RC-51 Tricone Resonator Guitar

The Regal RC-51 Tricone Resonator Guitar has the richness and warmth of tone that's dazzled audiences for 75 years. The body is bell-brass, heavily nickel-plated to a mirror finish, and fitted with a traditional sand-cast T-style spider for great sound. The fast mahogany neck has a rosewood fretboard, adjustable truss rod, 1-3/4"-wide bone nut, high-quality sealed-gear Schaller tuners, and a striking art deco pearloid peghead overlay. The hardware is nickel-plated brass.

In the 1920s the guitar was coming out of the parlor and into the concert hall. The technology of the early 1900s, driven by the phonograph and radio, was causing a musical revolution. Amplification was required, and the Dopyera brothers of southern California answered the call. Using 3 spun aluminum speaker cones, a mechanical amplification system was created that allowed the guitar to be heard in the back row of the auditorium. From the jazz bands of the '20s, through the Hawaiian craze of the '30s, from Chicago down to the Delta, the sound of the Tricone defined an era. Its warm, rich tone was the signature sound of blues legends such as Tampa Red, Bukka White, Peetie Wheatstraw, and Kansas Joe McCoy.