Old Regal size 0 Parlor

[Looburst]

Hey zombywoof, that 1930s Regal does sound like an excellent candidate for this process. That maple b&s could render some very nice muted sparkle, IMO.

[Looburst]

Thank you Will, Steve is a prince of a guy with a real passion for these old parlor size boxes. I don't know how many he's converted but it's got to be in the couple of hundreds now. I have a few friends that have had this done and all have been blown away by his work. They both say the same thing, "he made my guitar like new but with that old sound, but richer."

Thank you, Kerbie and Paul!

Paul, I do know a few cowboy songs like "Back In The Saddle Again"but probably gonna play a bit of everything on this, like I do all of my guitars.

[Looburst]

So here's the latest, Steve should be getting the guitar on Monday of next week. He will inspect it and send me an email with the breakdown of what's going to be done.

[Mr Fingers]

Interesting post! Is that top solid mahogany? It is not always true that X-bracing will improve the tone of a ladder-braced guitar. Generally, the ladder-braced cheapies -- I have an old Gibson/Ward's -- have widely-varying bracing, often way too heavy. But not always, because quality control is so low. I bought the one I have not because I was looking for that kind of guitar -- I was not -- but because it has an incredible voice that I could not resist. It is loud, and has the strong fundamental associated with ladder bracing, but has wonderful overtones and a deep, airy (not "thumpy") bass. It has, for me, the best balance of any guitar I own. (I also has a nice old, old, old Adirondack top and old mahogany B&S w/ BRW fretboard.) I never expected this. But, of course, most of these old cheapies were nothing much when they were made, and those that sound great now often do so largely because of the aging of the wood. Mine, like yours, had been played to death and back three times over, and despite being a cheap guitar, it was easy to understand why. It sounds irresistible. Good luck with yours. I chose a partial restoration for my own, which I did myself, and it came back to life beautifully -- doubtless sounding better than ever.

[Looburst]

We are going to discuss it when the time comes. Because I did like what I was hearing when I tuned it up to a lower pitch. I will mention this to Steve and see what he thinks because he has certainly rebuilt/restored more of these guitars than most of us have ever played. Mine is all Birch, BTW.

[Looburst]

Alright, those of you following this, here's the first day of Steve disassembling the Regal. Stay tuned!

[printer2]

I have an old Harmony 1944 that has a bridge and tailpiece which almost looks like new except for a crack in the top in the lower bout. The painted fretboard has some notes written in in the appropriate positions. Most likely stuck under a bed in it's case most of its life. It really does not sound very good. One day I will see what I can do with it. Will be watching this thread.

[Looburst]

Thanks Fred! That Harmony sounds intriguing indeed! This is only the first pic Steve sent, there will be more coming as he dives into this old Regal Cowboy guitar. The jury is still out for whether or not I'll be going with a full conversion to X bracing or stay with the ladder braces. I'm going to trust Steve's assessment of this gal. Although he will be discussing each move with me before proceeding.

[Truckjohn]

Steve does some really beautiful work.

Thats a very cool old guitar. These can be very good in their own rite.. These really respond beautiful to drop tunings including the D and C tunings. I really prefer the voice of those old Regal ladder braced guitars when droppped down to D... X-braced they have a very different character..... Much more refined. None of the funky twang of the ladder braced guitars.

I was at Baxendale guitars 2 fridays ago. He re-braces old Harmony and Kay guitars to an X pattern. He also adds modern conveniences (such as adjustable trussrods) as desired.

And they are fantastic. Light as a feather too! As I expect this one to be when it comes back from Steve.

To be completely honest - I think I like the Birch back/sides instruments better than their Mahogany cousins.... They just have such a nice voice. So.. Yes. Birch is a great tonewood that does not get nearly the credit it deserves...

[Looburst]

Yep, I've heard of Baxendale's work and it is amazing. There's nothin like these all Birch guitars, after about 75 years of all dried out.
Steve did say that this particular guitar was altogether very solid still, in the wood. You can see a crack in the top, at the lower part of the sound hole but should be easy enough to cleat.

[guitar george]

That is a very professional looking disassembly job. Do you know how he loosened/softened/removed the glue? Is that glue splashed inside the back and top? Looks like someone did a very amateurish job of re-gluing the braces. Maybe Steve could remove that for you.

[email4eric]

I love threads like this!

Following this!

[Looburst]

Thank you George and email4! Yes George, he will remove the glue splatter. We are going to talk tomorrow about where to go from here and what he feels will make the most out of the sound. He didn't tell me how he removed the back and top but said the wood is in great shape for being some 70+ years old. Not bad since it spent the last 25 years glued inside of a plexiglass and wood framed box, hanging on a wall until I found it.

[TBman]

This is an interesting thread Perry. I've been eyeing Steve's guitars for a while. He does nice work.

[Looburst]

Me too, Barry! Been looking at his work for well over a year and when I first bought this guitar I thought why restore it? Then I saw what Steve was doing and I had thoughts of playing somewhat of an antique musical instrument, while not a very valuable one, still it intrigued me. Then I heard a bit of what it might sound like and I was all in! Here's one he restored not long ago, he already sold it BTW.