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Post by Michael Messer on Jun 21, 2014 14:02:34 GMT
Polly, You NEED a copy of Mark's book! I hope Mark doesn't mind me pasting this from his book... ©Mark Makin 2013© Triolian. 1934 Ser. No: 2239P By July or August 1934, these were the last polychrome instruments with a 12 fret body. The ‘f’ holes were now the smaller, rolled type. The most obvious feature, was the blotchy, indistinct pattern and the colour of the instrument which was now closer to a ‘pea-green’ colour. The coverplate now had ribs on it. Like other 12 fret single cone, rolled ‘f’ hole instruments, these are very desirable. As there appear to be very few which have turned up (around 4 or 5) - this instrument is probably very sought after! NB: The stencils were often ‘flopped’ to create a mirror-reversed pattern - 2247P for example uses the pattern as seen on 14 fret 2283P.Shine On Michael
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Post by polly on Jun 21, 2014 14:33:39 GMT
Yep, I do need that book. Well it looks like the 12 fretters with rolled holes just became even rarer. That's one less.
Michael, what do you know about the gavanized layer? I have honestly never seen the flaky wear that I have, on any instruments of a similar date. It's not like it's been abused. There's not a dent on her and all the original parts are there. The neck is only moderately worn. It's just the paint. It seems to have chipped off a little too easily. Don't get me wrong. I love the look of it. It's what first attracted me to her. I'm just puzzled though. I'll take you inside next. I had to take off the coverplate to work on the saddle. I play an aggressive finger style without picks and some of the strings were slipping out of the notches. While I was in there, I had a careful look and took some good pictures.
Goodonya.
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Post by polly on Jun 22, 2014 12:27:40 GMT
The cone and biscuit are original. The saddle is pretty worn and rough, but a bit of tweaking with my nut files was all it needed. The biscuit was glued to the cone. I read somewhere that they were either tacked,screwed or glued. I left it alone. There was surprisingly little dust inside. The felt gasket may be of interest. There's no reason to think that it's not original. (I'll post a picture in the gasket thread) Anyway, that was a year ago now, all back together, no harm done. It was so clean in there, it's hard to believe that it hadn't been opened before. The guitar get's played daily, openG slide, no worries. The action is about 4.5mm at the 12th fret, not bad. There's no reason to do anything to it, sounds beautiful. I might try a slightly lighter string gauge next time. It should be good for another 80 years. Goodonya.
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billp
MM Forum Member
Posts: 1
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Post by billp on Dec 28, 2014 8:50:32 GMT
Dear Polly: I just saw this thread and thought I'd reply as I have turned up something interesting. Just today, I bought a National from a chain guitar shop here in the US. It was sold as a Duolian, and they seemed to think that it was '34 or later. Well, I recognized it as a Triolian, and earlier than they thought. Turns out it is exactly 100 numbers lower than yours(2104P), and the lost (and somewhat more worse for the wear) middle "sister" of the two that show up in Marc Shoenberger's vid -- and of yours, too! My new girl looks closer in condition to yours than the two in Marc's video, and my neck is in bad need of repair. The cone, however, along with the slide sound and the mojo, is awesome! I just wanted to reach out to you and thank you for helping me sort out exactly what I had, and for leading me to the video. I got chills watching; I think that I will reach out to Marc to see if mine is a project worth taking on. I had fun playing her for hours while she put her hook in me. When I got her home (first time I tried this) I took her apart, and half assedly took out a bend in the cone that had lowered the biscuit, and slipped in the original nut (unglued). This left me with much louder and better tone, but a much higher action, and emphasized the tragic condition of the neck, which is hanging on by a thread, is useless for fingerpicking, and has some big cracks in the fingerboard. Well, I hope that she is not beyond repair, because I have fallen for her. I will keep you and the board posted. Thank you again, Polly for solving some of the mystery around my new addition. Best, Bill
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Post by polly on Dec 29, 2014 13:17:52 GMT
G'day Bill, good to hear from you. Congratulations on your Triolian. I'd love to see some pictures and any more details you'd like to share. No doubt, you will get the right advice here, regarding the pros and cons of restoration. In my case I've decided to leave it as it is. I have other Resos with better neck action ,but the mojo of the Triolian compels me to play her daily. Keep in touch mate. Goodonya.
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