Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open - 128

VG APPROVED GEAR

STEEL SOUL
National's Pioneer RP1

W

hat do you get when you cross a
National Duolian with a solidbody
electric? Answer: a guitar that Elmore
James would have sold his soul for.
National's new Pioneer RP1 is that
devilish creation. No one's built a guitar
quite like this before.
The Pioneer boasts the steel body of a
1930s Duolian straight from a Delta juke
joint. But it's built in a thin style, with a
shape and size akin to a Les Paul. Finish
choices include National's Chipped Ivory
or Black Rust. The hardware has a fittingly
cool rubbed-steel visage, from the Gotoh
machine heads to that distinctive National
tailpiece of yore.
The centerpiece of the body is, of
course, the resonator cone, set safely not
behind an old-style "hubcap," but a full
metal cover plate. And the real sign of
this guitar's singularity? You can play the
Pioneer acoustically, you can go electric,
or you can opt for a blend of both - which
is where the magic lies.
The RP1 features two pickups: one you
can see, one you can't. The obvious neck
pickup is a Lollar P-90, a great choice for
this guitar's vibe. It captures the strings'
sound, of course - and snarls like a junkyard dog hit by lightning, offering a growl
ideal for deep blues or primal rock and roll.
Hidden away beneath the bridge is a
Highlander piezo that picks up the unique
voice of the resonator. Select just the piezo
with the three-way toggle and you can play
acoustic-electric, as if you were miking
the cone itself. The sound is an accurate
amplification, suitably raspy and soulful.
But, blend the two pickups with the aid
of the Pioneer's onboard active electronics
and you get the whole deal - P-90 raucousness and that unique National resonator
razor-edged voice.
The neck is maple with an ebony fretboard and a 25" scale. And with its slim,
comfortable profile, it's as playable as a
Les Paul, too.
And that's a good thing, because the
Pioneer inspires you to do more than just
slide. You can get Elmore James' sound,
certainly, and that smooth fretboard is
lovely to play bottleneck on. But the neck
and the pickup options will also push you

Price: $3,400 (list)
Info: www.nationalguitars.com

to use the RP1 in ways you might not
have expected.
With the P-90 active, you can dive
into blues or rock riffs with a solid
bottom-end grind. Tweak the Tone
control, and you can go from bass-y
to a cutting treble. In fact, the neck's
so nice, you can shred on this guitar -
not something you can say about most
1930s Nationals.
Switching over mid-song or within a
solo to the blend of P-90 with resonator
piezo is the coolest thing. That electri-

VINTAGE GUITAR

128

September 2017

fied resonator combo sound is
unique and wondrous, and it
makes you question what we've
been missing all these years.
Kudos to National for its farsightedness in voicing the Pioneer. They
didn't just go for the obvious blues
tone, but instead created a guitar with
a flexibility that will inspire you to play
it more and more, harder and harder.
Our only suggestions might be to alter
the orientation of the pickup-selector
switch to be up/down for more ease
in quickly swapping between options
while playing. And we'd replace the
stock strings with a heavier gauge or
flatwounds - ideally, both. This would
further enhance the Pioneer's unique
natural tone and broaden its sonic
range. But those are both obvious minor
things that can be changed easily.
National has created something new
and special in its aptly named Pioneer.
And you don't need to sell your soul
to own one. - Michael Dregni
Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open

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