National Resophonic Guitars: Estralita Deluxe Custom Koa

Submitted by Dobro Don on 8/6/2008

Where Purchased: Spruce Tree Music - Madison Wisconsin

Year Purchased: 2003
Price Paid: 2100 ($US)

Sound

I work primarily as a singer/songwriter (with the occasional venture into the Blues) and this guitar suits that style just fine. The tone is extremely mellow, yet the instrument projects extremely well. I usually just play it acoustic into a mic when performing. When playing bottleneck style on it this guitar really "sings" with a rich and full sound with excellent sustain. Play towards the bridge and you can get a pretty good "bite", play towards the neck and it gets very smooth and round.

Sound Rating: 10

Setup

This guitar was Setup Perfectly when I got it. I have made zero changes to it since I got it. The only thing I have done recently was to switch to slightly heavier first string (than what comes from National as standard) for when I play bottleneck on it.

Setup Rating: 10

Appearance

This is a gorgeous guitar. It came from the custom shop at National and was one of the first all Koa Estralitas they made. Beautiful wood grain. Simple inlay work and the craftsmanship on this thing was impeccable - no flaws in finish or fittings.

Appearance Rating: 10

Reliability

This thing is rugged. I play the heck out of it and take it on gigs all the time. I have seen almost no wear on the instrument so far (so the hardware is holding up real well) and I regularly gig without a backup instrument (but not without back up strings even though I have yet to bust one on this critter).

Reliability Rating: 10

Customer Service

I've dealt with National on a variety of things not related to fixing my guitar (advice on strings, chrome polish, mics, etc.) and they are always helpful. So far I haven't had anything that has needed fixing so I can't say how good they are if something breaks, but based on my other experience I would assume they're pretty good. I'm a happy camper on that front.

I'll give 'em a "9" because I haven' had to deal with trouble with them, yet.

Customer Service: 9

Components

Well, I love the National cones and this one has proven very durable so far and yet it has great tone and volume. The Frets are really great, too. The plating all seems to be first quality and I have not experienced and rattles or buzzes on this thing yet.

Components Rating: 10

Overall Comments

I'd highly recommend this guitar to some one who wanted a versatile, wood-bodied resonator guitar that is easy on the eyes and the ears.

If it were stolen I would be very angry, very sad and rush out and replace it as fast as I could.

The major comparision point I have to make is neck width - and this is true for all the Nationals - it is W-I-D-E, especially compared to most other makers. My Amistar 12-String Tricone has a narrower neck than either my National Tricone (6-string) or this Estralita Deluxe. Same goes for my round-neck Dobro. This isn't a problem for me and I have moderate to small hands, but it might be an issue for some folks. For me it just means there's a bit more adjusting in my playing to do when I switch back and forth onto and off of the Nationals from my other guitars.

Overall Rating: 10