Custom 1931 National Duolian Frosted Duco REFIN by Rik Besser

1931 National Duolian in amazing players condition.

When I got this reso, it was hot metallic pink with action about 1.5" off the board. If you're reading this far, then you've done your research into these instruments and know that 86 year old instruments need routine maintenance and in many cases, repairs. This one had it all.

The details:

A neck/dowel reset to get proper neck angle. The fingerboard was replaced and new vintage sized frets were installed. While the fingerboard was off, the 1/2" piece of steel pipe used as a crude truss rod was removed, the channel was filled with maple and a new 1/8" channel was routed and fitted with a piece of graphite sized 1/8" X 1/2" X 14". The resulting repair is a marked improvement in neck stability and stiffness. Desired neck relief of .009" was achieved with no twist in the neck. 
While the neck was being worked on, I sent the body and cover plate to the man who does the frosted duco finishes on the new National Resophonic instruments, Rik Besser. Check out his collaborations with Marc Schoenberger and his general awesomeness at his website, bfanaticguitarworks.com. If there is one person to do a refinish on an old National, Rik is the best. Rik just nailed the old finish down to the color, crystal and patina. 
Once the neck and body came together, I made a new bone nut, mounted a new Stew Mac cone w/ new biscuit and maple saddle. Tuners are Stew mac Golden Age Restoration Tuners. One cover plate screw is a spot on reproduction made for Rik Besser. The others are all original. The final setup is for fingerstyle playing. I don't slide. Action is 7/64" on the bass side at the 12th fret and 3/32" on the treble side and neck relief is .009". Nut slots are cut low for fingerstyle. Proper breakover angle over the saddle ensures the strings don't pop out of the saddle with hard playing. D'Addario Phosphor Bronze 12-53's are tuned to standard pitch. 

This is an incredible sounding and playing guitar with a total professional restoration done by an industry leading repair shop in Chicago and the best frosted duco finish money can buy. No issues, no surprises. Grab it and go!

Non-original, but old and cool, hardshell case comes with it. 

Listed via the Reverb App