Republic RT-02 Tricone Resonator

Overall, the quality of the guitar for the price is very good. I already have a National Style O and mainly play Delta and Chicago slide blues. Anyhow, I wanted to try out a tricone and played a few Nationals at my LGS but did not want to spend another $1900++. The guitar is a bell-brass body that is nicely etched with various floral designs. The headstock is slotted with pearl inlay similar to the Style 1.5. I was impressed with the neck, frets, and body. Nut is bone and the bridge is maple and ebony. Spun cones are continental and made in Germany. Tuners are on a plate and seem to be ok except they have too much play but do seem to hold with no slippage. Guitar case is ok. Cloth/zipper covering molded foam case.

I was very impressed with the sound quality since it was obviously more warmer, subtle, with more sustain then my Style O. It was clearly more bluesy then the loud somewhat bell ringing short attack of the single-cone. Now here's the issue I had with the sound. I was impressed but not really convinced that I wanted to pay the $400 for the guitar since the sound seemed more mutted that the Nationals I played at my LGS. Anyhow, after reading about the high quality of National tricone cone sets and the major difference it makes it sound I decided to give it a try and purchased a set and bridge with maple insert for $200. I opened the guitar and found the aluminim bridge and insert fairly loss and lifted it off the cones easily. The bridge was never attached to the cones but simply rested on top of the cones. As for the cones, one was slightly dented. I decided to try the quality test between the two cones by resting each one on top of a pencil through the center hole and hitting it slightly with a pencil. The Continental cones were suprisingly dull and produced hardly any sustaining bell ringing tone. I next tried the National cones and let me tell you the difference was dramatic. A clear and sustaining bell-ringing tone that kept going. I was blown away by the difference. I immediately installed the cones with the new bridge which requires the cones to be screwed into each of the three points on the bridge. Clearly, the cones for this setup were solidly attached to the bridge. After stringing the guitar with 13's I took my slide out and I was floored by the sound. It was all there in terms of warmth, sustain, projection and clarity of sound. Again, I cannot overemphasize the dramatic difference in the quality of the sound with the new cones. Frankly, I was astonished by the difference!

I bought the guitar used and it was set up very nicely. No compliants with the action, fit and finish. Also, no noticable flaws other then what I mention about the cones. I would consider that quitar to be in almost mint condition.

The guitar is solid. Body and neck seem bomb proof. Very dependable.

Overall, I would say that the quality and price for the guitar makes it a real bargain (versus the Regal's and Johnson's) for those who do not want to spend hard earned cash on a National. Other than the problems with the cones, I would definitely recommend their products however, do yourself a favor and immediately replace the german cones with a set of National tricone cones and a bridge. For about a $200 you will have a tricone that sounds and plays like a National Tricone. A similar National like the Republic I have will normally cost around $3000+ versus my $600 investment. I'm happy!!!

A six string "12 fret" Tricone Resonator guitar. Another China-made budget priced "National" knockoff, overseen by a new indie company in Dallas, Texas. Much better than the main contender Regal RC51 which got horrible QC reports. The RT02 betters it by having a slotted headstock, vintage style open tuners with chrome buttons, satin instead of gloss finished neck, fully engraved body, star inlay at 3rd fret, and comes with a softshell case (in my case hardshell though!) all for the same price as the Regal. Has the nice pearloid headstock as does the Regal, with a brand decal that's not gaudy. Dark maple neck, rosewood slightly arched unbound fingerboard, 1 7/8" bone nut, ebony capped maple saddle.

Sounds just like a National. Chord tune it, get out your slide and watch it light up!

Action and string gauge were perfect right out of the box, handchecked, he says, by Republic's head honcho himself. Be warned, though, this guitar has the classic resonator neck width, that while authentic, is way too fat! And with the metal body, it is one heavy beast. There's no neck heel strap button, so unless you have one put on, if you want to play standing up you have to tie your strap to the headstock, folkie style, which is very uncomfortable, stressful on the guitar, and looks way stupid.
Quality control? This is where it gets sticky. I was promised this wouldn't be an issue. Though nowhere near the flubs I read about with the Regal, it still came with some. Rough spots on the fretboard, an unfinished fret, a welding scald spot on the body near the tail, rough polishing on the back (plus a few belt buckle scratches), and strangely of all, interior wood with old cracked paint on it that looks like they got it out of the trash pile. I reported this to Republic but this time no response. I wonder if all these knockoffs really just come from the same manufacturer with merely different distributors. Also, it looks like I bought the last one of the few made of this particular style and maybe I just got the dog. I dunno.

It's a Sherman Tank. I don't foresee any structural failures, just wear your pajamas when you play it so's you don't scratch the metal finish. You'll need to mic it in a band setting, but then you'll have to explain the pj's.

Republic (Frank H.) says instead of warranties, just ask him and he'll take care of it. I don't expect I'll need anything, but if I do, I hope he does! Like I said though, no response to my QC email report. Other than that, he's been fairly nice. Shipping time was only one day and he threw in a hardshell case. No other papers but he did email a buzzes and rattles troubleshooting doc.

If you don't want to trade your firstborn for a National, Republic is the best deal out there vs Regals and Johnsons, despite some minor dissappoinments with QC. Maybe I was a little too optimistic, but- it's still a definite keeper. Frank says he'll start raising his prices soon to try to make a little profit, by golly. I've been playing since The Beatles on Ed Sullivan, loved bottleneck since The Faces, and now I'm finally getting to explore this universe properly like a duck to water. In my normal mode, I stick to 12-string prog. Go figure...