Submitted by Jaco (see all reviews from this person) on 4/12/2012

Where Purchased: Vintage Nationals

Year Purchased: 2012
Price Paid: 789 ($US)

Sound

The HRS Classic Tri Cone is great for me, both for bottleneck slide and finger-stye picking. The sound is rich and bright . The bass response is very good as well. I had the National Hot Rod cones installed in it instead of the Continental cones. Great sustain. I use a lot of natural and false harmonics in my playing and they just jump out. This guitar can be used for more than just blues. I do a little Mexican style guitar in the vein of Ry Cooder, and some classical type riffs, mixed with some Jazz. This guitar is just great for what I want to do with it. So, far I'd say there is nothing I don't like about this guitar. Also as promised no buzzes or rattles as is common place on some Tri Cones.

Sound Rating: 10

Setup

The setup is excellent. I can't say enough about what a great job Lenny does in setting up his guitars. The intonation is spot on. I haven't done a thing to the setup. It was detuned a bit for shipping purposes. I tuned it up, stretched out the strings a bit, and it is fine. it is setup with Pearse Resonator strings 13-56. I wouldn't recommend changing anything.

Setup Rating: 10

Appearance

I didn't get the distressed nickel plated finish, so it has a very nice shine. No flaws in the finish. The mahogany neck has a beautiful dark finish to it. Real smooth. It has a great neck profile. A real handful....as it should be. All joints on the guitar are solid.

Appearance Rating: 10

Reliability

Grover style tuners on a flat headstock rather than the slotted headstock. Tuners turn smoothly. Tuners seem solid. Holds tune very well. Very old Maple is used for the bridge. This guitar is built to last .....I would defo use it on gigs as my main reso. And I will be doing some gigs here in China with it.

Reliability Rating: 10

Customer Service

Lenny is a great guy to deal with. Personable and friendly. Doesn't try to push anything on you. Kept me updated on the progress of the guitar as it was ninth in the que to be setup. Lenny offers a 100% one year trade in value on the Nationals he's sells. Seems to me that's a great deal!

Customer Service: 10

Components

The Grover style tuners are great. The National cones he installed sound great, I expect them to open up a bit as I play everyday. The neck is nice and wide, the string spacing is great. I prefer a wide fret board and this is almost like that of a classical guitar. The fret board is slightly radiused, but almost seems flat to me. The frets are done nicely. No sharp edges and frets are even up and down the neck, The edges of the fret board are rolled a bit. The string spacing is great as I said, because a lot of times the string spacing narrows closer to where the neck joins the body, but that's not the case here as Lenny opens the spacing a bit in his setup. No parts to upgrade that I can see. Also a beautifully done bone nut, cut real nice and makes a world of difference.

Components Rating: 10

Overall Comments

This is my first Tri Cone, and my first HRS. It won't be the last Tri Cone or any other guitar I purchase from Vintage Nationals. The Tri has that bluesy sound, but is much richer, and has great volume. I couldn't be more pleased with this guitar. It plays and sounds great. I can only imagine the sound will get better over time as all parts meld together. The cones will open up. Great guitar, great customer service. Hats off to Hot Rod Steel.
For any doubters out there you CAN purchase a more than decent reso that has been manufactured in China and done over by a guy like Lenny back home in the good ole' US of A !!!

Overall Rating: 10