Beltona Reviews

Christies, New York Auction catalogue June 1999
"A selection of Eric Clapton's Guitars..." Lot No 27 1990's Beltona Tri-cone

Eric Clapton said that he used this guitar on the Blues Tour, 1994. According to Lee Dickson (Eric's long time guitar tech), Eric Clapton purchased this guitar from Charlie Chandler (of Chandler Guitars, London) when he was at Olympic Studios during the recording sessions for the "From the Cradle" album.

In a recent interview with Neville Marten for Guitarist, Lee Dickson said of this guitar "...during the blues album Eric wanted to try a metal-bodied resonator because he didn't like the sound of his own. We tried out a German reissue model, the name of which escapes me, a reissue National and this Beltona, which we got from Charlie Chandler, and it passed the test. That was used on the blues album..."

A private collector paid $US42,000.00 at this auction for Eric Clapton's Beltona Triplate guitar!

In an interview with Rick Batey of "Guitar' magazine April 1997 Mark Knopfler mentions his Beltona guitar...

"The latest (resonator guitar) is a Leeds-made Beltona (Beltona man Steve Evans also performs guitar roadie duties for the Notting Hillbillies), styled like a Les Paul cutaway and cleverly combining resonator construction with magnetic and piezo pickups.

"I actually got one for (Louisiana slide genius) Sonny Landreth a long time ago, and the band gave me one at the end of the last tour, which was very sweet of them, Knopfler enthuses.

"Steve is brilliant and it's a great guitar. I play it a lot at home. You should hear Sonny play that thing, though. He's an absolute master of the instrument and he is one of those who is really taking slide guitar forward....." Mark owns an electro-resonator guitar engraved on the back with the 'Golden Heart' emblem, initials and date; in addition he also owns a Beltona mandola.

Dave Burrluck and Michael Messer writing a comparative review in 'Guitar' magazine in April 1997 had these things to say: "The Beltona's brass construction and superb nickel finish makes it stand out from the other guitars on review. 'It really reminds me.

National-made famous by Mark Knopfler," nods Messer......

"No one could fail to be impressed by the Beltona's build quality, the workmanship is superb, as is the body finish" reiterates Michael. "The neck is extremely playable... it feels really hand-carved. It's a beautiful shape."

"To me, the brass construction produces a more high quality sound - one that's less "tin can" than the steel bodied National. But while it's slightly smoother and less harsh than the National, the general character is pretty similar. I'd say the National is a blues thrasher whereas the Beltona is more of a picker's guitar, one for more controlled playing.

It's got slightly less volume than the National, but while it's a similar weight, the feel of this guitar is vastly superior. It's interesting because the National feels much more like an old one - more mass produced, if you like - whereas the Beltona's attention to detail creates a very different feel.... The brass bodied Beltona is an outstanding instrument. The build quality and finishing - both of the wood and the metal work - is far superior to either the National or the Dobro, a fact reflected in the higher price"

A full copy of this article is available at Michael Messers' site mentioned in our links page.