1936 National Triolian Resonator Mandolin

Overview: This is the first National reso mando I've had with this weird, transitional coverplate design with its "domed puck" in the middle. Odd! It's funny because the styling is otherwise similar to early-'30s Triolians, especially the headstock finish and nicely-curly neck wood. The tone on this guy is nice and crisp and punchy, with the usual longer reso-style sustain and chime.

A different repairman fit a new fretboard and fretboard binding but didn't realize he or she had changed the scale from National's standard 15" to 15 1/2" -- both very long for a mandolin -- but which meant I needed to move the saddle to the akward position of behind the bridge-cover/wrist-rest to get intonation correct. At 15 1/2" scale, this instrument should not be tuned to proper mandolin pitch. Even the normal 15" scale on these is stretching it as normal strings tuned to normal pitch will give the cone and the neck way too much tension and it's part of why so many of these old National reso mandos tend to have structural issues as they age.

I tend to string them with lighter mandolin strings and then tune down to E or even D with a heavier-gauge set. At 15 1/2" you can get it to mandola pitch (CGDA) provided you use an extra-heavy mandolin set with a plain A course. Currently, it's strung with 32w-9 GHS strings and tuned down to E rather than G. This makes it very useful for picking along with blues cats, however!

Repairs included: I gave this a level/dress of the frets, cleaning, tightened-up some internal stuff, relocated the saddle aft and compensated it, and set it up. It's playing bang-on and ready to serve.

• Weight: 4 lbs 12 oz
• Scale length: 15 1/2"
• Nut width: 1 3/8"
• Neck shape: medium C/V
• Board radius: flat
• Depth at first fret: 0.83"
• Depth at seventh fret: 0.97"
• Body width: 12 5/8"
• Body depth: 2 1/2"
• Body: metal
• Cone type: single biscuit
• Bridge: maple
• Fretboard: ebony
• Neck wood: maple
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 32w-9 extra lights tuned down to EBF#C#
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium

Condition notes: The fretboard and fretboard binding are new. It has repro-style tuners. Everything else is original, though the saddle has been relocated and altered. There's a ton of light rust/pitting to the body and it's clearly been loved and worn. Due to the replacement fretboard install having the wrong scale (15 1/2" vs 15"), I had to move the saddle to the very rear edge of the biscuit. This is not ideal but it still sounds good! The cone had some crush-in over its life and the biscuit sits at a slight angle (dipped on the bass side). It's been here for a couple months or more and has not moved -- it's stable in service. This is common with a lot of old cones. A previous repairman added a bolt in the heel to help keep the neck tightened to the body and more rigid to the body (fair enough!) and that's hidden under a doweled plug in the heel's rear.

It comes with: It's got a decent, newer case.

Consignor tag: SROB