1989 National Aragon (Jazz Blues) Resonator Guitar

Overview: This guitar a rare piece! It's labeled as an Aragon model in the soundhole but is otherwise similar to National Jazz Blues models made at the time -- the first model made by NRP when the company (re)opened in the '80s. This label change is because this style was intended for export to Japan and the importer wanted a "special model" with an unusual model name to market as a custom order. Neat! This particular guitar came from Eric Smith's collection -- the former owner and president of National Resophonic.

While it had some service done to it by NRP in 2019 and it arrived playing decently, it did need some extra work to dial it in properly. I did all that and it's now playing like a champ and has an excellent, punchy, full sound. As a bonus, it has a K&K pickup installed with a jack at the endpin -- it's ready for the stage!

Repairs included: I had to fix the usual problem with most resonators -- the saddle was in the wrong place by almost 1/4" -- and so to do that I had to fill the old saddle slot and cut a new slot in the right place, then finagle the shape of the saddle to let it fit within the coverplate's hole. That was all the easy-peasy part, but unfortunately doing all of this meant that the undersaddle pickup system that was installed in it before was no longer useful due to how long its brass-enclosed element was. So -- I fit a K&K two-sensor pickup (my ideal choice for these) to it instead and wired that to the jack that was already fit at the endpin area. Hey presto! After some further setup work, this thing is now playing spot-on and is ready to go.

• Weight: 5 lbs 15 oz
• Scale length: 25"
• Nut width: 1 3/4"
• Neck shape: medium soft V
• Board radius: 16"
• Depth at first fret: 27/32"
• Depth at seventh fret: 55/64"
• Body width: 14 1/8"
• Body depth: 3 1/8"
• Top wood: ply maple
• Back & sides wood: ply maple
• Bracing type: ladder/soundwell
• Bridge: maple biscuit, maple/synthetic saddle mix
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: maple
• Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 54w-12 lights
• Truss rod: non-adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium

Condition notes: This guitar is in excellent shape for its age -- clean and with a satin finish that only shows a little bit of usewear here and there. It looks more like something that was built a few years ago and babied and put back in its case after use than something from the late '80s!

It comes with: It has a nice hard case.

Consignor tag: HKNS