Good Vibrations : Historic Resonator Guitars and American Life

This catalogue explores classic American resonator guitars, from National’s 1927 tricone to their cultural impact, featuring expert essays, detailed images, and insights into their role in music history and identity.

Unrivalled catalogue of classic American resonator guitars. In 1927, a small Los Angeles company created a startlingly new kind of guitar. Featuring three aluminium cones inside a shiny metal body, the 'tricone' made by the National String Instrument Company sounded and looked like no other guitar. For a short period, until amplified electric guitars became viable in the late 1930s, resonator guitars were at the vital centre of American popular music, a legacy that has fascinated musicians and fans ever since. Featuring essays by two musical instrument experts, colour plates documenting these guitars as no other publication has, and additional illustrations that link these guitars to broader themes in American history and culture, this book provides a rich account of an iconic American object.