They built perhaps a dozen wood bodied tri-cones, with most being metal bodied. The Resophonic guitar was invented by George Duchamp and John Dopyera around 1925, and by 1927 their National Stringed Instrument Company was producing tri-cone guitars in Los Angeles. By 1930, they were one of the largest American makers of musical instruments, which also meant one of the largest in the world. By 1908, production was moved to Chicago, Illinois under the name of the Regal Musical Instrument Company. Emil died in 1900 and the Regal name and manufacturing stock was sold to Lyon and Healy in 1904. Regal had a long history, beginning in 1896 as a brand of the Emil Wulschner Music Company in Indianapolis, Indiana. This guitar is now both fully playable and an interesting historical example of American musical instrument production. The Regal Dobro Resophonic Guitar Model 37, built in Chicago during 1935 has been functionally restored by Grant MacNeill.
