" A Gibson National Aristocrat " ??

[Dennis D]

Extremely Rare Vintage 1948 Gibson National Aristocrat 1110 | Reverb


Just spotted this ( and another ) on the 'verb...no affiliation etc etc.....reminded me of that old expression - AKA ' Heinz 57 Varieties '......: ).....

...but never heard of them.....

[mr. beaumont]

A National Aristocrat...wasn't that a Sabbath tune?

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Was expecting Gilbert Gottfried

[TOMMO]

Yes, Gibson made a lot of bodies for the National brand archtop guitars including the Aristocrat model.

[TedBPhx]

Was expecting Gilbert Gottfried

That Aristocrat joke comes immediately to mind.

[Fred Archtop]

No truss rod so....

[Ray175]

No trussrod? Could be fun to play if you have a spectacular muscular fretting hand

[TOMMO]

No trussrod? Could be fun to play if you have a spectacular muscular fretting hand

...or play slide guitar...

[339 in june]

A National Aristocrat...wasn't that a Sabbath tune?

A National Acrobat

[Doctor Jeff]

Not all guitars without truss rods go bad. It might have a steel reinforced neck. From the pics one can't see a definite heel separation or extremely high action.

It sure looks cool and has that mojo.

[jads57]

I have to say to put this priced as a comparable Gibson archtop, seems like a huge stretch to say the least.
Reverb prices for Archtops are way out of line with real world value in my opinion.

But maybe there are people who value such things. Not me for sure!

[EllenGtrGrl]

Yes, Gibson made a lot of bodies for the National brand archtop guitars including the Aristocrat model.

Yup. They also did the same for National acoustic guitars. I've seen National dreadnoughts for sale on Reverb, that were basically J-45s with a different (National supplied) neck on them. Buying a non-resonator vintage National, is kind of a lower cost way to get a vintage Gibson, at a lower price. They usually go for substantially less than a Gibson of comparable vintage.

1949 National 1155 (with J-45 body)

[Littlemark]

The listing says Gibson made the necks. Nope, National put their necks on the Gibson bodies. Cool pickups though.

[entresz]

Is that some sort of early transducer bridge on it? How fascinating.
A very cool, if not quirky, guitar.

[Sam Sherry]

Not all guitars without truss rods go bad. It might have a steel reinforced neck.

If the neck doesn't have an adjustable rod you adjust the neck bow by using different fret-tang widths in different locations: Thinner tang --> more bend right here. That is "the vintage Martin fret-job." It's not something you want Johnny Lutherer from the local Guitar Denter to take on, but vintage Martin repairers do it all the time.

The listing says Gibson made the necks. Nope, National put their necks on the Gibson bodies. Cool pickups though.

I bet Gibson made the Aristocrat neck in the original post (although I lose bets sometimes).

National made the necks with the bogus-looking screw-on not-a-heel:

[michael_s]

I have the very same guitar, also from 1948. I also have a picture with the original owner's band in Indiana.




As Sam Sherry states Gibson did in fact also supply the necks until National came up with their own "Stylist" neck in 1949 (or so).
The bridge pickup is magnetic, here's a wiring diagram (supposedly made by Bill Puplett, who worked on the instrument for its former owner, English Blues guitarist Michael Messer).
The bridge pickup is rather weak but you get some interesting sounds with the blend knob.




Overall it is a very fine guitar and playability is also great. I have been thinking about selling it lately as I am gassing for a vintage Gibson, but the price for the guitar shown above is totally ridiculous - I bought mine for ~ 2.000 Euros (extensively worked on by a renowned luthier) and would sell it for the same amount if I made my mind up.

Best, Michael

[citizenk74]

[daverepair]

The listing says Gibson made the necks. Nope, National put their necks on the Gibson bodies. Cool pickups though.

Initially, in '47/'48, Gibson made the bodies and necks(the complete guitar). In '49, National began installing their 'Stylist' neck on Gibson bodies. This Aristocrat has the Gibson made neck.

[unknownguitarplayer]

The "bogus-looking screw-on not-a-heel" actually has a pretty interesting history (patent attached). The neck is a wooden shell surrounding a cast magnesium core that can be precisely adjusted in a few dimensions by machine screws. I have an old National version and have played a few on old Kays with that joint. It's a really interesting concept, but the fly in the ointment is that clever engineering aside, the necks were made on the cheap and are extremely clunky.

Patent Images