1936 National Trojan-Open A

[fngrpkn06]

Great soundin' instrument, played superbly!

[feelingproject]

Hey heyy ..Cool. & good energy! peace all

[APairofBoots]

what are you using as a slide and what do you think is the best slide? that looks like the end of a wine bottle to me

[MSB76]

@APairofBoots wine bottles have always been my favorites!

[aligaither]

What tuning is this in

[squidridesdachoochoo]

This video is convincing me to buy a Trojan rather than a Triolian!

[deltabilly1]

Sounds good. I have a 1930s Trojan. I believe it's a 35. What's the serial #?

[stonehorn59]

Hey, that's really nice!

I got no problem with the tempo.

I think this speed brings a good straight drive on it.

See me walkin' down the street with hands in pockets, whistling this little piece

and with some funny plan in mind.

Thanks for playing and posting!

And thanks to the cabernet!

[Chookiman]

Nice work !

[octoface4]

you should do a lesson on this or give tabs

[fuciledacaccia]

Outstanding blues, you got it!!! I would love to hear it a little slower...Great job..

[MSB76]

thanks. yeah, i was trying for a slower take, but i was too wasted.

[fallfrukt]

Great playing. Nice guitar. Who pissed in hambonecharliejohnso's corn flakes?

[MSB76]

Thanks, man. My bad for replying to him in the first place. Just another lonely troll seeking attention.

[guitarded71]

Dude...wtf? You too? Hahaha youtube e-drama being waged in our comments. Isn't the internet a whimsical magical place? bwahaha

[sake24]

Sounds great man! I just bought a wooden 1936 National Rosita and the body looks just like yours -minus the F-holes (these have Lyres). Awesome sound eh????

[MSB76]

thanks. yeah, i love this guitar... i'd love to hear/see that Rosita.

[olelancucki]

why dont you sing?

[MSB76]

thanks fer the kind words... i just can't bring myself to sing cliche tunes like "walkin' blues" an' I sure as hell ain't gonna sing "My Black Mama". So I just mess around with these riffs sans vocals.

[olelancucki]

yes, you got it all ;) it reminds me of robert johnson

[wehappyfewmusic]

Nice - reminds me of Son Houses 'death letter' (but faster)

[hoopiejohn]

Great rendition of that tune! There's many that get the notes right, but you got the rhythm too!

As to value, I believe good guitars will hold their value in hard times, just as well as Krugerrands; but they're a whole lot more fun!

[RiverIrwellbank]

Just curious, Is that a national Estralita?

Also re: selling the larrivee. The value of the money you need/needed is going down as inflation is higher than interest rates now (you probably knew that anyway). Larrivee parlours and national estralitas will hold their value more than money will these days. Then again if you need the money you need the money. Keep on churning out these tunes, quality stuff!

[MSB76]

Much thanks for the kind words! This is a 1936 National Trojan. VINTAGE Estralitas seem to be extremely rare, though Estralitas and Trojans were apparently of similar quality. I've done a side by side comparison with my Trojan and a NEW National RESOPHONIC Estralita in a music store. Tone was comparable, but new Estralitas apparently have a metal soundwell (place where the cone sits inside the guitar) as opposed to the wooden soundwell in vintage Trojans. So the new Estralita is much louder.

[MSB76]

Re: selling the Larrivee. I hear what you're sayin' and I'm actually secure enough that I don't really "need" the money anymore. However, I just don't play the Larrivee that much anymore and I'm feeling like I really DO "need" a new ladder braced 12 string guitar. ;-) As you're suggesting, guitars are worth more to me than money. The Larrivee is just currency to use to acquire more guitars. =]

[IplayBanjoNow]

This is crazy! I can't believe how good this is. It reminds me of "My Black Mama" by Son House. Man, I need to learn slide. Maybe at that blues workshop. This is really good.

[MSB76]

Much thanks! There should be some great slide classes at PT, but in the meantime you could check yer local library system and/or netflix for some instructional slide dvds. guitarvideos (dot) com and homespuntapes (dot) com sell the best stuff IMO. I learned most of these licks from DVDs made by Bob Brozman and Rory Block. Though I kinda put my own variations in there and play it with a more upbeat tempo. Thanks for the kind words.

[MSB76]

Some other great slide guitarists with DVDs to look for:

Mike Dowling

Steve James

Roy Bookbinder

Corey Harris

Stefan Grossman

And Keni Lee Burgess has some great stuff right here on youtube as well as some DVDs for sale. He's in Jersey and plays in subway stations in NY. Really great guy. Send him a message and you mightcould meet up with him for a lesson or just to hear him play.

Slide is too much fun! And it's not as hard as I used to think. Just takes a lot of practice like anything...

[BottleneckJohn]

Really nice!!

Beautiful guitar, what string size is this..?

[MSB76]

Thanks John! Been listenin' to yer stuff via IGS for quite some time... Yer an excellent player, so yer praise means a lot!

This is a super heavy set recommended by the luthier that set it up (since I like to tune as low as vastapol at C sometimes). Don't remember the exact gauge, but it was the heaviest set he had. I know I used a .016 for the 1st string. Something like .058 for the 6th. Cheapo D'addarios, but I'm hopin' to try out Newtones if/when I can afford 'em.

[MSB76]

I just replaced these with mediums for the neck's sake and now it's quite a bit quieter and harder to get a clean slide sound. But since the headstock has already been repaired once... I figure "better safe than sorry".

[batfink777]

5 STARS! (Ratings disabled my ass)

[MSB76]

thanks, donn. yeah, the ratings... everyone's been really supportive as far as that goes... i just don't like the whole idea of ratings in general and particularly the anonymous aspect... i only rate things with five stars or one star. and the one star rating is something i reserve for nonmusical vids that really piss me off in some way. i'm not a fan of the american-idol-inspired-you-too­-can-be-a-critic phenomenon. music is about expression, not competition.  for me, honest expression=5*

[saddamdontsurf]

Wow, your hands look white, but that biscuit top sounds black. Good stuff

[guild618]

my foot was stumpin with you

[harpdog52]

hey mike...... good stuff!

Ross