1995 Style 'O' National research

[archiekidd]

Hello to all,
After acquiring a cracking (I mean in a good way) guitar yesterday (from a fellow MM Forum member...hello and many thanks, a true gentleman)I thought I'd delve a little deeper into NRP's manufacturing ethos and dynamic in their earlier days.
Michael directed me to the right people at NRP, I emailed, and less than half an hour later had a response. Well done and thank you to Jason Workman at National.
Basically I was querying a few gaps in my knowledge, though there are bigger chasms, I only addressed a few little ones!
To be as succinct as possible I flagged up the following - (all relate to my new acquisition) ...
1.NRP's non-adjustable bar truss rod.
2.No 'in-house' brand tuners, so Kluson Deluxe were fitted (obviously others were used also).
3.No stamping of serial number on the headstock (nor plaque).
4.Badge on headstock, pale blue, bearing 'Trade NATIONAL Mark USA'.

I'm loving the guitar, it's built like the proverbial. And none of the above is put forth in a negative way, it's just of interest to me as the new owner, trying to get a little more history as I enjoy the guitar. It's a BARNSTORMER. 

Can anyone contribute with first hand knowledge regarding an example from this era/year? Apparently the pale blue badges were used for just a few years and the stamping/serial plaques came quite a bit later (Michael's thoughts on this were most intriguing and revelatory).
I'd like to hear about your take on things, for instance truss rod? Tuners? General stuff? Does anyone have info on the cones used in '95?

Footnote - I'm pretty sure I've seen 1995 Style 'O's out there with a truss rod cover?? And does anyone have Grovers instead??

Thanks very much to anyone who can chip in.

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[Michael Messer]

Hi Archie,

Lovely post!

I am pleased it worked out well talking to Jason. I had a feeling it would.

I remember Don Young telling me that he had just bought something like 10,000 sets of tuners. I think that was later in 1998. Our late friend, Alan Timmins, (this is via Mark Makin) provided NRP with their first aluminium T bridges for tricones. There's lots of stuff from that time that I haven't thought about for a long time.

Enjoy your new guitar!

Shine On
Michael

[archiekidd]

Hey Michael,

Thank you! Your counsel and guidance led to enlightenment, it's much appreciated as always.
Jason was very speedy and helpful.

Only one drawback I've encountered so far... I have to use my little parlour guitar after 9.00 pm as this beast isn't conducive accompaniment to a bedtime story! LOUD...

Hoping to see you soon,

Archie.

[Ian McWee]

Hi Archie,

Definitely seen these N.R-P. Style 0's with the blue shield. The first importer / dealers was Slide & Picket (A.K.A National In The U.K) based in Worcester, and we brought in all of these models until mid-96 when the shop closed and the N.R-P contract then moved to a London-based store.

If your guitar was originally purchased from the U.K importer in '95 it would certainly have been through Slide & Picket in Worcester.

Slide On!

Ian.

[Deleted]

Nov 8, 2018 11:00:25 GMT Ian McWee said:

Hi Archie,

Definitely seen these N.R-P. Style 0's with the blue shield. The first importer / dealers was Slide & Picket (A.K.A National In The U.K) based in Worcester, and we brought in all of these models until mid-96 when the shop closed and the N.R-P contract then moved to a London-based store.

If your guitar was originally purchased from the U.K importer in '95 it would certainly have been through Slide & Picket in Worcester.

Slide On!

Ian.

The Style 1 I mentioned selling in THIS post had the blue shield and was acquired when Slide and Picket (AKA National in the UK if my memory serves me right) sadly ceased trading in 1996 through Phil Alexander. I was lucky to get it for £1850 so was quite happy to get £1500 nearly twenty years later.
Interesting story in that I used to make stained glass and I popped into my local glazier one day to be informed that 'there's a geezer in your old workshop wiv a lot of old guitars'. I'd only taken up guitar a couple of years previously so my interest was piqued and I dropped by and introduced myself to Phil and tried not to drool down my shirt at the guitars on offer.I subsequently bought (and sold) a lovely vintage Martin .00018 and Gibson L1 (there's a new thread waiting--guitars I wish I'd never sold) Phil was a pleasure to deal with and around the same time I bought a Diamond slide which I still use.The only two slides I own are Diamonds--mine's a pint of bitter Ian!

[Deleted]

PS Knew I had a pic of it somewhere.(Shield slightly squint for authenticity}

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[robbie]

my style 0 is a 1997 one..it has the blue badge , a flat head stock above badge and open type tuners

regards

[archiekidd]

Hi Robbie,
Cheers for the input.
Does yours have the truss rod cover to enable adjustment? And are the tuners Kluson or Grover?
Thank you...
Arch.

[robbie]

hiya archie,

yes, it does have a truss rod and the adjustment cover is on the headstock end of the fretboard ,I sent a email to national guitars to find out which way to tighten / slacken because as I understood it, national were the opposite way about to other " standard " guitars , and according to reply they were not sure because around about that time, they brought nationals inline with the standard way like others.. with regards to the tuners, I did infact replace them a year or two back with a set ( recommended by snakehips )from stewmac the original set were not so good, kept slipping and sorry cannot do not recall the make, but they were open back tuners also...…….....hope that helps

regards

les

[snakehips]

Hi there !

