National Style 1 Tricone Resonator Guitar (2007)

The guitar that started it all. John Dopyera's 1927 Tricone design chased one thing — a loud guitar with crystal-clear tone — and nearly a century on, the National Style 1 Tricone still delivers that shimmering, three-dimensional voice no flat-top can touch. This is a clean, pre-owned example built in March 2007 by National Reso-Phonic in San Luis Obispo, California. It shows only a little honest play wear and comes fitted with a National Slimline pickup, so it's ready to plug straight in and fill a room — or a stage.

That Unmistakable Tricone Voice

Three hand-spun 6" aluminium cones, linked by a T-shaped bridge, give the Tricone its signature sound: warm, sweet and singing, with long sustain and a glassy top end that's pure heaven under a slide. Where a single-cone resonator barks and growls, the Tricone flows — exactly as Dopyera intended when he boasted his guitar "flowed like a river." Blues, Hawaiian and fingerstyle players have chased this tone for decades.

Nickel-Plated Brass Body

Like the 1920s originals, the Style 1 is built from a brass body and coverplate — the same alloy the Dopyera brothers used — finished in polished nickel and buffed to a bright shine. This one's been well looked after, with just a touch of honest wear from playing; the gleaming nickel still does the talking. Plain and unengraved in true Style 1 fashion, it's the purest, most iconic look in the resonator world.

Plug-In Ready: National Slimline Pickup

Fitted with a National Slimline — a low-profile dual-coil humbucker (custom-built for National by Krivo) mounted on the top just below the fingerboard and wearing the National shield. It's voiced to stay slightly microphonic, so instead of sounding like a bald electric pickup it captures the shimmer and resonance of the cones themselves. It runs through an outboard preamp box, so you can plug into an amp or PA and keep the Tricone's character at any volume — no feedback battle, no clip-on mic.

Mahogany Neck, Ebony Board

The mahogany neck is finished in a warm burst and capped with an ivoroid-bound ebony fingerboard — smooth, fast and built for both fretted playing and slide. The classic slotted headstock carries vintage-style tuners and the famous National shield decal. As a round-neck it plays like a guitar in your lap, not a lap-steel.

A Modern National, Built to Last

National Reso-Phonic revived the National name in 1989 and still hand-builds every instrument in California. This is a genuine modern National — the real deal — and they hold their value as well as they hold their tone. A clean, lightly-played example, it's been set up in-store by Guitar World Australia's techs before it ships to you.

Specifications