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Topic: Regal acoustic steel |
Glenn Wilde
From:
California, USA
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Posted 20 Dec 2020 9:35 am |
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New (old) Regal acoustic steel.
Just got this yesterday and its a pretty interesting guitar. Its in stunning condition for an 85 year old guitar but what's interesting is that its a round neck that appears to have come from the factory with a Kamiki metal nut riser. It has NEVER been played standard, there's a wood nut but its never been slotted. I haven't seen this before, sure I've seen factory Hawaiian's with square necks but this is new to me.
Is this a common thing that I've just not seen?
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 20 Dec 2020 10:26 am
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The nut riser probably isn't original, but it may have been added when the guitar was first purchased.
While I don't have an exact match, it looks like some variant on the 1100 model. |
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Glenn Wilde
From:
California, USA
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Posted 20 Dec 2020 10:39 am
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| Noah Miller wrote: |
The nut riser probably isn't original, but it may have been added when the guitar was first purchased.
While I don't have an exact match, it looks like some variant on the 1100 model. |
That's my original thought but when i looked under it the original wood nut was never slotted, there are some tiny guide lines scribed but it was never filed out, also the bridge is very high. The thing is near mint and unplayed so its a mystery. Maybe Regal got an order for Hawaiian's and didn't have any on hand so they shipped these out. Thanks for the info. |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 20 Dec 2020 11:28 am
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| I guess anything's possible. The acoustic Regal steels I've played had extra-tall bone nuts from the factory (just like their square-neck resonators). |
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Nathan Collins
From:
San Francisco, California, USA
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Posted 22 Jan 2021 12:08 pm
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| I'm no expert, but I've been looking around at a lot of Oahu, Regal and similar guitars from the 20s and 30s and 40s Hawaiian craze, and nine times out of ten this is exactly what I see: a metal riser on top of a wood or sometimes bone nut. They are often described as the "original riser." Frequently this is on square necks, too, which — again I'm no expert — suggests to me that they intended them to built this way. It is a bit of a puzzle why you would deliberately build a guitar with a short wood nut then add a riser, and I'd love to hear an explanation. |
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rodger_mcbride
From:
Minnesota
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Posted 25 Jan 2021 7:47 am
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| It’s a cheaper way to make them louder, still keep the nut fairly low for minimal neck pressure and the metal shifts the tone freq. spectrum slightly higher. The unslotted wood nut is for placement of the metal one. |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 25 Jan 2021 9:03 am
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Actually, they're very common. I've owned several - the first one I played as a "squareneck" in 1976 was a 1930 roundneck resonator/"f" hole model with a 1931 receipt listing the extension nut.
Regal made *hundreds* of models over the years. Some had slimmer necks - beefy by today's standards, but slimmer than what some of us call "dual purpose" guitars. I own a 1932 Model 45 "Double Cyclops" Dobro that appears to be Regal-made, and it has a HUGE round neck with NO trussrod!. It's the fattest neck guitar...other than a Kay Rhythm Special carved archtop...out of the 50+ I own (My excuse for so many - I played various styles live and in the studio 3-4 times/week for over 30 years and most are unique as far as tone and playing characteristics...plus a bunch are simply weird vintage "Martian" - not "Martin" - guitars!   ).
The double Cyclops has a little fretwear indicating past "guitar" use (the neck is dead-straight!), but has had a raised squareneck-style nut on it for decades It's also one of the best sounding "bluegrass" instruments I own.
But I've owned and seen dozens of round soundhole (generally budget models) and resonator (a mix of lower-end and professional type) roundneck Regal and Dobro-logo guitars that could be played either way with the proper setup by a tech.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Glenn Wilde
From:
California, USA
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Posted 30 Jan 2021 8:15 pm
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| Jim Sliff wrote: |
Actually, they're very common. I've owned several - the first one I played as a "squareneck" in 1976 was a 1930 roundneck resonator/"f" hole model with a 1931 receipt listing the extension nut.
Regal made *hundreds* of models over the years. Some had slimmer necks - beefy by today's standards, but slimmer than what some of us call "dual purpose" guitars. I own a 1932 Model 45 "Double Cyclops" Dobro that appears to be Regal-made, and it has a HUGE round neck with NO trussrod!. It's the fattest neck guitar...other than a Kay Rhythm Special carved archtop...out of the 50+ I own (My excuse for so many - I played various styles live and in the studio 3-4 times/week for over 30 years and most are unique as far as tone and playing characteristics...plus a bunch are simply weird vintage "Martian" - not "Martin" - guitars! ).
The double Cyclops has a little fretwear indicating past "guitar" use (the neck is dead-straight!), but has had a raised squareneck-style nut on it for decades It's also one of the best sounding "bluegrass" instruments I own.
But I've owned and seen dozens of round soundhole (generally budget models) and resonator (a mix of lower-end and professional type) roundneck Regal and Dobro-logo guitars that could be played either way with the proper setup by a tech.
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Wow, that is one clean old Dobro. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 31 Jan 2021 6:50 am
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My old Oahu came with a round neck:
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David Ball
From:
North Carolina High Country
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Posted 31 Jan 2021 2:21 pm
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I have an old square neck Regal acoustic with an apparently original wooden nut--stenciled on the peghead in silver paint, it says, "Where It's Fun to Learn." Always liked that...
Dave |
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Glenn Wilde
From:
California, USA
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Posted 2 Feb 2021 3:43 am
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| Erv Niehaus wrote: |
My old Oahu came with a round neck:
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That's pretty rare there. I've been buying Oahu's for a while and almost all i've seen have been square necks. I've always liked that model. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 2 Feb 2021 8:03 am
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Glenn,
I started taking guitar lessons on that guitar.
I traded it in when I got an electric Gibson lap steel.
I kept looking and looking and finally located another one. It really has good tone what with the large body.
Erv  |
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