National Style 0 Owned and Used by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco Resophonic Guitar (1931)
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Item # 12651
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National Style 0 Owned and Used by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco Model Resophonic Guitar (1931), made in Los Angeles, California, serial # S-2347, nickel plated finish, brass body, maple neck with ebonized maple fingerboard, hard shell case.
This is a well-worn and rather enigmatic 1931 National Style O single-cone resonator guitar, one of the company's mainstays in the depression-ridden 1930s. This guitar has an old neck repair and plenty of wear, as well as one particularly distinctive feature: the sandblasted decoration on the nickel-plated brass body is very faint, almost a ghost image rather than bold as usual. Usually this would cause us to assume the body had been replated, but that does not appear to be the case. The "Pat Pend" stamped by the fingerboard is very crisp, and the plating and wear patterns look original. It may simply have been a production "miss" in the desperate days of 1931, assembled and sold regardless. At any rate this former denizen of the Wilco Loft in Chicago is priced to reflect this uncertainty!
Other features are typical of 1931 including a 12-fret, shaded maple neck with a bound "ebonized" maple fingerboard and pearl dot inlay. The maple actually has some nice flame figure, which is unusual for a National. The thin brass body has Flat-cut f-holes in the top, and the unusual "hooked" coverplate over the cone used only for a short time in 1931. One solitary screw at the apex secures the brass coverplate, which has small recessed hooks stamped along the rim to engage slots in the body. This was intended as a labor (and screw!) saving design at the height of the depression but was only used for a short time although it seems to work well, at least on the few guitars we have had built this way!
The Style 0 in general was the most striking of National's single cone guitars, much flashier than the cheaper painted steel-bodied Triolian and Duolian models with its gleaming nickel plated and unusual decorated surface. In 1931 this guitar sold for $62.50, twice what the bottom-line Duolian cost but half the price of the least expensive Tricone model. Although that was a not inconsiderable sum at the time, the Style 0 was hard to beat for its combination of volume, tone, and sheer visual appeal in those economically tough times. The Style 0 remains an enduring classic; a favorite of many players then and now, especially for period musical styles with the spotlight on early blues. This unusual one is rather worn but excellent sounding, blues-approved and with a great Chicago pedigree!
Overall length is 38 3/4 in. (98.4 cm.), 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 7/8 in. (48 mm.).
This is a real veteran original Style 0, a decent player that sounds great. There is an old repaired crack in the neck running down from base of the headstock to around the second fret area visible on either side of the neck. This did not go all the way through and the headstock was never detached. The repair is very solid and inconspicuous, but not disguised with any added finish. The back of the neck appears to have been polished out as part of this repair and feels like a heavily worn Fender neck!
The (we think) original plated body finish shows some light average wear, with a spot down to the brass on the coverplate in the usual spot. There are dings, scuffs and scratches overall with heavier scratching to the back. The body has dents in the sides and back. The thin lacquer on the neck is mostly just gone, worn to the wood and heavily "smoked" over much of its length. The headstock and heel hold what remains of the original darker finish.
The tuners are rusty 1950s Waverly strips, the tailpiece is original and the fragile decal logo on the headstock is almost completely gone. This Style O appears to have had a neck set some time ago, the cone and biscuit appear original with a replaced tall maple saddle. The original frets appear to have been reseated (they are definitely 1930s wire!) and crowned down a bit showing some subsequent wear; the ebonized fingerboard shows some heavy divoting into the plain maple. The guitar has a lovely, deep powerful sound with plenty of volume. Not only is this an excellent blues machine as expected, it is a very solid all around guitar for many styles. This Style 0 is a great reminder of the enduring appeal of these Depression-era classics still living in a modern HSC with the Wilco Loft tag at the base. Very Good + Condition.
This is a well-worn and rather enigmatic 1931 National Style O single-cone resonator guitar, one of the company's mainstays in the depression-ridden 1930s. This guitar has an old neck repair and plenty of wear, as well as one particularly distinctive feature: the sandblasted decoration on the nickel-plated brass body is very faint, almost a ghost image rather than bold as usual. Usually this would cause us to assume the body had been replated, but that does not appear to be the case. The "Pat Pend" stamped by the fingerboard is very crisp, and the plating and wear patterns look original. It may simply have been a production "miss" in the desperate days of 1931, assembled and sold regardless. At any rate this former denizen of the Wilco Loft in Chicago is priced to reflect this uncertainty!
Other features are typical of 1931 including a 12-fret, shaded maple neck with a bound "ebonized" maple fingerboard and pearl dot inlay. The maple actually has some nice flame figure, which is unusual for a National. The thin brass body has Flat-cut f-holes in the top, and the unusual "hooked" coverplate over the cone used only for a short time in 1931. One solitary screw at the apex secures the brass coverplate, which has small recessed hooks stamped along the rim to engage slots in the body. This was intended as a labor (and screw!) saving design at the height of the depression but was only used for a short time although it seems to work well, at least on the few guitars we have had built this way!
The Style 0 in general was the most striking of National's single cone guitars, much flashier than the cheaper painted steel-bodied Triolian and Duolian models with its gleaming nickel plated and unusual decorated surface. In 1931 this guitar sold for $62.50, twice what the bottom-line Duolian cost but half the price of the least expensive Tricone model. Although that was a not inconsiderable sum at the time, the Style 0 was hard to beat for its combination of volume, tone, and sheer visual appeal in those economically tough times. The Style 0 remains an enduring classic; a favorite of many players then and now, especially for period musical styles with the spotlight on early blues. This unusual one is rather worn but excellent sounding, blues-approved and with a great Chicago pedigree!
Overall length is 38 3/4 in. (98.4 cm.), 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 7/8 in. (48 mm.).
This is a real veteran original Style 0, a decent player that sounds great. There is an old repaired crack in the neck running down from base of the headstock to around the second fret area visible on either side of the neck. This did not go all the way through and the headstock was never detached. The repair is very solid and inconspicuous, but not disguised with any added finish. The back of the neck appears to have been polished out as part of this repair and feels like a heavily worn Fender neck!
The (we think) original plated body finish shows some light average wear, with a spot down to the brass on the coverplate in the usual spot. There are dings, scuffs and scratches overall with heavier scratching to the back. The body has dents in the sides and back. The thin lacquer on the neck is mostly just gone, worn to the wood and heavily "smoked" over much of its length. The headstock and heel hold what remains of the original darker finish.
The tuners are rusty 1950s Waverly strips, the tailpiece is original and the fragile decal logo on the headstock is almost completely gone. This Style O appears to have had a neck set some time ago, the cone and biscuit appear original with a replaced tall maple saddle. The original frets appear to have been reseated (they are definitely 1930s wire!) and crowned down a bit showing some subsequent wear; the ebonized fingerboard shows some heavy divoting into the plain maple. The guitar has a lovely, deep powerful sound with plenty of volume. Not only is this an excellent blues machine as expected, it is a very solid all around guitar for many styles. This Style 0 is a great reminder of the enduring appeal of these Depression-era classics still living in a modern HSC with the Wilco Loft tag at the base. Very Good + Condition.