Help identify this old guitar?

[drlebo]

I inherited this 12-string guitar from my grandpa when he passed. It doesn't have a date and the only logo is the letter "M." I have searched the internet to try and find antique guitar brands starting with m, but I haven't seen this logo anywhere. My guess is it's at least 50 years old. Any ideas about a brand or possible value if this guitar? I took it to a small music shop, and was told I could get $150 if it was restrung and tuned.
Thanks for any information or advice!

[PorkPieGuy]

It's possibly an Angelica. Look at the headstock:



from:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Angelica-J...item1c323b8fb7

It's possibly another bridge from another acoustic guitar. I'm still looking though. Hope this helps!

[drlebo]

Ugh sorry for the huge pics. I did this from my phone.

Ok, thanks for the help. I think for now I will just label it as an old vintage guitar. Hoping to get at least $60. We'll see.

[Wade Hampton]

Driebo, the use of a zero fret on this guitar makes me suspect it's of European manufacture, as that's never been an especially popular feature on North American-made guitars. Where are you located? Where was your grandfather from? Was he stationed overseas when (and if) he was in the service? Knowing that information might help us figure out where the guitar came from.

Looking at what I can see from the photos, it doesn't have the hideous workmanship of most of the Soviet-made musical instruments I've seen, but it might be from somewhere within the old Warsaw Pact nations, possibly Czechoslovakia. The Czechs and Slovaks maintained their manufacturing standards a bit better than most of the rest of Eastern Europe did back when the Soviet Union was in control there.

Or it might have originated anywhere else within Continental Europe, for that matter. The Italian and West German guitar manufacturers used the zero fret method a lot, particularly on budget models during the 1960's, which is when I would guess this guitar was built.


Wade Hampton Miller

[drlebo]

Hmm, that's something I hadn't considered. No, my grandpa was never in the forces or overseas. I suspect he got it somewhere in the Midwest, (probably Indiana, Illinois, or Tennessee), possibly at an auction.
Can you think of an approximate value for such a guitar?
Thank you so much for the info! It's very helpful.

[mchalebk]

Sure looks like it could be a Musima (made in East Germany, apparently):

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedi...sima-268948930



Edit: for some reason, the photo I linked to wasn't showing up properly, so tried a different route.

[ecguitar44]

Originally Posted by mchalebk

Sure looks like it could be a Musima (made in East Germany, apparently):

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedi...sima-268948930

Gets my vote!

[arie]

Originally Posted by mchalebk

Sure looks like it could be a Musima (made in East Germany, apparently):

i think so too, although i can't find a 12 string acoustic anywhere. that "M" is very distinctive:



see the points on the legs of the "M" on the lower left?

worth? to the general public? probably not much >$100
but to a collector of eastern block guitars maybe more. why don't you find some forums about European guitars and post up?

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by mchalebk

Sure looks like it could be a Musima (made in East Germany, apparently):

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedi...sima-268948930

Musima it is! How could I have forgotten East Germany?!? The former DDR made many of the best quality goods available in Warsaw Pact countries. I owned a Made in East Germany Praktica 35 mm camera that was very good quality.

Here's what the Cheesy Guitar website says about Musima guitars:

DDR-made guitars were among the best of all "Eastern block" guitars - the communist rule could not easily make German people lazy and ignorant, so the quality of the instruments remained relatively high. Musimas were usualy priced twice higher than other Soviet/Czechoslovakian/Bulgarian instruments on the market behind the Iron Curtain. Musima guitars and basses were the instruments of choise of many professional musicians in the Eastern Europe. Although considered a "hi-end" in the "communist" region, Musimas' quality was still far from a real hi-end and even "second-grade" instruments made by Hagstrom and other neighbors.

Brands like Meinel und Herold and Migma were a part of the same Musima corporation, and you can notice that certain hardware parts look the same on all of those instruments.

Unlike other "communist" brands, Musima still exists but they currently make acoustic instruments only (acoustic guitars were the largest part in overall Musima production also during the "electric" days).

While I'm kicking myself over forgetting the possibility of it being East German-made, at least I got the era and the Warsaw Pact part right.

Anyway, Driebo, my own guess is that you will get more for your troubles and for the guitar if you try to find some collectors who are specifically interested in Eastern Bloc guitars. If you try to sell it on your local Craigslist, you'll be lucky to get $100 for it. Based on its musical utility and overall quality, it's a very lowball instrument.

It's the history and the back story that are considerably more interesting than the guitar itself.

In any event, this is kind of intriguing, and not something that comes up very often. It would be particularly interesting to know how the guitar got from the Eastern Bloc to middle America, though many of the better quality East German consumer goods were available in other countries in Europe - whoever bought it new didn't necessarily buy it in East Germany.

So it could have been purchased by a GI stationed in West Germany, or a civilian traveling elsewhere in Europe, then brought back to the US, where your grandfather eventually got hold of it.

Thanks for posting!


whm

[BluesBelly]

The wide and erratic top grain are an indication of laminate, which is the opposite of tight parallel grain found on solid wood tops, so I would expect this to be an all laminate instrument of low quality. The "zero fret" is another indication as well as the small rosette that blocks the vision of the plywood endgrain in the sound hole.
The sentimental value is whats it's all about. Enjoy it for that.

Blues

[drlebo]

Wow, thanks so much for the help, everyone! I will definitely try and seek out a more specific collector!