Formed in 1926, the National String Instrument
Corporation was known for making resonator guitars. National
united with the Dobro Company
in 1932, and eventually became
Valco in 1943. Valco manufactured guitars and amps under its
own National and Supro brand
names, as well as for Gretsch,
Silvertone, Oahu, and Airline.
In 1961, Valco came out with
an innovative new style of electric
guitar that had bodies made from
molded Res-O-Glas—a fiberglass-like substance made by combining
polyester resin and glass threads.
The most striking of these Res-O-Glas instruments were National’s
map-shaped guitars—including
the Glenwood, Val-Pro, and
Newport models. The unusual
cutaways on these guitars made
them resemble a map of the
continental United States.
The National guitar pictured
this month is a 1964 Glenwood
98. It has two standard single-coils
as well as a pickup mounted in the
bridge itself. Three Tone knobs,
three Volume knobs, and a selector switch control the pickups,
and a Master Volume is located
near the jack. The hardware consists of chrome Grover Rotomatic
tuners and a Bigsby vibrato. The
body is white, while the finish on
the back of the neck is black.
Sources for information in
this article include the writings
of George Gruhn, including
Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars
by George Gruhn and Walter
Carter, and valcopages.com,
Noah Miller’s website dedicated
to all things Valco. Check them
out to discover more about these
map-shaped instruments.
The Glenwood’s bridge-mounted transducer was way ahead of its time.
Above: Sporting seven knobs and a 3-way switch, the
Glenwood 98 offers plenty of sound-shaping options. From a
distance, you might mistake these pickups for humbuckers,
but they’re actually large single-coils.
Inset: Art-deco touches on the pickguard add to the instrument’s classy look.
DAVE’S GUITAR SHOP
Dave Rogers’ collection is tended
by Laun Braithwaite and Tim Mullally
and is on display at:
Dave’s Guitar Shop
1227 Third Street South
La Crosse, WI 54601
davesguitar.com
Photos by Mullally and text
by Braithwaite.
