1929 NATIONAL STEEL DUOLIN- RICH ROBINSON OWNED (SOLD)

AN INCREDIBLY RARE & VERY COLLECTIBLE GUITAR  …

1930s NATIONAL STEEL DUOLIAN
OWNED & PLAYED BY RICH ROBINSON
OF THE BLACK CROWES

Used on Several Tours, and Every Black Crowes' Album Since
The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion

We are very proud to offer once again a guitar that was personally owned – and played quite extensively – by legendary guitarist Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes. This was one of Rich's favorite guitars – a 1930s National Steel Duolian, serial number C 7791. He purchased it sometime in the early 1990s, and first used it during the recording sessions for the Black Crowes' album The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. Rich loved it so much he would eventually use it on every Black Crowes's studio album thereafter – including on such songs at "Hotel Illness" and "Wiser Time."

Sometime in the mid-2000s, Rich had a pickup installed on the guitar and used it live on the last few Black Crowes' tours, including all of the sessions at Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble in Woodstock, New York, in 2009.

We purchased the guitar directly from Rich on December 5, 2011, and it comes with a Letter of Authenticity personally signed by him.

We've looked around quite a bit, and his guitars are just not "out there." This is a chance to not only own a GREAT guitar, but a GREAT guitar played and owned by one of the world's most celebrated and respected guitar players, on some of the best Rock 'n Roll songs of the last 20 years. Let's face it, Rich and his brother Chris were singlehandedly responsible for Rock n' Roll's incredible resurgence in the early 1990s, and his incredible songwriting and guitar-playing skills are simply legendary.

Historically, the guitar has been documented erroneously on several "gear of the stars" web sites as a 1929 National Steel Duolian, and it was highly likely that Rich himself assumed it was from 1929. Our research, however, revealed that an exact date of manufacture was nearly impossible to pinpoint for these early National Steel Duolian guitars, although several appointments did point to the early 1930s as the most likely date of manufacture. So Rich wasn't off by much.

This guitar comes housed in a non-original "Goya by Levin" black hardshell case, with several stickers and markings documenting the guitar's ownership, including one bar coded sticker on the side of the guitar that reads, "PROPERTY OF THE BLACK CROWES 01546". There are also several pieces of white duct tape on the side of the fingerboard, apparently there so that Rich could see where he was on the fingerboard when the stage was black.

Additionally – and quite expectedly – the guitar is professionally set up and ready to play. And with its nice "V" neck profile, this baby plays like buttah! Additionally, we must also point out that the guitar's original cone was damaged at some point during the last Black Crowes tour. When we purchased it, we had Nashville's Joe Glaser of Glaser Instruments (if you don't know him, Google his name) very carefully repair the original cone to its original state. We also, however, purchased another exact replacement cone from National just in case the original cone could not be restored. But Mr. Glaser lived up to his world renowned reputation as one of the world's best luthiers and worked his magic on it, restoring it to its original glory without any issues. We will, however, include the replacement cone we purchased from National with the guitar ... still in the box and never used. 

As for the guitar, if you're like us, you won't just sit there and stare at it ... you'll have to pick it up, plug it in, throw in a Black Crowes' disc into the CD player and let 'er rip! Why? Because this is one fabulously COOL piece of rock 'n roll history, folks! And if you'd like to know more details about this incredibly collectible guitar, please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions. We would be quite happy to answer anything about it, as well as provide a few more in-depth details as to how we acquired it directly from Rich.

This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own a guitar that was personally owned and played by one of the world's greatest guitar players, AND played on some of the most iconic songs of the last 20 years. If we didn't have wives and children to feed, this particular guitar wouldn't be leaving the building!

Specs:

• Nut Width: 1-3/4”
• String Height (12th Fret): 1/8”
• Pickup: It has one, and it works great!
  
• Body / Style: 14" Steel with Round Shoulders, Upper F-holes with Rolled Edges 
  
• Neck: Mahogany
  
• Fret Condition: Excellent
• Finish: Gray Frosted "Duco" with Crystal-like Texture
• Weight: 7.15 lbs.
• Case: Non-original Black "Goya by Levin" Hardshell Case