Roland GR-55 Guitar Synthesizer. Roland GC-1 GK-Ready Stratocaster at NAMM 2012 | MikesGig.com. National Guitars: American Tradition. The National line of metal-bodied resonator instruments are the most uniquely American guitars ever made, representing America's cultural melting pot, as well as the transition from acoustic to electric guitars. Invented by Slovakian immigrants (John Dopyera and his brothers) and made in Los Angeles from 1926 to 1939 - and now being made again in California - these loud, shiny instruments were built to satisfy the need for a louder guitar for jazz bands and recording. They were intended for use by Hawaiians and white dance orchestra guitarists, but wound up in the hands of black blues performers, white hillbilly performers jazz and various ethnic guitarists. National made nickel silver, Hawaiian guitars, mandolins, tenor guitars, and ukuleles. Their design shows a strong Art Deco influence, very modernistic, and a true blending of art and industry.
No Nationals were made between 1942 and 1989, when Don Young and McGregor Gaines started the National Reso-Phonic Guitar Company. Brad's Page of Steel - Resources. Please send me any suggestions or recommendations that you have. (If someone wants me to review your steel guitar-related product, send me e-mail!) The list of resources is located within the table at the bottom of this page. Below is a partial bibilography - some of the reference materials I've used in creating this web site. I did not list the specific articles from my 30-odd years of Guitar Player magazine subscriptions (I started subscribing in 1971). The Dobro Book, Stacy Phillips; Oak Publications, 1977. Thanks to the following people, without whom these pages would be really lame: Eric Shoaf (Eric_Shoaf@Brown.edu ), columnist for Vintage Guitar magazine, for the information on the electric lap steels. John Tipka, (jtipka@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu), for information on the steel guitar stores, and for pointing out my HTML errors.
Andrew Waegel (asw@crest.org) for information on Scotty's Music, and for knowing who Gautam Dasgupta is. Wes Montgomery - The Art of Wes Montgomery - Boss Guitar. Bill Evans 1966 Interview. Folk.
Cooperative tracking.