Old Regal size 0 Parlor
 

So I have been chewing this over in my head ever since buying this little Cowboy Regal for $28! An antique store had it incased in a plexiglass and wood framed box and when I saw it, I thought, wonder if it can be made playable again, and what would it sound like? Well the other day I sent some pictures and a description to Steve at VintageParlorGuitars, he said they do sound incredible once repaired. So today I tuned the strings up to a lower pitch, just to hear what it might sound like, at risk of further damaging the guitar,(which I didn't do, LUCKILY). This thing has some serious depth of tone for such a small box! Steve is going to make it an X braced guitar instead of the basic ladder bracing it has now. There are no cracks but a bit of seam separation here and there. It will get a neck reset, new fingerboard and frets, new bone nut and saddle and also new bridge. This was like the old "Jerry the Yodeler" model guitar.

What am I keeping you say?? The top will stay, with all of its cool cowboy screening, also the Regal decal on the headstock is staying. Not going to touch up the dings or scratches here and there, I want it to look like it did when it was used and loved. It will just be more updated now and more stable overall.
Pics as it sits now! You can tell this thing was played a lot.
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The tuners are not original, I will discuss this with Steve when the time comes.

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I already removed the tape residue you see in this pic. Also BIG, FAT neck but very comfy!
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The top has some sinking to it but should flatten out.
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Yes, keep all the original artwork and character. I am guessing you will fall in love with the x-braced sound on that vintage box.

How cool is that!

It'll compliment "the bench" rather well, :)

The decal dates the guitar to sometime after the early 1940s. This was the last decal Regal used until being bought by Harmony in the mid-1950s.

Yours is one of the later in a series of cowboy guitars. The fist Regal cowboy guitar was the Yodeling Jerry Smith introduced in the late 1930s. I am pretty sure yours is the "Hop Along Cassidy" guitar.

If you are sending the guitar to Steve I would recommend that you ask him to check the bridge plate. I have owned more of the all-birch Regal concerts than I can recall and they tend to have spruce bridge plates. Switching to a maple plate is not only a matter of sound but of survival.

Correct zombywoof! Probably an early to mid 1940s version. As I said in my post, a "Jerry The Yodeler" model, without the "J",,,lol. Pretty much everything else appears as that model would be. Thank you everyone for your comments. Shipping this out to Steve on Tuesday. Who knows how long it will take but I'm in no hurry. And yes zombywoof, I already discussed this with Steve. He will be replacing the plate as well.

Very true Barry! Yes, the X bracing conversion should bring it to life in the sound department.

Very nice guitar. I hope Steve, the repair guy, is a really good friend of yours. ;) Those old suitcases look great. My aged uncle would call them "grips".

LOL, he is, thanks George!

Perry

Wow, Great deal and very cool parlor.

Those are Kluson bent tab tuners. The three on a plate riveted tuners show up in 1943. Interesting that while they are not original they are period. These are the tuners that you find on Banner Gibsons through 1945.

You're right, in fact I own two Gibson Banner LG2s that both have these open back Klusons. One 43' that has the thinner plates and one 44'. They are indeed period but I was going to ask Steve if they would clean up and still work, if the gears are good. I did notice one tuner has a bent stem, next to the button but only on one. We'll just have to wait until Steve takes a look.

Thank you Bradley!

No worries about Steve - he is a true "Prince of a man"...

That is really sweet! :up:

If you don't know any cowboy songs, now's the time to rustle up one or two!

This should be an interesting experiment. Birch in my opinion is a vastly underrated wood for backs and rims. Gibson mandolins from the 1910s and 1920s as well as L-5 and L-10 archtops sported birch bodies. It can also be highly figured and nice looking. Birch tops, mostly because of their association with guitars such as Harmony Stellas, have become associated with the cheapest of guitars. These guitars though are also almost universally ladder braced. I have owned dozens of them and still own two. While Schmidt Stellas are be the best of the breed (they have less bracing than most) the all-birch guitars tend to have an almost a hollow echo ring to them. They are certainly an acquired taste.

While I have never had a full conversion done on one of these guitars, I had one 1920s Regal worked on by a former luthier who was a friend. He did not re-brace it but shaved the existing bracing and added popsicle bracing around the soundhole for stability. He then swapped out the floating bridge for a pin bridge and a maple bridge plate and added a rosewood fingerboard. If I recall he wanted to do this as the combination of the slothead and the board would add more mass to the guitar.

When I got it back he warned me not to expect any miracles as there was just so much you are going to get out of a small body all-birch guitar. But the improvement in sound was very noticeable and much improved. I would expect a far more drastic change with a full re-brace.

But you have goosed me a bit. I do have a 1930s Regal-made Oahu with a spruce top and a flame maple body. I might just get in touch with Steve to talk about a re-brace and replacing the floating bridge with a pin bridge.