1929 National Triolian Ukulele

I’m always surprised to rediscover how scarce National ukuleles are. I almost never see them for sale and among all of my instrument accumulating buddies, I don’t think anyone has one, and my pals have quite a few Nationals and lots of ukes. The ukulele scarcity is odd because National basically made their reputation building Hawaiian guitars and just about every band in the 1920s that had a guy playing a National guitar had a uke player as well. Did the uke players of the day dislike the tone? Were they too expensive? Too heavy? I just don’t get it.

But as this lovely Triolian shows, a few folks back then did buy them. The Triolian was introduced in 1928 with a wood body. National switched to steel bodies the next year, making this 1929 uke one of the very first metal Triolains made. I love the paint job on this uke. The stenciled palm trees were obviously designed to be applied quickly and cheaply, but the simple black paint, combined with the shaded yellow-ish body paint create an evocative tropical scene very economically. I’ve only played a couple of these ukes over the years and I thought that they sounded very good. They are loud with a surprisingly sweet, delicate tone. The $3250 price tag reflects the rarity of the ukulele, but if you want to wait for another one to show up, you will have a long wait. This charming uke is currently brightening up the wall at Spruce Tree Music, but I’m sure they think it would look much better hanging on the wall at your house.