Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

A little more research revealed that decal logos were used on Model 59 steels prior to WW2, but as far as I can tell only on the grey burst smooth finish renditions that replaced the earlier ivory or black crinkle finish model 59s. Now everything adds up. Yours is a pure prewar model.

Thanks Richard,

The mystery is apparently solved, and another piece of the jigsaw is in place. One the attractions that these old guitars by National, Valco and Richenbacher have for me is the sheer complexity of their history. My impression is that these early makers weren't too fussy about the niceties of models and materials, so long as they got them out of the factory door.

I can see the logic in the decals - they wouldn't work on the crinkled finish. Well, I can now describe it as a 59, not an NS.

Heididog, I paid $375 for it.

Oops, that should read $475.

You are so right Tony. The documentation regarding the early models is scarce and adds to the intrigue of these instruments.

Richard,

This NS clearly has screw holes in the headstock:

http://www.northcoastguitars.com.au/ricky-ns.html

Anther bit to add to your jigsaw!

I bought a National Chicagoan from North Coast Guitars. A bit pricey by US standards (I'm in Oz), but being completely new to lapsteels, I wanted to try them before I bought. Peter, the owner, lives about 2 1/2 hours from me, so the family had a nice day out on the northern NSW coast, and I got to play a few lap steels.

As a price comparison, this Ric cost me about Oz$760 on the doorstep - luckily I wasn't asked to pay tax - as compared with the North coast price of Oz$1250.

Now I can say that I've see an NS with holes through the decal. That's definitely postwar. I hope there isn't too much more trivia to learn about these low end models.

Northcoast guitars is very pricey. They have some great steels on their website, but I wouldn't pay those kinds of prices, at least not yet. The value of lap steels is rising dramatically for the high end Rick models. Maybe the low end ones will
start increase in popularity like some of the low end Fenders.

North Coast Guitars are expensive, but not that bad by Oz standards, and comparable with other dealers here when you can find them. To give you some idea of prices, a basic new mexi Fender tele costs about Oz$750 here after discount. How much in the US? About 1/3 of that?

Change topic - the nut came off the ric in two pieces when I removed the strings to look inside it Any chance of finding a replacement? I think I can repair it effectively with epoxy, or make a cast plastic replica, but I'd rather have an original.

Tony,
Try this link to the Steel Guitar Forum. A great bunch of people with a wealth of knowledge.
http://steelguitarforum.com/cgi-bin/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=No+Peddlers&number=2&DaysPrune=10&LastLogin=
Good luck. Finding an original won't be easy.