100 year old resonator mandolin?

[HogDad]

I inherited this Premiere resonator mandolin from my dad. He got it as a kid, and was born in 1916, so I assume it dates to the 1920s or earlier. They were pretty poor, so it may have been a catalog purchase or pawn shop find.

He never had a case for it, so it has gotten pretty beat-up over the years. I restrung & adjusted it, so now it plays pretty well and sounds awesome.

I have searched your forums and not found any others quite like it. Much appreciation for any info about this instrument, it's origin or value.

Thanks!

Picture link:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AsvGfsWDhSJn-zoxd3s-qsdXc-_y

[MikeEdgerton]

You are 10 to 20 years early on the date, 30's to 40's. They were sold under many brand names. Premier would have been a brand name owned by a distributor. They in turn would have ordered them from one of the major builders. As Regal in Chicago was producing the bulk of these I might go with them, again sometime in the 30's to the 40's. Many of these weren't real resonators, they had a cover and wood underneath. It looks like yours has a metal cone under the cover but the image is a little blurry.

For posterity and anyone that can't get to the link:

[MikeEdgerton]

Here is this same model mandolin that was branded Beltone.

[rcc56]

Resonator instruments were "invented" by the Dopyera family, who formed National in 1926 and Dobro in 1928 or '29. The first resonator guitars were produced in 1927. Mandolins appear by 1928. Resonator instruments were not produced in large numbers until the 1930's.

Some of the resonator instruments were made in California, and some in Chicago. Your instrument appears to have built in Chicago by Regal or Harmony. To me, it reminds me more of Harmony workmanship. At one time or another, all of the Chicago manufacturers built instruments or supplied parts to both National and Dobro.

Both National and Dobro offered instruments under other brand names. Any resonator instruments from that period that were not built under license by National or Dobro were subject to patent infringement.

The histories of both companies are rather convoluted.

[allenhopkins]

Not convinced this is a "real" resonator instrument; often a cover plate was just screwed on to a wooden top, which was sometimes painted silver to simulate a resonator cone. You'd have to take the cover plate off to see if there's a cone under it. Examining the bridge, without removing the cone, would also tell you whether it's attached to either a wooden "biscuit" (National-style resonator) or a metal "spider" mechanism (Dobro style). If it's just sitting on a flat wooden surface, it's a faux resonator. These were less expensive than Nationals or Dobros, because they didn't need to incorporate the resonator cone, sound well, etc. components of the actual resonator instruments.

[MikeEdgerton]

The description on the Beltone above actually mentioned a paper cone. That I've never seen.

[brunello97]

.....You'd have to take the cover plate off to see if there's a cone under it. ......

You'd think playing it would give someone a clue.

Honestly, these fauxonators remain one of the mas cheesioso musical marketing scams I've seen. And I'm pretty gullible.
Were the real resonators so popular that folks sought to gain some cheap cred by buying a faux?

Other schemes: painted faux-grain finishes, L+H's double-wide bowlback rib with faux separator strip, etc. seem almost charming in comparison.

This is closer to "Givson" for its unadulterated jive axx trickery.

Caveat emptor meets non compos mentis.

Mick