1950s Regal Archtop help
 

All,
My first post but have been reading the forum for some time now. A couple of days ago I picked up a 1950s era Regal archtop and am trying to find some information about it. Seems to be in very good shape. Looking inside I can see "449" (model number I assume) printed where the neck joins the body. I can't find any reference to this number linked to Regal. Online I found a 1940s one that looks exactly like mine except it has a green Regal label on the headstock and mine is blue:

http://www.guitar-museum.com/guitar-...stic-Guitar-EX

Once I figure out how to post photos I will show mine. I appreciate any assistance!

The guitar in that link is a Harmony, who owned the Regal label at that time. It is close to the bottom of the line. The seller's blurb regarding its value is mostly BS.

Welcome to the forum, streetglide06 !

Hopefully your guitar , although it may look exactly the same as the one in the listing, differs in regards to the action ...I couldn't help LOLing at the seller's description "The action of this guitar is very low. String height at the twelfth fret is a remarkable 1/8 inch"

As long as you didn't pay a lot for the Regal (the $277 for the one in the link that you sent is reasonable enough), then you've gotten a fair enough value for something that has the intrinsic capabilities of being made into a good guitar.

Several luthiers in the country (perhaps most notably, Scott Baxendale, in Athens, GA) specialize in converting these old cheapo Harmony/Kay/Silvertone/Regal archtops (and flattops, too) into fine sounding instruments.

Thank you all for the insight. I knew it was nothing special but it sounds good and is in good condition. I've been GAS'in for a vintage f-hole archtop so I'm glad I got it for a respectable price. Nice to know there are folks out there that can make these lower-end guitars sing. I will have to look into this.

Still working on posting photos.

I can't pull up the picture. The headstock shape would say what you have. As noted Harmony acquired the Regal name in the mid-1950s. I do know, however, that Hofner made a Model 449 archtop which first appear in the late 1950s and are the model made famous by Hank Marvin.