I had an August 1996 built NRP Delphi from new (bought in person, in Evanston, just outside Chicago), then later a 1999 NRP Radiotone Bendaway.
Both had those terrible "standard" tuners NRP were using.
My Delphi sounded fantastic - very 1965 Son House Columbia recordings.
It had a truss rod though. I think all the Delphis with the early non-crinkle sunburst finishes did not have trussrods. Same with the Style O's from that period. They may have brought in the truss rods earlier though.
I never liked the look of the metal badge on the headstock of Style O's and Style 1 Tricones (which is a big reason I went for the Style 1.5 Tricone in 2003.
On truss rods, NRP have info in their FAQ section about the switch to "standard" truss rods :
www.nationalguitars.com/faq-1

Copy&Pasted from that page, if I may ?



How do I adjust my truss rod?

Whenever you adjust a truss rod, whether you are a certified repair person or not, always use caution. For many years, our truss rods have adjusted the opposite of what is considered “normal” (counterclockwise to straighten the neck, clockwise to add relief). When we introduced the ResoRocket in 2004, we also introduced our newly designed truss rod that adjusts clockwise to straighten the neck, and counterclockwise to add relief. In January, 2005, we started using the new truss rods for all of our instruments.

****ALWAYS USE CAUTION****
1st Sight the neck and determine which direction your neck adjustment needs to be made.
2nd Detune the strings slightly.
3rd Insert a 1/8 Allen wrench all the way into the broached barrel nut, and make a very small adjustment. Sight the neck again. Has the neck moved in the direction you want it to? If so, continue adjusting as needed. Retune the guitar and check your progress.

****DO NOT OVER CRANK THE BARREL NUT****
Even trained professionals have stripped out truss rods by being over-zealous, going the wrong direction, and not checking their progress. We encourage you to call the factory at 805-546-8442 from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday–Friday if you have any questions.

[snakehips]

PS. All the team at NRP are great - and Jason Workman is often the person who will get back to you - and he is a lovely guy to deal with - very helpful too !

[blueshome]

I ordered a Style 0 from Slide and Pickit in September 1994. It eventually arrived in May 1995. I was told by them and Dobn that the long wait was because they were hand made in small batches. Mine was as described above, with the blue badge and Kluson tuning machines (still work fine)and baseball bat mahogany neck. I believe that Eric Schoenberger at this time assembled the bodies and McGregor’s wife carved the necks.
Shortly after this guitar arrived a friend orderefed a Style 0 which turned up in a few weeks complete with skinnier maple and a truss rod. I was told then was in response to dealer demand in the USA. I have to say that it didn’t sound in the same league as mine.
The guitar has never been opened and the only work has been for a partial refret.

[archiekidd]

Hi there blueshome,
That's very interesting, as all the responses have been.
Good to hear from you.
I'm loving the chunky, baseball neck as you describe. The guitar has real presence, and just feels right in your hands, if you know what I mean?
I'll admit I've not had the pleasure of playing a smorgasbord of older National guitars, original 'vintage' or otherwise, but the 1995 I have certainly delivers.
Great to hear more about an example of the same model (plus appointments) as mine, particularly as you've had it from new!
Glad to hear from you, and glad the Klusons are still good!
Cheers,
Archie.

[rbe]

blueshome, I think you are confusing Eric Schoenberger as either Marc Schoenberger or Eric Schoenberg (I think that is the correct spelling) or Eric Smith. Marc worked at National, but maybe not at that time. I am pretty sure he wasn't building the metal bodies when he was there. Eric Schoenberg is a well know vintage guitar dealer in Northern California, USA. He never worked at National. Eric Smith, who is now the owner of NRP, may have been there at the time and he could have been building metal bodies. McGregor’s wife, Marie, on the other hand, was the front office person. She did not work in assembly at all. No necks were shaped by Marie. It would have been more likely that Marc, Eric, Don or Mac were shaping the necks around that time.

As for other details. I have a Delphi and a Style 1 Tricone from 1995. Both have non-adjustable truss-rods and the necks are still straight to this day. The Delphi has a fat neck (I like it!) and the Tricone's is a little more slender, V-shaped neck. The Tricone also has the blue badge, the slightly rough water-base finish on the neck and the enclosed Klusons like yours. The Delphi has individual Grover Sta-tite tuners. I took the Klusons off the Tricone and replaced them with StewMac Golden Age tuners with the Kluson style plate. They were an exact match and I like the vintage aesthetic of the open gears, like the Kluson gears from around the 30s and 40s. I think NRP also used Van Gent tuners at some point too.

[petonella]

Hi archie
I have one exactly like yours. The best neck for me. Mine is sn 307. Great guitar, great sound.
This one is strung with medium gauge strings with 15 on the first for almost 15 years that is when I bought it and the neck is straight as the first day I played it. This thing seems to doesn't know about climate changes or something like that. It's not the best guitar in the world, but the best I could find and buy here in Brazil.