Vintage AMG-3

Bought April 2004. The AMG-3 is a very close copy of a National Style 1 tricone resonator. Manufactured by AXL in Shanghai, China, it is also marketted in Europe and the USA as the Johnson JM-991 so you'll find more write ups in the Johnson section. It came complete with a fitted Kinsman lightweight lockable case which offers good protection. The AMG-3 differs from the AMG-2 by having a matt nickel plating and a wild rose engraving on a bell brass tricone body. It is heavy! Every time I take it out of the case the audience gasp, it is a real looker. Personally I prefer the matt finish as it looks old, does not dazzle the audience like the mirror finish of an AMG-2 and does not show the fingerprints! Regular headstock with AXL tuners that are basic but adequate, mine hold tune very well so perhaps they have improved. I've no intention of changing them. The neck is a beefy V shaped Honduras mahogany with a rosewood fretboard, adjustable truss rod and 11.5 frets to the body. I had initial doubt about using a V shape neck but have found it to be comfortable and practical. The 11.5 frets to body was nearly a deal buster but you either get 14 frets to a smaller bodied instrument and poorer bass response, or go for the vibrant bass of a tricone and live with the slight limitations of 12 fret playing (unless you are one of those clever lap steel players!). However the quality of the sound won me over and I've quickly adapted to sliding to 12 frets. Amazingly the wooden neck stick runs inside the body to the tailpiece just as in the original tricones. Wooden mushroom props under the neck stick keep the back in shape. The maple bridge sits on a stiff plastic T-piece. The T-piece ends plug into the tops of the 3 pressed aluminium cones, mine have the raised spiral ridges which should increase the stiffness of the cones. This is a faithful reproduction of the National Style 1 tricone in all the important areas, but costing just a fraction of a modern National. It has all the features a real tricone should have.

This is the ideal Delta blues bottleneck guitar. Plenty of sustain (unlike a single cone resonator) but with the overtones and sound that is unique to a tricone. Mine came with light gauge strings which were buzzing and muted. I've changed recently to Newtone National 16 gauge strings and the heavier weight strings really set those cones moving, and no buzzing now. The real full delta blues sound is there, and it plays well in fingerstyle mode too. I use a metal thumbpick and if I want that purer cleaner slide sound I use steel finger picks. My slide I made from a heavy stainless steel tube and it is usually on my little finger leaving the other fingers free for fretting. Played hard this tricone really comes alive. Play near the bridge and it sounds like a banjo, near the fretboard and it has a full delta metalic voice. The cones are OK and still breaking in but I am tempted to replace them with a set of National cones sometime in the future. Also some people remove one and reposition the other pit props to free the back and enhance the bass resonance. So far it is loud enough for me as a solo performer but again I may do this in the future although my initial inspection showed that the pit props are very secure.

The action is low, possible too low for pure bottleneck but I play fingerstyle too so for me it is an acceptable compromise. My main gripe was the finish to the ends of the fret wires left sharp edges. A few minutes with a needle file sorted that. The plating is flawless except inside where the cones are supported. I can see pocks of rust so I'll have to treat that next string change. The nut is also of some hard plastic but has been cut too deep for the treble strings so that may well be changed for bone next string change, and maybe set slightly higher. The cones are OK but Nationals will definitely improve the sound still further as they are thinner and therefore more responsive.

Being bell brass and mahogany this will withstand a lot of external abuse but be careful...the cones inside are really delicate. The plating may oxidise where palms and fingers touch but all old tricones have this anyway so it will just look more authentic. I expect to hand this on as a family heirloom. Only one strap button on the tail but this is irrelavant as it is so heavy I only play it sitting down. I do gig this without backup, I could not carry two anyway!

Not needed, nor expected. 1 years warranty from Ivor Mairants.

Great value for money. If you are a slide blues player searching for that Delta sound you can achieve it without a second mortgage with this stunning looking and sounding instrument. All the fundamental parts of this instrument are there and well constructed. If you want to upgrade the nut or cones etc then do so and you'll have an instrument that will rival a National at a fraction of the cost. I've been playing blues and folk for 30 years and my only regret is that I did not buy this tricone before now, as it really breaths life into those slide blues numbers. It begs to be played. I also own a Tanglewood TW15 which is a beautiful fingerstyle folk and ragtime guitar so I have the best of both worlds. Thank you Vintage.