[wade63]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

I agree with Ship (and his little buddy, Rowboat,) that it could be a Stewart. The Fairbanks company also made guitars in addition to banjos, and this might be one.

Wadeboy, I sure hope those are either silk and steel or else extra lights on that guitar: many of the guitars that we now think of as “parlor” guitars were actually designed for gut strings, not steel. Pin bridges were originally used for gut strings: the player would tie a knot in the end of the gut string and use a bridge pin to hold it in place. Steel strings with ball ends that can be used with pinned bridges were a later adaptation.

Given the likely vintage of that guitar, there’s at least a 50/50 chance that it was braced for gut strings, not steel.

Anyway, it’s a nice little guitar. Back when I was a starving young musician, I had a chance to buy a cherry condition Lyon & Healy gut string parlor for $50 that played and sounded like a dream. But I knew that for the music I was playing a steel string guitar would be more suitable, so I bought a solid wood Harmony Triple O copy for the same money.

The Harmony was the correct choice, much more practical for what I was doing, but I’ve never forgotten that sweet little Lyon & Healy gut string.


Wade Hampton Miller

Thanks Wade I was wondering about gut strings myself. He does have steel strings on there. I'll get some more info and keep posting. The good thing is hes a guitar lover and not a seller, just interested in the origins of the guitar and yeah if it was a special guitar does make one prize it more.