NRP Tricone 1 mini review...

[snakestretcher]

The anticipation was almost too much! A box the size of a small wardrobe arrived this morning and nestling inside, in a nice green crushed velvet-lined case was a thing of beauty...

First impressions; I was expecting it to be substantial but it must weigh more than a Les Paul. I don't have any scales but 10 pounds seems about right. The build is flawless, finish is very good and the mahogany neck has a satin finish with a very 'organic' feel, wide but comfortable with a slight 'V' profile in the first few positions.
The nickel plate is mirror-perfect and the whole guitar has a sort of early Morphy-Richards kitchen appliance vibe!
The interior label states that it is a 20th anniversary of National Resophonic model.

It had been de-tuned for transportation so I first tuned up to standard, outside strings first. First strum and a huge 'brang' crashed out sending the cat scuttling out of the flap. Action is a nice compromise; a little higher at the nut than my preferred set-up but, as I'll be playing almost exclusively slide, it's just fine as it is.
Next I tuned to open D, donned my favourite Dunlop #228 slide and set to work. Sustain is very good and the middly tone is much closer to a regular acoustic than a single cone. It's considerably louder than my other acoustics but probably not as loud as I was expecting. I've only had it a couple of hours so haven't really had a chance to explore its potential yet-and the strings are a bit elderly. I use Elixir Nano 80/20 bronze on my other guitars so I'll experiment with those.

Needless to say I'm a very happy chap today; I've been after one of these for longer than I can recall.

Now, having said all that I have a question; I read somewhere that resonators improve with age similar to how wooden acoustics 'open up' after a while. So, assuming that's correct what should I expect, given time?
Thanks for letting me ramble on.

Snake

[lewiscohen]

Glad you're happy with it. I like mine too.

NRP tricones definitely seem to have a sound of their own quite distinct from vintage Nationals but also other contemporary builders.

Mine's had about 14 months of playing time now, no significant change in tone. Maybe a tiny touch more bass coming through but that could just be my high frequency hearing finally giving out

[melp]

Hi Snake,

Can almost feel your enjoyment through the note - nice one. I have found that the tone on each of my resonators has changed over the first few months, or when I have taken one to bits for some work.
Of course its a good idea not to take them to bits. Probably the most significant change was my MM Blues, the sound just sort of "opened up" over a few months, the same, to a less noticeable extent, with the Busker Cannon and my Sollophonic.

I have read others describe it as all the resonating parts bedding in and becoming stable. Which is why its a good idea to change the strings one at a time, so the biscuit stays under tension.

Its an interesting question. How do any of us know if our resonators are working at optimal performance, or even what is optimal performance? I have no clue, but I know when I like the sound and I think I know when its better.

Clearly string gauge is a major factor, heavy enough to move the cone, but not too heavy, or not too light. I note that my attempts sound much better with a heavier 1st string, in my case a 15 rather than a 13.

Of course there are so many variables, not least of which is our playing style. I played some slide on my Godin Glissentar, 11 nylon stringed fretless guitar, you have to have a very light touch as the action was not set-up for slide. After a few goes over a couple of days with the Glissentar I played my MM Blues and it just sang, probably the biggest difference in my slide sound.

If I were you I would just try out different string gauges, and materials (PB or Nickel) and see what you like best.

I think you are in for a great ride, I just love the tricone sound, cannot wait to get mine!

All the best

Mel

[snakestretcher]

Thanks Mel; interesting point about optimal performance-like you I haven't got a clue but it sounds great to me! I'll definitely be moving up a gauge or so on the B and E strings. I tend to play fairly hard with a heavy slide and I get the occasional fret rattle in the lower positions; a bit more tension should cure that.

Regards
Snake