For a detailed accounting of those early years, I recommend Brozman’s book, The History and Artistry of National Resonator Instruments (Centerstream Publishing, Fullerton, California, 1993). The company was officially certified as a California corporation in 1928. The National String Instrument Corporation for manufacturing these louder guitars was founded probably in 1927, in Los Angeles, by John Dopyera, George Beauchamp, Ted Kleinmeyer and Paul Barth, when production and advertising began. John applied for a patent on his tricone design on April 9, 1927, obtaining it on December 31, 1929. Disagreement, and some animosity, has always surrounded the account of just who was responsible for what, but Dopyera ended up building an ampliphonic or self-amplifying guitar (or “resonator” to most guitar buffs) for Beauchamp. Both were searching for the guitar’s holy grail of the era, more volume. The roots of the Supro story go back to the ’20s and the sometimes tempestuous relationship between Czech immigrant/instrument repairman/inventor John Dopyera and dapper Vaudeville musician George Beauchamp (pronounced “Beech-um”).
This, combined with the fact that they routinely used components (especially bodies) provided by other manufacturers, means that you are likely to find instruments with details inconsistent with catalog descriptions, and they may just be Kosher. National Dobro/Valco was, of course, one of the major players in American guitar history in the middle of the 20th Century.īefore we wade in, please note that National Dobro and subsequently Valco, more than most other manufacturers, were notorious for putting together guitars with parts left around. Supro was basically the “budget” brand of the National Dobro, and later, the Valco company, best known for National and Dobro brand instruments, and to a lesser degree, the Supros.
Well, with a little help from our friends (in particular, catalogs and invaluable information supplied by Mike Newton, Jim Dulfer, and Michael Lee Allen), let’s set the record straight. While National resonator guitars have received superb attention by Bob Brozman, little has been written about this mysterious corner of the Valco universe. Sound curious enough for you? The subject of Supro guitars and amplifiers represents a profitable avenue for exploration by collectors and enthusiasts interested in the many curious and significant byways off the guitar superhighway, which can be enjoyed without having an oil sheik’s bankroll. Some of the earliest electric guitars, amps-in-cases, pickups under the bridge, fiberglass guitars, built-in electronic vibratos.
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