Two rare National/Valco artifacts of the 1940s

[Noah Miller]

I have a fondness for acoustic archtop guitars, especially 16" ones like the Gibson L-4. So what could be cooler than a Gibson-built prototype, based around the mid '40s L-4, but with the National logo on the headstock and a unique fret marker pattern?

Paul Fox's book The Other Brands of Gibson has a chapter on National. Over 50 guitars were shipped from Gibson to CMI/National between 1944 and 1947, both flat-top and archtop acoustics. A handful made it onto a "tentative" 1946 price list, and even fewer actually made it into serial production. I am confident that this guitar is one of two "N-4s" listed in Gibson shipping ledgers; it shipped either Feb 9 or April 17, 1945 (Paul Fox was kind enough to email me what info he has). Interestingly, the guitar has a long 25.5" scale - unusual, but not unheard of for a mid-'40s L-4. As is the case with all instruments made by Gibson for other brands, there is no adjustable truss rod.

The guitar is in excellent condition, with no cracks or other damage, and not much cosmetic wear. The neck is dead straight and the playability is excellent. It sounds much like any other L-4, but the long scale gives it a bit of snap I have not heard before in this model. As far as I can see, every last screw is original. The case is original too, but all the hinges have broken so I bought a new one to house the guitar.

I also found what I thought would be the perfect floating pickup: a late '40s Supro model 755-1 "Silver Streak" floating pickup. If the housing looks familiar, check out some National tuner covers!

I thought the catalog's "hum-free" description was due to the shielding from the metal cover, but in fact, this is a dual-coil unit. It still works fine, but unfortunately, after several attempts to mount it on the guitar, I've concluded that it can't fit without removing or modifying the pickguard. There just isn't enough room for it. I may try to mount it on one of my archtop tenor guitars which has a smaller pickguard.

[Mark Makin]

Hi Noah, great find. I’m assuming this must be a variant of the National N150 from that 1947 price list. I think the N125 is a bit basic and the N285 a bit over the top.

[pete1951]

Fantastic finds. There were a load of ‘hum free’ pickups at the time, but I guess they were eclipsed in the 50s when the Gibson Humbucker came out.

One problem ( for me ) with such a pickup design would be a possible quiet spot in the centre, as someone who likes to bend their G string I might find notes fading when bending?
Pete

[Noah Miller]

I actually don't think this model made it onto that price list. There are two 16" models listed, and the more expensive one (the N-100) lists for the same price as a contemporary L-50 ($95); at the time, a sunburst L-4 was $142.50. The N-125, N-150 and N-275 are all described as 17" bodies.

The two coils on the pickup are just about touching, so it's not like there's a big gap between them. The same method of construction is frequently used on modern "noiseless" Strat, Tele and J-bass pickups. No quiet spot to worry about.

[snakehips]

Hi there !

The Dearmond FHC "Guitar Mic" and Rhythm Chief pickup models attach to the strings via a metal clamp - and provide hum cancellation.
I am wondering though if this pickup you show can truly have hum-cancelling if it's not somehow contacting the strings directly, or indirectly via the pickup mount onto the bridge.

Is this pickup actually hum-bucking by the design of the coils, rather than just by the external housing / attachment ?

PS. Shame they don't show the pickup on the actual guitar

[Noah Miller]

The hum cancellation comes from having two coils wound in reverse directions, sitting in reverse magnetic fields - RWRP, or Reverse Wind, Reverse Polarity. A bridge ground helps reduce noise that comes in through pots, wires, etc., but it's a different mechanism altogether from cancellation via two coils. While the Rhythm Chief has a double coil, the FHC is a conventional single-coil and is prone to hum as a result.

This pickup appears to be a true RWRP humbucker. Dobro made one as early as 1934 on the All Electric model, so Pete's correct that it wasn't new technology.

[pete1951]

Dec 20, 2021 12:27:19 GMT Noah Miller said:

The hum cancellation comes from having two coils wound in reverse directions, sitting in reverse magnetic fields - RWRP, or Reverse Wind, Reverse Polarity.

This pickup appears to be a true RWRP humbucker. Dobro made one as early as 1934 on the All Electric model, so Pete's correct that it wasn't new technology.

The phrase ‘Pete’s correct’ doesn’t come up very often so I thought I would give is a second post!

Perhaps the most talked about hum cancelling pickup on this forum is the Supro lap steel pickup used in some ‘Coodercasters’. The out of phase coils make it difficult to use with other ‘ normal ‘ pickups, 3 strings will always be out of phase. ( unless you give the Supro 4 output wires and have a fancy switch)
Pete