Dear Folks,
I bought a wooden-body Regal from a full-time pro in Branson, and it is simply a wonderful instrument. Mellow in the right tunings and a really distorted dog in open E, etc. Just a really nice guitar-- even in concert tuning. Nice action, with or without a slide. You could play a coffeehouse/bookstore gig and use it as your only guitar.
You can get these things for around $400, and I think the rest of it, National and so forth, is just trademark and bragging rights.
I DO like Fender's attempt, with the brand-name-like "F" holes. Clever.
Tony