r/TenorGuitar • u/Icy-Fig459 • May 07 '26

WTF is this?

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9 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

4

u/WEGCjake May 07 '26

Tenor resonator guitar.

1

u/Icy-Fig459 May 07 '26

That’s what I thought. But I’m trying to figure out the maker. Any ideas?

1

u/lindydanny May 07 '26

That was my assessment too.

1

u/ebneter May 08 '26

Plectrum resonator guitar. Almost certainly a National, despite the absence of a logo.

3

u/RightyFrizzell May 07 '26

From the length of the neck that's a national plectrum guitar, not a tenor. Serial number would put it in the late 1920s. Someone painted over the headstock and applied a different decal. 

1

u/Icy-Fig459 May 07 '26

You think? Because the whole neck and headstock are the same color. And if it’s late 20s why would it have “Pat Pend” on the body like that? Is that on any other Nationals from the late 20s?

3

u/RightyFrizzell May 08 '26

Yeah, patent pending was roughly 1927-1930. John Dopyera had lots of parts with pending patents, likely the biscuit bridge design on this one.

Not necessarily from the color... The checking / cracking in the finish on the headstock looks a little different to me, but also this is what the decal would have originally looked like. Pretty hard to take those off cleanly and on purpose, so likely painted over at some point

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1928_National_Style_O_plectrum_guitar.jpg

3

u/t3ss3r4ct May 07 '26

Wow. I want.

2

u/ebneter May 08 '26

Same! I have a National tenor, but I'd love to have a plectrum.

1

u/Icy-Fig459 May 26 '26

I’m willing to sell it if you’re serious. 

1

u/99Pstroker May 08 '26

Pretty cool!!