National Chicagoan Lap Steel Guitar Valco Vintage 1957

Up for grabs is a vintage National ‘Chicagoan’ Lap Steel guitar, circa 1957. This piece is in excellent condition! The instrument has been strung up, plugged in and operates flawlessly. There is a slightly less-than-typical amount of wear on the pickup cover piece and the hardware. The only noteworthy blemishes are on the fingerboard around some of the screws, and these are photographed below. The body is in fantastic condition, without a notable nick or ding on it! Several accessories are included as well, including the cable (has been updated to a ¼” jack to accommodate modern amplifiers), a few thumb/finger picks (including a pair of vintage National finger picks, photographed below), a pair of slides, a Valco Co. “Things You Should Know About Your Electric Guitar” booklet (copyright 1950), “The Original Guckert’s Chords For The Hawaiian-Steel Guitar At Sight” booklet (copyright 1917) and the original National warranty card. When these were first released in ‘57, the guitar was priced at $75.00 and the case was an additional $15.00. Here is what the 1957 National catalogue had to say about it:

“The easy to read keyboard and trouble free operation of the “Chicagoan” have established it as one of the most popular electric Hawaiian Guitars for advanced student use. The grey pearl finish is very durable and the whole instrument is unusually rugged in constriction. Scale length is 23” with Plexiglass fingerboard. Additional features include non-tarnishing hand rest, nickel plated gear covers and a non-slip suede back.Tone and volume controls are of wide range type, and are ideally placed.”

Included are the original hardshell case, a free set-up and our 2-year shop warranty. **Attn. International Customers: When requesting international shipping quotes, please supply your postal code and city name for quicker, more accurate prices. Also, please understand that we are not responsible for import/customs duties or taxes. Please check with your local office for approximations on fees**

This unit features:

All invoices will reflect full sale value. We CANNOT provide a reduced value invoice, so please don’t ask!

APPROVAL AND RETURN INFO

Anything we sell can be sent to you for a short approval period without obligation. We collect NO SALES TAX, unless you live in Kansas. The customer is responsible for shipping and insurance and must pre-pay back to us any freight and insurance charges on returned equipment. International shipping is available. Returned items will be refunded within 3 weeks of receiving the item. We’re happy to send any instrument “on approval” for five days, but ask the prospective buyer to pay shipping both ways and to reimburse us 2.95% for restocking and cleanup on any returned instrument.

Price includes a free setup by either of our two Gibson and Fender authorized luthiers, with your choice of strings and choice of setup specs. Please email or call us about other new and used guitars that we have available.

PAYMENT INFO

Ebay authorized payment methods: Paypal or credit/debit card (Visa, Mastercard, Discover) processed through our internet merchant account.

Please note: Many scam artists are now sending fake “Ebay second chance” offers to second and other bidders on closed and active ebay itemes. If we send you a “second chance offer” it will be from wbic@wichitaband.com. You can always call us on our 800 number (800-835-3006) to verify and speak to us in person about any auction.

Customers wishing to use US Postal Service: Please be advised that we will be happy to send your item by the US Postal Service if you so desire. However, please be informed that if your item is lost, stolen or damaged in transit, it could take one year or longer to finalize the claim with the US Postal Service. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for lost, stolen or damaged items when shipped with the US Postal Service. Because of this problem, we cannot recommend the US Postal Service for anything other than inexpensive items.

Please see our other auctions: Current E-bay auctions.

Feel free to call or e-mail for any additional information.
Wichita Band Instrument Co./E.M. Shorts Guitars
800-835-3006 (ask for guitar shop) payment line (USA and Canada),
316-684-6252 outside the USA and Canada payment line
e-mail: wbic@wichitaband.com.