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Topic: Identify this guitar! |
Bryan Bradfield
From:
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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Posted 29 May 2009 4:14 pm |
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I’m looking for clues as to maker, and age, for the pictured guitar. This is very close in size to my 1950's Harmony Stella. The pictured unit is ladder braced, one brace above, and one below the sound hole. Between that lower lateral brace and the bridge plate is a brace that angles toward the bridge plate on the treble side.
The top is spruce. The top is bound in white plastic, with a thin strip of red inlaid wood, and then a thin strip of black inlaid wood inside of the binding. The sound hole has similar wood inlays. The back and sides are either birch or maple, finished to look like Brazilian. The zipper strip down the center of the back is a decal.
There is a pearl position dot on the 10th fret, rather than the 9th fret. The fret board is died wood. The frets are brass. The bridge saddle is a brass fret.
Scale length 24".
Lower bout width 12-3/4".
Upper bout width 9-1/8".
Body length 18-1/4"
Body depth 3-3/16" to 3-11/16".
Fretboard width at nut 1-13/16".
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Bo Borland
From:
South Jersey -
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Posted 29 May 2009 11:58 pm
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| maybe Weymann ? |
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Ben Elder
From:
La Crescenta, California, USA
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Posted 30 May 2009 12:41 am
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Oscar Schmidt notoriously used a 10th-fret marker (banjo tradition) rather than a 9th-fret marker. You might google and contact Neil Harpe, who's a Oscar Schmidt/Stella/etc. expert and has written an OS book.
_________________
"Gopher, Everett?" |
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Bryan Bradfield
From:
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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Posted 31 May 2009 6:39 am
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| Thank you Ben. I've just sent a message to Neil. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 31 May 2009 10:47 am
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Hard to say, but definitely not a Martin (with a decal strip on the back and a fret for the bridge, true signs of a really cheaply-made guitar). Could be a Regal, Stella, or maybe even an old Washburn. They all made cheap copies of the famous Martin "parlor guitars".
A decade ago, parlor guitars garnered very little interest, but these guitars are rapidly becoming the "hot item" for acoustic collectors. |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 31 May 2009 11:04 am
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Certainly not a Martin; however, that headstock and neck look very similar to my little 1930 Martin O-18.
Lee |
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Bryan Bradfield
From:
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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Posted 6 Jun 2009 9:54 am
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| Thank you for your responses. The owner is pleased with the information pertaining to his family heirloom. |
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Bo Borland
From:
South Jersey -
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Posted 6 Jun 2009 5:21 pm
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| Bryan, is there a serial number on the top edge of the headstock? |
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Bryan Bradfield
From:
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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Posted 7 Jun 2009 6:17 am
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Bo -
I searched both outside and inside for any markings, and found none. There was nothing on the top of the headstock.
In addition, I found no evidence of glue opposite the sound hole, which would have indicated that a label had once been present. |
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Paul Norman
From:
Washington, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 8 Jun 2009 4:30 pm
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My mother had a guitar shaped like this with the
same looking keyhead and had a tailpiece behind the bridge. It had a paper trademark sticker inside the
hole Victor. This was when RCA and Victor was 2 different companies. later on RCA and Victor
merged and Chet Atkins became the head man.
Her guitar did not have the division down the back. |
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Bryan Bradfield
From:
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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Posted 8 Jun 2009 4:54 pm
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Paul -
Now that is interesting. I don't believe I've ever heard of Victor brand guitars.
I frequently see Decca brand guitars on the internet. I believe they are pretty current - 40 years old or so - and not particularly good, I don't think. I suspect they are off-shore things.
Are there any other "record label" guitars? |
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