National String Instrument Corporation
Encyclopedia
The National String Instrument Corporation was a guitar company that formed to manufacture the first resonator guitar
s.
The National brand and trademark are particularly associated with two of the three basic resonator
designs:
Terms such as National or National pattern are often used to distinguish these patterns from the Dobro
design.
s and resonator mandolin
s.
, the luthier
who invented the resonator, and George Beauchamp
, a steel guitar
player who had suggested to Dopyera the need for a guitar loud enough to play a melody over brass and other wind instruments.
In 1927, National produced the first resonator instruments and sold under their National brand. They had metal bodies and a tricone resonator system, with three aluminium cones joined by a T-shaped aluminium spider. Wooden-bodied models soon followed, based on inexpensive plywood
student guitar bodies supplied by Kay
, Harmony, and other established instrument manufacturers.
to produce a competing single resonator design, with the resonator cone inverted. John Dopyera continued to hold stock in National. The Dobro design was both cheaper to produce and louder than the tricone.
National soon introduced their own single resonator design, the biscuit, which Dopyera claimed to have designed before leaving, though the patent was registered by Beauchamp. National also continued to produce tricone designs, which some players preferred.
In their 1930 catalog, National list eight key associates, including Adolph Rickenbacker, George Beauchamp, Harry Watson, Paul Barth
, and Jack Levy.
In 1932, the Dopyera brothers secured a controlling interest in both National and Dobro, and merged the companies to form the National Dobro Corporation.
. their model range includes not only the tricone and biscuit mechanisms used on the original National instruments, but also the inverted cone design used on the Dobro.
Resonator guitar
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
s.
National resonator guitar designs
The National brand and trademark are particularly associated with two of the three basic resonator
Resonator guitar
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
designs:
- The tricone design with three resonator cones
- The biscuit design with a single cone
Terms such as National or National pattern are often used to distinguish these patterns from the Dobro
Dobro
Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
design.
Other National instruments
National also produced resonator ukuleleResonator ukulele
A resonator ukulele or "resophonic ukulele" is a ukulele whose sound is produced by one or more spun aluminum cones instead of the wooden soundboard...
s and resonator mandolin
Resonator mandolin
A resonator mandolin or "resophonic mandolin" is a mandolin whose sound is produced by one or more metal cones instead of the customary wooden soundboard . These instruments are sometimes referred to as "Dobro mandolins," after pioneering instruments designed and produced by the Dopyera Brothers,...
s.
Formation
The company was formed by John DopyeraJohn Dopyera
John Dopyera was a Slovak-American inventor and entrepreneur, and a maker of stringed instruments. His inventions include the resonator guitar and important contributions in the early development of the electric guitar....
, the luthier
Luthier
A luthier is someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. In the United States, the term is used interchangeably with a term for the specialty of each maker, such as violinmaker, guitar maker, lute maker, etc...
who invented the resonator, and George Beauchamp
George Beauchamp
George Delmetia Beauchamp was an inventor of musical instruments and a co-founder of National Stringed Instrument Corporation and Rickenbacker guitars....
, a steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
player who had suggested to Dopyera the need for a guitar loud enough to play a melody over brass and other wind instruments.
In 1927, National produced the first resonator instruments and sold under their National brand. They had metal bodies and a tricone resonator system, with three aluminium cones joined by a T-shaped aluminium spider. Wooden-bodied models soon followed, based on inexpensive plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
student guitar bodies supplied by Kay
Kay Musical Instrument Company
Kay Musical Instrument Company was a prolific American manufacturer of musical instruments that operated from the 1930s through the 1960s. Although Kay's first electric guitar was offered in 1936 , Kay is known as an electric guitar pioneer because their past company Stromberg-Voisinet...
, Harmony, and other established instrument manufacturers.
Dobro
In 1928, Dopyera left National, and with four of his brothers formed the Dobro Manufacturing CompanyDobro
Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
to produce a competing single resonator design, with the resonator cone inverted. John Dopyera continued to hold stock in National. The Dobro design was both cheaper to produce and louder than the tricone.
National soon introduced their own single resonator design, the biscuit, which Dopyera claimed to have designed before leaving, though the patent was registered by Beauchamp. National also continued to produce tricone designs, which some players preferred.
In their 1930 catalog, National list eight key associates, including Adolph Rickenbacker, George Beauchamp, Harry Watson, Paul Barth
Paul Barth
Paul Barth may refer to:* Paul Barth , German philosopher and sociological writer* Paul C. Barth , Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky* Paul Barth , Swiss fencer...
, and Jack Levy.
In 1932, the Dopyera brothers secured a controlling interest in both National and Dobro, and merged the companies to form the National Dobro Corporation.
National Reso-Phonic Guitars
In the late 1980s the National name and trademark reappeared on resonator instruments manufactured in California by National Reso-Phonic GuitarsNational Reso-Phonic Guitars
National Reso-Phonic Guitars is a manufacturer of resonator guitars and other resonator instruments including mandolins, ukuleles and 12 string guitars.The company was formed in 1989 by Don Young and McGregor Gaines, in a Californian garage...
. their model range includes not only the tricone and biscuit mechanisms used on the original National instruments, but also the inverted cone design used on the Dobro.
See also
- Resonator guitarResonator guitarA resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
, particularly the history section. - Dobro Manufacturing CompanyDobroDobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
. - National Reso-Phonic GuitarsNational Reso-Phonic GuitarsNational Reso-Phonic Guitars is a manufacturer of resonator guitars and other resonator instruments including mandolins, ukuleles and 12 string guitars.The company was formed in 1989 by Don Young and McGregor Gaines, in a Californian garage...
.
External links
- National Resophonic WebPage.
- Vintage Nationals Pickin' Parlor, online community..
- notecannons.com, Colin McCubbin's site devoted to prewar national instruments.