Help Identifying Old Guitar

[rboone]

I recently bought a vintage guitar. It has no markings, brand, logo, serial number, or anything of the kind. No way to identify what kind of guitar it is. The guy who sold it to me said it was made sometime pre-WW2. I've known him for 30 years and I believe him.

The guitar sounds amazing, but I'm curious what brand it is. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Here are some pics of it.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing

[The Bard Rocks]

I've never seen anything like it. But it looks neat as it can be. Maybe someone will come through for you.

[Rudy4]

Bears some similarities to the old Regals, but my guess is it may have been made by an individual over their lunch breaks while working in one of the mass production shops.

The total absence of marking might indicate that.

[guitar george]

It looks 'old as the hills' and probably Latin American. Maybe made in Mexico or Brazil. With no markings and all that unusual herringbone purfling, it is probably a custom/homemade guitar.

[Wade Hampton]

To me it looks like an old 1950’s-vintage Harmony or Kay that got heavily modified by someone. It’s possible that the “employee guitar” scenario that Rudy suggested is exactly what happened, but from what I could see of the ornamentation it suggests that a person who didn’t work in a guitar factory but did have excellent woodworking skills did this as a hobby project.

The decoration of the bridge, in particular, strikes me as being a bit off-beat and not something that anyone who worked on a guitar factory assembly line was likely to have come up with. To me it looks more like something that someone who built cuckoo clocks for a hobby would do.

So, for what it’s worth, my guess is that the guitar is a 1940’s or 1950’s Chicago-made factory guitar that was subsequently dressed up and modified by a skilled woodworker who normally built other things.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Silly Moustache]

My bet would be a hobby project made by an individual. If it works, the frets are accurate and the neck angle is fine - you have a unique and playable guitar.

Enjoy!

[zombywoof]

Not a Harmony or a Kay. And I am thinking not pre-War. The body shape and pickguard are very much like a Regal "Junior Jumbo." The headstock, however, does not look like a Regal. But it may simply have been one of their off-brands. I have seen that bridge before though. I just cannot recall where.

[1Charlie]

If the tuners are original (and they might not be, given the extra holes in the back of the headstock), I'd date it somewhere between 1948 and the late '50's.

As to who the builder might be? Absolutely no clue.

Also interesting is that the tuners have no ferrules. That is often indicative of a wartime instrument.

[drive-south]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

To me it looks like an old 1950’s-vintage Harmony or Kay that got heavily modified by someone. It’s possible that the “employee guitar” scenario that Rudy suggested is exactly what happened, but from what I could see of the ornamentation it suggests that a person who didn’t work in a guitar factory but did have excellent woodworking skills did this as a hobby project.

The decoration of the bridge, in particular, strikes me as being a bit off-beat and not something that anyone who worked on a guitar factory assembly line was likely to have come up with. To me it looks more like something that someone who built cuckoo clocks for a hobby would do.

So, for what it’s worth, my guess is that the guitar is a 1940’s or 1950’s Chicago-made factory guitar that was subsequently dressed up and modified by a skilled woodworker who normally built other things.


Wade Hampton Miller

By chance is there a cuckoo bird that jumps at the soundhole every hour?

I also recognise the bridge but I cant place it. Didnt some Gibsons use that bridge? This does appear to have been cobbled together from parts.

[maxtheaxe]

Kind of a long shot here, but I seem to recall seeing some old Framus acoustics that looked similar to this. The guitar does seem to skew 'old 1960's German'...(?)

[Drak]

It does look a Hella lot like the Regal Jr. Jumbo variations I googled.
Except the bridge and the binding job, I'd believe that's what it was.
Body shape, check.
Fretboard markers, check.
Headstock, check.
Bridge - Nada
Black/white binding - Nada

Not blingy enough (IMO) to be German.
They Really liked to bling things up, generally, especially headstocks and fretboard markers.

[rboone]

Interesting. Thanks for the input yall. I appreciate it.

I enjoy the mystery. I'll cherish this guitar.