Show us your National cast lap steel

Michael Greer · Post by **Michael Greer** » 2 Nov 2020 3:22 pm

The National cast lap steels from 1935 and 1936 are one of the most stylish steel guitars in my humble opinion.

Please post any pictures of this guitar that you currently or previously owned..

Will be great to see the variations of the National cast in one place.

Mike

Noah Miller · Post by **Noah Miller** » 2 Nov 2020 3:36 pm

Well, you knew this one was coming:

Scott Thomas · Post by **Scott Thomas** » 2 Nov 2020 5:24 pm

Very steampunk.

Chris Clem · Post by **Chris Clem** » 2 Nov 2020 5:55 pm

Mine is a 1935 serial no N 562. The knobs are not original.

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Eric Dahlhoff · Post by **Eric Dahlhoff** » 2 Nov 2020 11:33 pm

Hey Mike
Here's mine, almost the same as yours, but the fret markers are different.

I Wasn't ever happy with it, until I tuned it to a dobro G-B-D-G-B-D. An now it's a blast. It has a great growl.

Here's an older one I used to have (ser# N126)

Noah - you win !!!

Stay safe!

Walter Webb · Post by **Walter Webb** » 3 Nov 2020 12:57 pm

National Hawaiian ser# N174. It's been modified, before I got it. Original horsehoe pu is gone, replaced with a P90. Pots were wired wrong. Fixed that. Extra holes drilled for pot relocations? Plugged them with stainless snap caps.

Tuned in open D: DADF#AD

Ryan Lunenfeld · Post by **Ryan Lunenfeld** » 3 Nov 2020 5:09 pm

what's the sound like?

Noah Miller · Post by **Noah Miller** » 4 Nov 2020 4:01 am

The sound is warm and full, with moderate output and very good sustain. They don't really come close to any of the oft-recorded steels.

Michael Greer · Post by **Michael Greer** » 5 Nov 2020 4:01 am

Noah,Chris,Eric,Walter...thanks for your contributions

Great to see the various models of these cast guitars.

Around 1932 National merged with the Dobro company to become National-Dobro. (Thanks Noah)

So it's understandable that in 1935/1936 there was also a Dobro cast guitar version.

There seem to be far fewer of the Dobro model in circulation.

Michael Greer · Post by **Michael Greer** » 5 Nov 2020 4:51 am

1935 Dobro 1935 National

Bill Groner · Post by **Bill Groner** » 5 Nov 2020 6:54 am

Michael Greer wrote:The National cast lap steels from 1935 and 1936 are one of the most stylish steel guitars in my humble opinion.

Please post any pictures of this guitar that you currently or previously owned..

Will be great to see the variations of the National cast in one place.
Mike

Nice treadle sewing machine in the background....same year as the National? Love that island with the 2 columns..........very classy!

Allan Revich · Post by **Allan Revich** » 5 Nov 2020 9:37 am

Michael Greer wrote:

1935 Dobro 1935 National

Fantastic pair of steels! I had the opportunity to buy a Dobro branded one at a good price when I was visiting LA, but I had just purchased my Rick B7 on that trip.

Joe Cook · Post by **Joe Cook** » 5 Nov 2020 1:55 pm

I just love the look of these! I think the Dobro is the better looking of the two. So cool.

Eric Gearhart · Post by **Eric Gearhart** » 5 Nov 2020 6:10 pm

Two sets of cousins....

Eric Dahlhoff · Post by **Eric Dahlhoff** » 6 Nov 2020 9:29 am

Wow - I love that extended family!
The Dobro lap color combo is really nice.

Joe Elk · Post by **Joe Elk** » 6 Nov 2020 11:37 am

My Word!!!
Joe Elk Central Ohio

Chris Clem · Post by **Chris Clem** » 8 Nov 2020 4:01 pm

There are a few things to note about these steels.

There is nothing cheesy about there build quality. They are cast aluminum but are not all that heavy, mine weighs 9 1/2 LBS. They came with Grover tuners,Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard,real pearl dot markers and the gold you see in the photos is real gold leaf (not gold paint). They have a clear coat of lacquer over the polished aluminum.

Also....It may be hard to see in the photos but they do actually have frets and I can say after 85 years my guitar still doesn't need a fret job....Ha Ha

Noah Miller · Post by **Noah Miller** » 8 Nov 2020 5:47 pm

Some have Grovers, others have a range of tuners. It's not gold leaf, but gold paint, and it's not always applied with great precision. Some of the later ones had orange or red panels instead (or black on the Dobros). Interestingly, both National and Dobro advertisements show instruments that appear to have unpainted panels. My prototype has a thin layer of lacquer over the fretboard, the only one I've seen like that.

Chris Clem · Post by **Chris Clem** » 9 Nov 2020 7:37 am

Your guitar is refinished,who's to say the fingerboard was not over-sprayed with lacquer?

The 1935 catalog says "rich gold leaf paneling" They are not painted gold.Obviously the different colored panels are not gold leaf but the gold ones are.

Noah Miller · Post by **Noah Miller** » 9 Nov 2020 7:51 am

Mine was oversprayed with automotive paint, not lacquer, and the fretboard was removed prior to the overspray. The frets are also different from the production version, so I'm not surprised that the rest of the board is a little different as well.

The original gold in the panels wears down like paint; it does not flake off like leaf. Gold leaf also can't be sloppily painted up the sides of the panels the way these often are. The old ads and catalog descriptions are chock full of inaccuracies and exaggerations; the guitar pictured in ads at the time had a few features not found on production-run examples.

Chris Clem · Post by **Chris Clem** » 9 Nov 2020 9:09 am

Gee....You can clearly see the edges of the gold leaf where it meets the sides of the cavities.Having used gold leaf for years when I was a cabinetmaker I know that look very well.The catalog reference and my guitar which is right in front of me tell me you are incorrect.

Yes catalogs sometimes play a little loose with the facts but in this case they got it right.

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Michael Greer · Post by **Michael Greer** » 9 Nov 2020 9:45 am

Noah, Chris.....good discussion regarding gold coloured cast.

Certainly, gold is the most common , often seen version of these cast guitars.

Above you will see a brown and silver variation....Dobro and National.

The brown color I am sure is original as both guitars have the exact same colouring.

It is actually a faux wood grain type of finish very evident on the sides

Mike

Noah Miller · Post by **Noah Miller** » 9 Nov 2020 9:58 am

Michael Greer wrote:It is actually a faux wood grain type of finish very evident on the sides

Now that's very interesting - is it the same faux-wood paint that sometimes showed up on Duolians? I've never seen one of the brown ones up close.

David Ball · Post by **David Ball** » 9 Nov 2020 3:08 pm

I've seen several finished in that same faux-wood Duolian finish.

I think I prefer the Dobro version over the National, but they're all cool. Noah's prototype especially so.

Dave

Ralph Czitrom · Post by **Ralph Czitrom** » 10 Nov 2020 8:22 am

A little late to the party, but here's my 1935 National cast lap, serial #N363. Bought it from the Guitar Center vintage section knowing the pickup was not functioning. With the help of Jason Lollar (who basically recreated the pickup), I was able to bring it back to life. Agree with Noah about the sound, but I still don't understand fret markers on the first fret. Two of them!.

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Show us your National cast lap steel

Show us your National cast lap steel

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