nmiller
Member
I'd be interested in selling this or trading it for a variety of stuff (partial or whole), including an M-75 or M-80.
I bought this a month or so ago on a whim - as a huge Valco fan, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to own a really rare model in superb condition. However, in retrospect, it's pretty redundant with my two other archtops and I can't really justify holding on to a guitar that I rarely play. Here's my description on another forum from when I first got the guitar:
"If you're suspicious that National was stealing designs from Gibson, rest easy - the body is an actual ES-175 body that Valco purchased from Gibson! It even has a 1954 Gibson factory order number stamped inside. The neck, hardware and electronics are all of Valco's manufacture, including those wonderfully fat single-coil pickups.
This was the second-to-top of the National line in 1955, just below the Debonaire (which featured an ES-350 body and fancier appointments). This version of the Belaire was only made for a couple of years (1954-6), but it was brought back around 1959 with a third pickup and fancier trim. As far as I can tell, this early version is rarer than the later one, though they're both pretty thin on the ground. It's certainly rare to find one in this condition, which is the cleanest National I've ever seen; aside from one minor touch-up where the headstock and a tuner were dinged, it's very close to mint.
To my delight, this guitar has the same thin/chunky neck profile as my '58 National Town and Country. It's also the lightest full-size jazz box I've ever encountered - far lighter than my Guild X-500, for example. The pickups are mounted a little further from the strings than on my Town and Country, which helps accentuate the acoustic tone of the guitar. It also lowers the output, so I've raised the polepieces quite far up to compensate. In classic Valco fashion, the controls are awkward and needlessly complex. The three small knobs are volume controls for the neck, bridge and blended pickups; the big knob is a master tone, and the rotary lever selects between the neck, bridge and blended pickups (in that order)."
Click here for a video demo I made.
I'm picky about cosmetic condition, but this is a very clean guitar for its age. The biggest cosmetic flaws are a broken/reglued tuner button, a 1/4" chip in one of the pickup rings and a couple of faint lines in the finish near the end pin (probably from a stand):
I'm open to sales and trades. I'm not really sure what I'm looking for in a trade, but I really like obscure vintage stuff (acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins, tenor banjos, lap steels, amps...). I'll also consider modern stuff so long as it's not your run-of-the-mill Gibson/Fender reissue.
After speaking with a couple of vintage dealers, I'm putting the guitar's value at $1850, including Paypal, shipping in the continental US, and a modern hardshell case.
Here are examples of things I'd be very interested in trading for. I'm not limiting trades to these items, but they're examples of my taste in gear.
Music Man 112RD Fifty
Magnatone 440 or MP-1
Valco amps (preferably over 10W)
Gibson EH-150 lap steel and B-25-12 (version without separate tailpiece)
Rickenbacker B6 or BD6
Vega lap steels
Guild M-75 or M-80
Gretsch Roc Jet
Pre-1958 Epiphones of any sort
I may be able to throw a little cash into the deal as well.
I bought this a month or so ago on a whim - as a huge Valco fan, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to own a really rare model in superb condition. However, in retrospect, it's pretty redundant with my two other archtops and I can't really justify holding on to a guitar that I rarely play. Here's my description on another forum from when I first got the guitar:
"If you're suspicious that National was stealing designs from Gibson, rest easy - the body is an actual ES-175 body that Valco purchased from Gibson! It even has a 1954 Gibson factory order number stamped inside. The neck, hardware and electronics are all of Valco's manufacture, including those wonderfully fat single-coil pickups.
This was the second-to-top of the National line in 1955, just below the Debonaire (which featured an ES-350 body and fancier appointments). This version of the Belaire was only made for a couple of years (1954-6), but it was brought back around 1959 with a third pickup and fancier trim. As far as I can tell, this early version is rarer than the later one, though they're both pretty thin on the ground. It's certainly rare to find one in this condition, which is the cleanest National I've ever seen; aside from one minor touch-up where the headstock and a tuner were dinged, it's very close to mint.
To my delight, this guitar has the same thin/chunky neck profile as my '58 National Town and Country. It's also the lightest full-size jazz box I've ever encountered - far lighter than my Guild X-500, for example. The pickups are mounted a little further from the strings than on my Town and Country, which helps accentuate the acoustic tone of the guitar. It also lowers the output, so I've raised the polepieces quite far up to compensate. In classic Valco fashion, the controls are awkward and needlessly complex. The three small knobs are volume controls for the neck, bridge and blended pickups; the big knob is a master tone, and the rotary lever selects between the neck, bridge and blended pickups (in that order)."
Click here for a video demo I made.
I'm picky about cosmetic condition, but this is a very clean guitar for its age. The biggest cosmetic flaws are a broken/reglued tuner button, a 1/4" chip in one of the pickup rings and a couple of faint lines in the finish near the end pin (probably from a stand):
I'm open to sales and trades. I'm not really sure what I'm looking for in a trade, but I really like obscure vintage stuff (acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins, tenor banjos, lap steels, amps...). I'll also consider modern stuff so long as it's not your run-of-the-mill Gibson/Fender reissue.
After speaking with a couple of vintage dealers, I'm putting the guitar's value at $1850, including Paypal, shipping in the continental US, and a modern hardshell case.
Here are examples of things I'd be very interested in trading for. I'm not limiting trades to these items, but they're examples of my taste in gear.
Music Man 112RD Fifty
Magnatone 440 or MP-1
Valco amps (preferably over 10W)
Gibson EH-150 lap steel and B-25-12 (version without separate tailpiece)
Rickenbacker B6 or BD6
Vega lap steels
Guild M-75 or M-80
Gretsch Roc Jet
Pre-1958 Epiphones of any sort
I may be able to throw a little cash into the deal as well.