National Triolian Model Resophonic Guitar (1931), made in Los Angeles, California, serial # 1919P, Polychrome enamel with stenciling finish, steel body, basswood neck, original black chipboard case.

This is a fine example of an original steel-bodied Triolian, National's "bread and butter" guitar during the Depression. Offering great sound and serious volume at the relatively modest price of $45.00, the Triolian was crucial to the company's survival in the 1930s. With National Tricone guitars priced over $100 and the flashy brass-bodied Style 0 at $62.50, the single-cone Triolian made the National sound available to a much wider range of players. Made of slightly better grade materials than the bottom-of-the-line $32.50 Duolian, the Triolian was extremely popular among blues and hillbilly musicians and is still an excellent choice for many styles of playing.

This 1931-2 "Polychrome" example (from the first couple of production years) remains in nicely original condition, featuring a multi-hued enamel-finished steel body with flat-cut f-holes and a 12-fret basswood neck with a bound painted fingerboard. These Triolians were hand-sprayed so no two are exactly alike. This one is not really very "Poly" at all; it has a pretty monochromatic blue-greenish/yellow finish with subtly blended accents around the edges and coverplate. The back has a very bold and cleanly stenciled palm tree & sunset motif, the most distinctive visual signature of the Polychrome Triolian.

This Triolian is built with the unusual "hooked" coverplate used on several National instruments for only a short time in 1931. The idea was to eliminate most of the coverplate mounting screws to speed production, but it must have proved too fidgety in actual use and they soon reverted to the original design. The tuner strips are the cloverleaf-tipped longer-plate style, soon replaced with a cheaper square-end piece. This early-depression era guitar is a very nice example, still sounding great well into the 21st century.
 
Overall length is 39 1/2 in. (100.3 cm.), 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).

This is a very nice original Triolian, in far better condition than many we see now 90 years on. The only notable repair is the neck was reset at the new National company in 2005; this process appears to have left a small crack at the very bottom tip of the heel. This is not an ongoing structural issue but is visible, with some minimal overfinish. All else on the instrument remains original including the tuners, cone and biscuit.

There is some general wear to the finish but nothing excessive, mostly chipping around the body edges and the rim of the coverplate. The neck has an assortment of small dings, chips and dents on the back but nothing too obtrusive; the painted fingerboard shows only very light wear in the first position. The National shield decal on the headstock is darkened somewhat with one small chip off the edge.

There are marks around the nut from an old Hawaiian adaptor; the frets have only very light wear as the instrument was probably played lap-style when new. The neck is not perfectly straight but very close, the action is very low at the nut and plays cleanly set at 3/16 on bass and treble at the 12th fret. There are old felt and leather dampers inserted under the tailpiece; they are doing their job so have been left in place. This Triolian is nice playing and great sounding example with a rich tone not as "steely" as some. A very cool find and "Blues Approved" for sure, still in the original chipboard case which has a small 1930s NRA sticker on it for historical authenticity. Overall Excellent Condition.