National Guitars

The National String Instrument Corporation was an American guitar manufacturer initially established to produce banjos and the original resonator guitars, eventually expanding to resonator ukuleles and mandolins. Founded by George Beauchamp and inventor John Dopyera, the company gained prominence in 1927 with the release of its first resonator instruments, featuring metal bodies and a unique tricone resonator system with three aluminum cones. The Dopyera brothers were instrumental in creating these innovative designs, using their expertise in spinning aluminum diaphragms.

In 1928, John Dopyera left National to form the Dobro Manufacturing Company, which introduced a competing single resonator design. National subsequently developed its own “biscuit” resonator model while continuing to produce the original tricone guitars. In 1932, the Dopyera brothers acquired controlling interest in both companies, merging them into the “National Dobro Corporation.”