Your Valco Guitars
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Lucky me, I have acquired a 1935 National Electric Hawaiian, complete with the original case:
More from Richard, starting with an entire flock of mid-'30s National-Dobro Electric Hawaiians:
More steels, this time a couple of New Yorkers from 1936 (left) and 1937-8 (second from left), with a 1952 Oahu Diana (right two photos):
Finally, a very rare specimen: a National Silvo electric lap steel:
Alex submits a plethora of cool guitars and amps: a 1952 Supro Airline, a 1958 National 1108 Val-Trol Baron, a 1960 Airline 7218, a 1963 Supro 1570 Belmont, a 1934 National Triolian, a 1964 Supro 434H Studio Four, and a 1957 Supro Spectator.
Richard submits several fine specimens. First up is a 1937-8 Supro Hawaiian model, complete with the original screw-type cord jack.
Next is a 1961 Airline Rocket console steel.
Additional photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
He also submits a 1958 National Dynamic, a very similar model to the Airline.
Finally, he submits a 1952 Supro Airline. Confused? Years before Valco made guitars and amps for Montgomery Ward's Airline brand, they named the model 1466 the "Airline" Deluxe Electric Hawaiian Guitar. Check out the original catalog page.
Jake submits pics of his 1957 Supro Belmont. The Supro catalog spared no verbal expense, mentioning the body "finished in a glowing red Sherry Maroon plastic with vibrant Ivory and Black two-tone trim. Unit, knobs, and ultra design tailpieces are richly contrasted in gleaming gold." 1957 was the last year before this model's pickup was moved to the bridge position and the body was given a German carve.
Frank submits no less than three rare models, each looking amazingly clean. The solidbody is a model 1124, introduced in 1952 and gone after 1953. It has the vinyl-covered pickups that were characteristic of National and Supro guitars of the early '50s, and this two-pickup version was the top of the solidbody line. In front of it is a National Electric Spanish form the late 1930s or early 1940s, which was made famous by blues singer Memphis Minnie. This is the second generation of this guitar, featuring a Kay-built body with no f-holes. Behind the guitars is an early '50s model 1210 amp. This early example was the biggest amp in the 1953 National catalog, featuring a 15" Jensen and putting out 20-25 Watts. The best part, in my opinion, is the original tiger-stripe grill cloth.
Jason submits his 1958 Oahu Meteor lap steel; interestingly, this is the only steel in the Oahu catalog not to have a logo on its headstock. Jason replaced the magnets and made a replacement top plate for the pickup, which was missing when he got it.
Zak submits several cool old fiddles for your enjoyment. In the left photo are three Supros: from left to right, is a 1965 Folk Star (additional photo here), a 1953 Ozark and a 1959 Rhythm Tone with a replaced bridge pickup (additional photo here). In the right photo is his 1965 Supro Martinique, about which Zak says "I don’t care what anyone says – this is the world’s greatest electric guitar." It certainly was the most expensive Supro guitar of its time, with a catalog price of $295 (not including case) and the only Bigsby vibrato in the Supro line. Note the wire leading from the bridge to the lead pickup - that's the connection for the Silver-Sound pickup. The pre-war National behind it in the photo is certainly no slouch in the tone department, either.
Several of the amps in the background can be seen on the Amplifiers page.
Michael submits a 1964 National Pocket Bass, more commonly seen with "Airline" or "Supro" on the headstock. The attempt to disguise it using "tuxedo camouflage" didn't quite succeed, but it came close. On the right is his Supro Croydon, a model that only showed up briefly in the Supro catalog in 1966-67.
I have a 1958 National Town and Country (also known as the model 1104). The six knobs on the bass side are volume and tone controls for the neck, bridge and blended pickups, and the knob by the jack is the pickup selector. While the pickups visually resemble Gibson humbuckers, they are in fact large single-coil units; most Valco guitar pickups were single-coils, though some lap steel pickups were humbucking. The back is covered with a plastic plate, which is actually quite resistant to scratching. Everything appears to be original, though I'm not totally convinced about the pickup selector knob or the shinier set of Klusons. This model sold for $215 plus $42 for a case in 1956.
Updated 1/21/2009
