done an excellent job of capturing the sound of those original Nationals, and with playability that exceeds them. If you're used to hearing the more raucous tone of single-cone metal body resonator guitars, the deeper and smoother tone that comes from three small cones, rather than one large one, will be a pleasant surprise.

National Reso-Phonic’s Style 1 Tricone is one the most beautiful guitars ever made. The Tricone-style resonator guitar was invented in 1927 by John Dopyera, who wanted to build a louder guitar in those pre-amplified days that retained the warmth and clarity of a wooden acoustic guitar. His groundbreaking design settled on three resonating cones which projected the guitar’s sound so it could be over the sound of dancers and cut through a band or orchestra. National’s early ads proclaimed the Tricone as “The Greatest Musical Sensation of the Age” with a tone that “flowed like a river.”