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My Day @ National Resophonic Guitar Wow, from the outside, there is nothing to alert you that an amazing array of resonator guitars are being built in this building! Save for the shipping container outside, it may as well be CIA headquarters in Langley VA! Once inside, that all changes as we see a sprawling complex of workers and machinery. Check it out...... |
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It can't be a factory without some noise going on! Here we see some of the machinery, in this case in the back corner necks for Uke's are being made by automated machine out of mahogany. |
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GOT WOOD??? Here we see various types of aged wood in stacks ready to join to party! To the right note finished uke neck blanks they sell to outside uke makers in addition to their own killer ukes! |
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Here's a view looking out from the previous pics towards the parking lot. You can see the scale a bit as we look at some big planers and sanders. This was the noisiest room in the house. |
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Here's a quiet room. This is the drying room for bodies that have been sprayed in the adjoining spray booth set up. Here we see many wood bodies and necks seen above drying after being sprayed. |
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This wall is in effect the "showroom" for the various necks and fingerboard possibilities. Pretty much any vintage Nat neck can be reproduced as an exact replica of the original. |
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Another example of Uke necks being shaped four at a time. Smell that fresh mahogany? |
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Reso Rocket after the neck has been attached. A second technician will be adjusting the neck angle for a beautiful setup. He will then add the end block and begin the process of setting up the nut and bridge, which he will make as he goes along. |
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Once that setup is completed, the guitar is sent over to Scott for it's final dialing in. Don Young will be playing it after he finishes, so he knows if it's not right it's coming back to his bench. |
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Here's a cool pic of a very early tricone that Don was working on. I came up specifically to watch Don do his magic on this very nice example. Neck set and adjustment went well without any real problems. Fun to watch the master go about his business, with me bugging him with questions for about 6 hours straight!
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Here Don makes a nut for a uke that is on order and about to go out the door that day. These little ukes are a thing of beauty w the cool rope binding and tiny little resonator. |
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The Don, jamming on his uke to make sure it's perfect before leaving the joint! The wall below is that of finished guitars waiting for Don to play them and be sure they are dialed in before leaving. Once satisified, the imfamous pink marker is used to give them Don's OK. Think C.F. Martin IV plays all theirs? This step alone is why you never hear of a bad Nat from the factory, and also why Nat Reso will continue to be a smaller sized company dedicated to the highest quality resonators in the world. Fun day for Len! |
The Man, doing his thing. Not sure I've ever met someone who loves what he does as much as Don and MacGregor do, lucky bastards! |
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