National Reso-Phonic Style O 12-Fret Replicon Resophonic Guitar New

The 12-fret Style O is National Reso-Phonic’s flagship model, and many people, including us, think it’s one of the best looking guitars ever made. But looks don’t matter if you don’t have the sound to back it up. Happily, this guitar with its nickel-plated brass body has a tone that is as iconic as its appearance. Some players, though, find the mirror-like gleam of a new Style O a bit to shiny, so National Reso-Phonic created the Replicon variation, which has a subtly distressed finish that softens the bling, giving it the look of a used but not abused vintage guitar.

The original Style O was introduced 1930 and its aluminum cone was designed to be heard acoustically in the noisiest circumstances. It was originally built for Hawaiian-style guitarists, hence the tropical imagery etched into the top and back, but blues and country musicians soon discovered its utility. These days, the Style O is very popular with guitarists who play bottleneck-style slide but musicians who play 1920s jazz, old-time country and jug band music find the guitar’s powerful sound hard to resist.