How to buy a vintage National Tricone Squareneck in Europe ?

[shapemod]

I'am looking for a n old National Tricone Squareneck to play Hawaiian steel in the style of Sol Hoopii, Benny Nawahi etc.
I played one in a guitar store in London that sounded amazing but 3000 Pounds seemed a bit expensive.
I played another one in New York that was reasonable priced (2600$) but it didn't sounded as great as the one in London.
There are some Tricones on american ebay but I think it is to risky to buy one without playing it before. Does anybody know a good source for that kind of instruments
in Europe?
Any help would be highly appreciated.

best

Sebastian

[Matt]

No, but I can tell you that it is very risky buying without playing one, but that you should expect to pay a lot of money for one, but not more than you feel an instrument is worth (a lot of people seem to think what they have it worth the price of a perfect specimen). Patience is your friend.

[Michael Messer]

Hi Sebastian,

I don't think the London price was too high. You probably should have bought it. Tricones are rare and valuable instruments and these days finding a good clean all-original square neck Tricone with a lovely tone, is going to be expensive.

Most of the dealers known for selling these instruments are not interested in selling an all-original antique guitar, they are just interested in selling....so be careful!

Here are a few places to go to look. Talk to the owners of these shops and tell them what you are looking for. They can often source stuff from their contacts.

Vintage & Rare Guitars - Denmark Street, London

François Charle - R & F Charle, Galerie Vero, Paris

Guitar Village, Farnham, UK

Let me know how you get on and if you need any advice about a guitar, I will be happy to help.

Shine On
Michael.

[pascal]

My guess is £3000 (3500€-4500$) is quiet a fair price in yours.
Don't forget you will have to pay the taxes (+ assurance quality shipment) from US.
BTW François Charle address is: 17 Galerie Vero-Dodat 75001 PARIS FRANCE Tel [phone] , but prices are high (but the quality of his vintage instruments is indisputable)
These guitars are scarce now, many people bought them to collect (Art-Deco gems) and of course to play. The last one was built in 1941! But IMHO the best one were built before 1934... (the latest ones were made of brass, rarely GS)

Found mine in a Swedish store years ago (after years of research), so the shipping risk was minor, and the guitar really rings.
Yep, patience is mother of the virtue!
Good luck.

[Brad Bechtel]

You could always buy Mike Neer's old 1937 National Style O square neck from Steve Takacs on the Steel Guitar Forum:
bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=247929

Personally I feel the current National tricones are as good as the originals, but if vintage is what you want, vintage is what you should get. Good luck on your search!

[shapemod]

Thanks a lot for all your input, highly appreciated. What's your experience, do the same models, like style 1 german silver from the early 30s sound very different from each other?
And if yes, would the difference still be there if you change the old cones to new National ones?

best
Sebastian

[triconehead]

If you´d consider a non vintage one,check out "Fine Resophonic Guitars" or the NRP´s:
There are more clips of their models played by this canadian pro.Just search for Burke Caroll/12fretguitarshop on you tube.
These guitars are not cheap either,maybe easier to find though.
Hope you´ll find your dream guitar!

[Michael Messer]

Hi Sebastian,

Many questions!

If you are going for a vintage National Tricone, make sure it is all original with original cones. I would also advise you to get a German Silver one as their tone is usually superior, but not always!

I think you need to play a few square neck Tricones before buying one.

I hope that helps,

Shine On
Michael

[Matt]

Michael, do you know of any good videos of players playing fine resophonic instruments? I know there are some clips of your videos out there, but the ones I've seen are quite brief. All this discussion makes me think that although I'd like a 'real' one one day, if I were a proper performer and needed something that was pretty much as good, but absolutely reliable then actually that'd be a great way to go. It'd be great to see a side by side comparison with an old national or something.

[triconehead]

I have been searching for more clips on Fine Resophonics too.I liked the clip Michael M posted earlier with the new Blues "28. Brief,but good.Close up, without confusing room ambience,no compression or eq - that´s the way to do it,simple.
By someone who knows how to play them of course...

[Michael Messer]

Here's a couple of clips of Fine Resophonic Tricones.......

Ken Emerson and Pascal Mesnier playing Sassy Hula



MM tuition DVD sample.....



Shine On
Michael

[triconehead]

Your sq. neck sure has a warm, full sound,nice

[shapemod]

Great, thank you all for your input, I guess there will be no substitute to playing a couple of vintage tricones to get an idea what's an great one.
Thanks for all the addresses.
Just in case I wont find my dreamguitar in Europe:
What are the go to stores in the US for vintage Nationals?

I already got two recommendations for New York:

Retro Frets (I already been there, amazing store and very friendly staff !)
Mandolin Brothers in Staten Islands

Are there any good stores in Los Angeles?
Thanks a lot.

Sebastian

[niko]

Jul 20, 2013 6:53:12 GMT shapemod said:

Are there any good stores in Los Angeles?

McCabes on Pico Blvd in Santa Monica is worth a visit !
www.mccabes.com/

[Brad Bechtel]

Here's a listing of National Resophonic Guitar dealers in California.
nationalguitars.com/locator/results_list.php?showonly=US&tab=US&zip=&distance=250&state=CA&city=&name=

I can vouch for the Claremont Folk Music Center and McCabe's as both being worth the time to visit in Southern California. Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, CA (near Stanford, south of San Francisco) is another excellent source.