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Post by Colin McCubbin on Jun 13, 2006 1:21:57 GMT
Hi Lee, Yes I was looking at the Thames Valley Diamond in the 'instruments for sale part' and there was this bloke advertising a National... I recall it was the sq neck student model, which Steve Evans had fitted with a pickup stuck to the cone for you.. Great friendship ensued More like 12 years ago I suspect! I sold it to a guy here in Vancouver last year, who desparately wanted one, and was more than a little miffed to see him put it up on ebay and get nearly twice what I charged him only a few weeks later! When I left England I had another hawaiian, in red which I lent to a guy who had worked for me, as far as I know he still has it in Trowbridge, Wilts. Memo to self...Have to track it down one day I know of ones in black, red, white/ivory and grey, and have been told of one but never got pics with a green mots skin. Strangely they are probably the only Nationals for which I have never found an advert or sales brochure.. If anyone has sales literature I'd love to have a copy.
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Post by Colin McCubbin on May 12, 2006 22:04:17 GMT
Stuart,
That was the #2 square neck that I brought over for you I think... I heard through the grapevine that Dave Temple now has it, how is he doing BTW?
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Post by Colin McCubbin on May 10, 2006 4:18:02 GMT
Michael.
I know we make coffee when I visit you, but for all my 'younger' years on UK building sites the mantra was "Tea's up.. Tools down.. Time to read the... er... Sun? (does that paper still exist?)"!
I had years of practice at that one. PG tips rules.. OK?
Aloha
Colin
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Post by Colin McCubbin on May 10, 2006 4:12:00 GMT
Dave... My guitar? ..........
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Post by Colin McCubbin on May 9, 2006 7:19:56 GMT
Many of the prewar National and Dobros (especially Hawaiians) I buy/see have bone nuts that have broken. Although I prefer the tone, new bone nuts look too white so here's a hint to 'age' them. Make and fit the new nut . (Bone blanks are available from most good lutherie suppliers, I usually use ones from Stew Mac) Then simply make a cup of tea (no milk )and chuck the bone nut in the cup for a few minutes. Get it out and allow it to dry. The bone is porous and the tannin will have turned the nut to a mottled brown, it is very effective, and definitely looks old!
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Post by Colin McCubbin on May 12, 2006 22:09:52 GMT
If you ever get to Vancouver, Canada then look up luthier Michael Dunn, besides making wonderful Gypsy Jazz guitars, Hawaiian Style Weissenborns, and various harp guitars etc he is a consumate player of both styles. He also has and plays several National tricones, and partners Bob Brozman when Bob is up here. His site is at www.michaeldunnguitars.com/His band, 'the hot club of Mars' is well worth hearing either on CD or, even better playing live.
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Post by Colin McCubbin on May 4, 2006 17:04:05 GMT
As Pete says, The neck stick should travel all the way to the wood block at the tail of the guitar. Metal bodies are not as rigid in compression as wooden ones, especially at the string tensions/gauges used on resonator guitars, and the purpose of the neck stick is to resist the pull of the strings and stop the body from buckling or shortening!
On old Nationals where the block is missing or shrunken, it is very common for the body to have buckled under the tailpiece and/ or the top/side seam to have opened at that point. I've also seen tricones that have a pronounced fold in the body top between the coverplate and end of the fingerboard for the same reason,.
I have never seen any of the new instruments you are describing, but am really amazed if they are not doing this!
The usual 'old' way is to have a fairly substantial block of wood against the end of the instrument and, then for a small wedge to be inserted between the end of the neck rod and the block to fill any gap. Finally the strap button screw goes through block and wedge and into the end of the neck stick.
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Post by Colin McCubbin on Apr 25, 2006 0:44:24 GMT
Michael,
Did you get the UK pricelist with yours? If so It would be interesting to compare it with the US$ I have.
Colin
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Post by Colin McCubbin on Apr 23, 2006 2:13:12 GMT
As Colin Brooks says, it would be a model 90 if it had a slotted headstock. With this headstock and round neck/national cone, it is indeed a 33H. Here is a scan of two pages from the Dobro 197? catalogue. Sadly the brochure has no date, but, as you see from the price list, they do list the 33H with round neck, peg headstock,a National type cone and coverplate. The Dobro set up is 33H-1 and Dobro with a square neck is 33H-S Stuart, (marshcat) has given you the dates, so...problem solved! Aloha Colin McCubbin
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Post by Colin McCubbin on Mar 17, 2006 16:55:01 GMT
Thanks for the headstock decal picture Andy, I've placed it on a server and it should be visable for all to see below this. I'd love to receive (and post) pics of the whole instrument too if you can take them. It looks very like the one on my woodbodied mandolin, I'll dig that one out and post it here too. I haven't any info, but am seeing Brozman on the 25th in Vancouver, so I'll 'question the oracle'.... Aloha
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Post by Colin McCubbin on Mar 16, 2006 4:46:29 GMT
I have a wood bodied single cone mandolin with a headstock decal that sounds similar to yours..
If you can, please take some pics and either post them here, or, email them to Michael or me via our websites then we can take a closer look and maybe be of more help.
Aloha
Colin
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Post by Colin McCubbin on Mar 21, 2006 4:17:48 GMT
Hi, Found these pics of your amp you had posted at Yahoo, so I took the liberty of grabbing them so I could post them here... The only National Catalogue I have with similar pictured amp, is dated 1948, the amp was the model 1200 and was sold with the 1075 Chicagoan lap steel (the one with grey MOTS body) There were many very similar amp units made over the years with either vertical slots or horizontal with rounded ends but this is the only one I can find with horizontal, rrectangular slots.
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Post by Colin McCubbin on Mar 20, 2006 1:03:47 GMT
I've just received , and added, a schematic with a very similar tube line up to the circuit diagram page at notecannons. Please take a look and let me know if it is 'the one' (should be close!) Aloha
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Post by Colin McCubbin on Mar 13, 2006 18:12:23 GMT
Thanks Mikael,
I have subscribed to that group, thanks for the information!
Colin
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Post by Colin McCubbin on Mar 10, 2006 17:30:30 GMT
Hi,
Schematics for Nationals are in really short supply. The only ones I have found in 35 years of looking are the two I have posted at notecannons.
It will be easiest to identify your amp if you can post some pictures, it isn't a 'model 51' BTW, that was valco's Zip code (postal code) in Chicago, so all their amps say that!
If you can add the pics of your amp to an email and send it to either me, or to Michael via the email addresses at our websites, we'll try and help more.
Aloha
Colin
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