[SEL] Re: Literature on Old Engine - Ethics Question

[John Culp]

On Feb 27, 2005, at 5:40 PM, MaytagTwin at aol.com wrote:

> Some
> people lament the Lister and Petter clones becoming available.  I 
> suspect, if
> anything, interest in the originals has increased as a result of the 
> clones
> coming out.

Lots of you have seen that shiny nickel plated guitar I like to play. 
It's another clone, a Chinese made copy of an old National guitar from 
the 1920s. (Johnson brand.) There's a company in California today named 
National Resophonic making high quality copies of them, too. Strictly 
speaking they're another clone-maker with no connection to the old 
National Musical Instrument Company, but having the old National 
trademark and name and being located in America they've come to be 
regarded as "The Real Thing." Anyway, just yesterday I saw a post 
discussing this issue. Seems that in a magazine interview the founder 
of the current National company said that the cheap models from China 
had really boosted their business. Lots more folks have come to notice 
and try them out, and then they want a "real National."

I just wish the Indians (or Chinese) were cloning more old engine types 
than they are!

John Culp
Bristol, Tennessee, USA