Behold! The National Bobbie Thomas, a truly wonderful guitar with some history behind it.  This was National's crack at playing with the big boys - flamed wood, real Bigsby, Grover tuners, lovely inlay, and can't forget those Batman F-holes.  It's not something you'll see very often, that's for sure.

Who was Bobbie Thomas you ask? None other than a legendary player on the scene since the 50's, eventually Wayne Newton's guitar player, then even later a fugitive for a decade, convicted of mail fraud and sent to jail for stealing $17 million dollars from Merril Lynch (not making that up). 

This guitar was made in 1968, the same year that the U.S. sent the Apollo 8 mission to orbit the moon, Johnny Cash rocked Folsom prison, and Planet of the Apes hit the theaters.  But lets get back to the guitar....

With a rich background dating back to the 1930s, National consistently produced high-quality guitars, from metal-bodied resonators to the innovative "Res-O-Glas" models. Despite being lesser-known, the Bobbie Thomas artist model guitar from the late 1960s is widely regarded as one of their finest electric guitars.  While some aspects of this guitar, such as the bolt-on neck and laminated plywood top and back, may suggest it falls into the lower price range, the guitar has an overall high-quality feel.  Its features, including the hard maple neck, Grover Rotomatic tuners, Gibson ABR-1 adjustable bridge, and Bigsby vibrato, elevate it to a deluxe level far surpassing the average instrument.

Not only is the condition on this 57- year old guitar excellent (in general but especially for the age), it plays and sounds exceptional.  The original pickups (considered to be mediocre by many players) have been replaced by Truetone’s co-owner, Master Luthier Paul Flynn, who put in Gretsch Ray Butts full-fidelity pickups, as well as a pair of amazingly beautiful custom pickup rings he made to match the pickguard.   Also, while the Bigsby is original, the guitar has a Vibramate added.  All else is original.  There's a bit of lifting on the headcap but that's it.  Even the frets are in great shape.

These are very hard to find, especially in this finish.  We were thrilled when it came in and are excited to present this rare vintage piece.