National Dynamic... info please

Jon den Boer · Post by **Jon den Boer** » 6 Jun 2005 8:56 pm

I know there are some National Dynamic players out there, and I'm looking for any info you can give me, what type of pickup it came with, what it's best suited for, and what years they were made from/to... I'm looking into buying one, from 1955 I think. Any help greatly appreciated.

Jon

Jon den Boer · Post by **Jon den Boer** » 6 Jun 2005 8:58 pm

Sorry, me again..... what would you pay for one in good shape?

Jon

Andre Nizzari · Post by **Andre Nizzari** » 6 Jun 2005 9:18 pm

I like the national dynamic, I had a 1967 with legs and hardshell case, I paid 375.00 on ebay with the "buy it now" about a year ago. I sounds great and had nice sustain but it was neglected cause I was and still am buzy using my rickys and others instead. I sold it on ebay about 5 months ago for 450.00. It had a thin nasal, but cool, sound.

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http://www.andreandthenighthounds.com/

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 7 Jun 2005 3:07 am

<SMALL>It had a thin nasal, but cool, sound.</SMALL>

That's what my current one had too, until my luthier replaced the tone control. I sent it to him to check if the pickup was broken or de-magged, and he said that the tone control was wired in a very special way that wouldn't allow the full juice of the pickup to come through. According to him, this was quite common for a certain period of time (mine is an early/mid '60s model, the red/white one).

When I got it back it was the hottest lap steel I've ever had, and the tone is fat and huge, I think Lindley once described the sound of Dynamics as "concentrated rock'n'roll tone" or something like that. The description definitely fits mine...

I've also owned a mid/late '50s model, and it didn't have the pickup issue, so that one was 'hot' out of the box (but not quite as loud as my current one).

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

Jeff Watson · Post by **Jeff Watson** » 7 Jun 2005 2:07 pm

Very interesting Steinar. I had a red/white model from that era with that nasally tone which I hated. Sold it, wish I'd known.

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 8 Jun 2005 10:18 am

Do you know exactly what your tech did to improve the sound, Steinar?

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 8 Jun 2005 10:47 am

As far as I know he simply replaced it with a standard 250 or 500K pot (not sure which), and wired it as is usual today. I'll remember to ask him, have to call him about something else soon anyway... Will post back if he did something more special than this.

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 8 Jun 2005 11:22 am

Thanx Steinar, sounds like he may have changed caps or simply bypassed it as well.
Hope to hear your follow up!

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 8 Jun 2005 11:51 am

Just spoke with my tech, and here's what he told me;

The old tone pot was wired with a condensator in each "end" - as opposed to having one major condensator as is standard today - this was supposedly done to create a broader range of sound, but it also 'holds back' on the output so it gets weak. For the most natural sound from the pickup you're supposed to have the tone control in approx center position, not wide open.

What he did was to simply replace it with a modern tonepot and wire it as is standard today, using only one condensator.
This brought the pickup up from a rather wimpy nasal tone (weaker than my standard Tele) to a full humbucker-like output, so if anybody has a Dynamic that sounds nasal and weak this modification may very well do the trick.

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

Bill Creller · Post by **Bill Creller** » 9 Jun 2005 5:05 pm

There are many ways which people wired in the pots. Many had the pot wired across the output, both tone and volume. This cuts off the highs quite a bit, and I believe the pickup doesn't have a chance with that type of circuit. Most of the guitars I have had apart had many different approaches to control tone and volume. Stewart McDonald has info on effects of various resistance pots.

Zayit · Post by **Zayit** » 14 Jun 2005 1:56 pm

Hi Jon,

Sorry for bumping this old thread, but I love my National Dynamic/Special S-8. It has a distinct sound of its own- different from the trebly Fenders, the mid-rangy Gibsons & the roarin' Ricky's.

Here are some pix of the Dynamic/Special: Mine is an S-8, black on black sorta like the one at the bottom. http://www.well.com/user/wellvis/roulette.html
http://www.well.com/user/wellvis/steels/National/NationalDynamic.JPG
http://www.well.com/user/wellvis/steels/National/NationalSpecial.JPG