1948 National 1155
1948 National 1155 in excellent condition. These guitars were a collaboration between National-Valco and Gibson. The bodies were made by Gibson and identical to the J-45 of the era and the rest was done by National. The neck is similar in profile to an early 1960s Gibson. It is thin for the era with almost no taper but has a 1 3/4" nut width and 2 1/4" string spacing. The body is solid mahogany with a one piece back, Adirondack spruce top, scalloped bracing, finished in a dark brown sunburst a bit different from a J-45. The playability is excellent thanks to a neck reset and although there is no adjustable truss rod the neck is dead straight. All original except for new saddle and bridge pins. The sound is big and boomy and certainly has the jumbo Gibson thing, but a bit different too. Hard to describe but very appealing and not like any other guitar. It reminds us of some of the Harmony 1260s that we have converted to X bracing. There is one repaired top crack and one repaired back crack that runs the length of the guitar, both done with hide glue. Comes with hard case.