National Glenwood 98 Solid Body Electric Guitar (1965)
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National Glenwood 98 Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1965), made in Chicago, serial # G12664, white finish, molded Res-O-Glas body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, black rigid foam case.
The still-dazzling National Res-O-Glas guitars of the 1960s remain some of the most exuberant examples of vintage American electric guitar design, an utterly unique concept even 50 years on. With a molded fiberglass body, aluminum-cored neck, and electro-acoustic "Silversound" pickup built into the bridge they certainly did not lack for innovative features, even at the peak of electric guitar design.
In the end, the line was perhaps more overtly stylish than entirely practical, however, and after a production span of only about three years emerged more as collector than player favorites. While they do have the cachet of funky blues/trash culture connotation today, these Nationals were actually quite expensive when new and the Glenwoods in particular were marketed as top professional instruments. This model cost $295 (plus case) when introduced in 1962; this particular example is one of the last built with pots dated to the 4th week of 1965.
At that point the Glenwood 98 was the next-to-top-of-the-line guitar in this series, with a striking white finish on the sculpted "map" shaped body, fancy split-diamond and block fret markers and stock Grover Rotomatic tuners. This version has no vibrato unit. The dramatic look is enhanced by a clear back-painted pinstriped plastic pickguard with a "NATIONAL Val-Pro" shield logo, and the black edge grommet around the sides at the joint of the two-piece body. The look echoes American hotrod culture of the period and manages to seem sophisticated and downhome at the same time!
The most useful feature of this guitar is the provision of a full three pickup array -- two of the excellent familiar Valco magnetic units and the aforementioned internal bridge unit. Many of the less expensive Res-O-Glas instruments lack the magnetic pickup at the bridge and thus are much less sonically versatile. Each pickup has its own tone and volume controls mounted in echelon above and below the string line, with a three-way selector on the upper bout. The sound of the "Vista-Power" magnetic units is quite powerful with the typical National/Supro raunch, while the "Silversound" built-in bridge pickup offers a very different tonality. As is typical with National the tone controls act in sometimes unconventional ways, with the bridge pickup having a bass (not treble) roll-off and the neck and Silversound pickups blended by the rearmost upper knob. This late-production example has a useful addition of a larger master volume knob by the jack, which appeared in 1964.
This 1965 Glenwood 98 represents the highest grade of the of these striking Nationals, topped only by the very similar Model 99 with gold-plated hardware and an aqua green body. This guitar is considerably more upscale than most of the similar but far more common period National and Supro models, and remains famous as a "Dylan" guitar, which Bob appeared with in a celebrated ROLLING STONE photo shoot in the '70s and on some Rolling Thunder gigs. Iconic in its own way this is a very cool and rather uncommon 1960s guitar. The original map-shaped National is always an epic attention-getter and remains utterly distinctive despite more recent imitations!
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 15 in. (38.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
This guitar is relatively clean and mostly original, showing some general wear overall. The Res-O-Glas body is very durable and still quite clean, the white-finished neck has some "smoked" yellowing to the finish, minor dings and dents and light chipping (with some patched-in spots) along the sides below the binding. The hardware is original except for the tailpiece, which is a period National part but not the exact fitting this model usually has. Two extra screw holes were added to the tailpiece baseplate to avoid drilling extra holes in the Res-O-Glas rim. There is some wear to the various fittings, with minor corrosion and noticeable loss to the stenciled graphics on the pickup covers.
The neck has been rebound and refretted with period-appropriate wire, with some wear still visible on the fingerboard. While perhaps not up to say, typical Gibson standards this is actually quite a playable guitar (a claim not all 1960s Valco products can muster!) with a great chunky sound. While generally considered primarily a collector's guitar, the Glenwood 98 is absolutely one of the coolest of all 1960s six-string creations, for show or go! This one is not equipped with an original case, but a functional foam case is included. Overall Very Good + Condition.
The still-dazzling National Res-O-Glas guitars of the 1960s remain some of the most exuberant examples of vintage American electric guitar design, an utterly unique concept even 50 years on. With a molded fiberglass body, aluminum-cored neck, and electro-acoustic "Silversound" pickup built into the bridge they certainly did not lack for innovative features, even at the peak of electric guitar design.
In the end, the line was perhaps more overtly stylish than entirely practical, however, and after a production span of only about three years emerged more as collector than player favorites. While they do have the cachet of funky blues/trash culture connotation today, these Nationals were actually quite expensive when new and the Glenwoods in particular were marketed as top professional instruments. This model cost $295 (plus case) when introduced in 1962; this particular example is one of the last built with pots dated to the 4th week of 1965.
At that point the Glenwood 98 was the next-to-top-of-the-line guitar in this series, with a striking white finish on the sculpted "map" shaped body, fancy split-diamond and block fret markers and stock Grover Rotomatic tuners. This version has no vibrato unit. The dramatic look is enhanced by a clear back-painted pinstriped plastic pickguard with a "NATIONAL Val-Pro" shield logo, and the black edge grommet around the sides at the joint of the two-piece body. The look echoes American hotrod culture of the period and manages to seem sophisticated and downhome at the same time!
The most useful feature of this guitar is the provision of a full three pickup array -- two of the excellent familiar Valco magnetic units and the aforementioned internal bridge unit. Many of the less expensive Res-O-Glas instruments lack the magnetic pickup at the bridge and thus are much less sonically versatile. Each pickup has its own tone and volume controls mounted in echelon above and below the string line, with a three-way selector on the upper bout. The sound of the "Vista-Power" magnetic units is quite powerful with the typical National/Supro raunch, while the "Silversound" built-in bridge pickup offers a very different tonality. As is typical with National the tone controls act in sometimes unconventional ways, with the bridge pickup having a bass (not treble) roll-off and the neck and Silversound pickups blended by the rearmost upper knob. This late-production example has a useful addition of a larger master volume knob by the jack, which appeared in 1964.
This 1965 Glenwood 98 represents the highest grade of the of these striking Nationals, topped only by the very similar Model 99 with gold-plated hardware and an aqua green body. This guitar is considerably more upscale than most of the similar but far more common period National and Supro models, and remains famous as a "Dylan" guitar, which Bob appeared with in a celebrated ROLLING STONE photo shoot in the '70s and on some Rolling Thunder gigs. Iconic in its own way this is a very cool and rather uncommon 1960s guitar. The original map-shaped National is always an epic attention-getter and remains utterly distinctive despite more recent imitations!
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 15 in. (38.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
This guitar is relatively clean and mostly original, showing some general wear overall. The Res-O-Glas body is very durable and still quite clean, the white-finished neck has some "smoked" yellowing to the finish, minor dings and dents and light chipping (with some patched-in spots) along the sides below the binding. The hardware is original except for the tailpiece, which is a period National part but not the exact fitting this model usually has. Two extra screw holes were added to the tailpiece baseplate to avoid drilling extra holes in the Res-O-Glas rim. There is some wear to the various fittings, with minor corrosion and noticeable loss to the stenciled graphics on the pickup covers.
The neck has been rebound and refretted with period-appropriate wire, with some wear still visible on the fingerboard. While perhaps not up to say, typical Gibson standards this is actually quite a playable guitar (a claim not all 1960s Valco products can muster!) with a great chunky sound. While generally considered primarily a collector's guitar, the Glenwood 98 is absolutely one of the coolest of all 1960s six-string creations, for show or go! This one is not equipped with an original case, but a functional foam case is included. Overall Very Good + Condition.