Gibson L-00 ca. 1934|
$3500A very nice example of Gibson's ever popular L-series guitars. This one conforms to all the specs of a ca. 1934 L-00, including FON number, smallish sunburst, and V-profile of the neck. The guitar is mostly original except for a couple tuner bushings and the nut. Two old top cracks were re-glued (old repair left glue on top), small cracks at sound hole were reinforced with a spruce patch, and a few back cracks were glued. Several brace tips were glued, and the bridge was reglued with hot hide glue. The truss rod was adjusted, fingerboard was dressed and new frets were installed, leveled and polished, resulting in optimum neck relief and playing comfort. End block had a hairline crack glued with a thin overlay added for support. A few nicks and dings from decades of use, but otherwise, a nice looking guitar with a great set up. This example is one of the best sounding L-00's we've had the pleasure to play. Very strong and clear tones from treble to bass, and vibrates nicely against the players chest when pushed. Perfect guitar for a player who values tone over cosmetics. Comes with its likely original soft case.
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Martin 000-42 Eric Clapton Signature Model|
$5350.00In 1995 Martin made 461 (as in 461 Ocean Blvd) 000-42 Eric Clapton signature guitars. Modeled after Clapton's own Martin acoustics, this run of guitars used high quality spruce and Indian rosewood, profuse pearl/abalone inlay, gold plated tuners, and a paper label autographed by Eric Clapton and Chris Martin. This guitar is in excellent playing condition with the following exception: There are two cracks, one on each side of the fingerboard extension. While they don't cause the top to protrude into the sound hole, they are visible upon close inspection. No abalone trim has been disturbed. Cracks like these are usually caused by heat, such as a hot car, causing the glue to give and the top to move. Once the guitar cools down, things often stabilize. This guitar has been strung up for a number of years, and the top appears quite stable. The price leaves room for a new owner to remediate the cracks. Also, there is a bit of finish lifting around the perimeter of the bridge. Possibly cause by heat, but it does not appear the bridge was ever off or reglued. The original owner has owned this guitar since 1998 and has not seen any changes to these two conditions. Otherwise, the guitar is bright and sparkly, with only minimum pick marks on the finish/pickguard, and little evidence of playing on the frets and fingerboard. The action is set at 7/64" at the low E, and 5/64" at the high E, with a good bit of saddle in the bridge. A beautiful and rare guitar with lots of visual pizazz, plus the workmanship and tone of a quality Martin.
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Oscar Schmidt "Stella" 12-String|
HOLDA country blues icon, the Stella 12-string was the guitar of choice of Leadbelly, Blind Willie McTell, Barbeque Bob, among others. This particular example is a Grand Concert size guitar, commonly known as the "BBQ Bob" model. Body width is over 14", and scale length about 26". The body is faux-grained to resemble rosewood, with a natural spruce top bound with 'rope' binding. Neck is mahogany with a stained fingerboard; rosewood pyramid bridge. A few top cracks repaired, otherwise excellent and original. The guitar exhibits loud and direct mid-range sound, perfect for recreating the sounds heard on the old 78's of the early 20th century.
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Celebrated Benary Parlor Guitar|
$1395Not much is known about the 'Celebrated Benary' brand of guitars, and they're quite rare on the market. New York City census records of 1900 show a Robert Benary, listed as a musical instrument maker. Additionally, there are Benary catalogs from the last decade of the 19th Century extant that describe various models of guitars with both mahogany and rosewood bodies available. Unique features of the Benary are the wooden longitudinal bar that runs from the heel block to the end block, the metal tailpiece/ebony bridge assembly, and the decorative medallion affixed to the tone bar. All three are a nod to the work of William B. Tilton, noted 19th Century New York City guitar maker. Because Benary emigratated from Canada to New York City in 1890, we believe this guitar was manufactured sometime in the early 1890's. This time period is near the peak of the parlor music trend in America, and, consequently, this guitar can be accurately ascribed the name 'parlor guitar'. Compared to the Benary we sold previously, this guitar is a bit smaller and plainer. Overall, it's a quality built instrument with a ladder braced, spruce top, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, cedar neck and Brazilian fingerboard. Tuners are the original engraved and plated examples, and show a hint of oxidation. The frets are almost pure bar frets, but have a very slight 't' profile. The plated medallian reads: 'Celebrated Benary Guitar', and the tailpiece is engraved 'New York'. The body measures 11 1/2" across the lower bout. The scale length is 24 1/2" and measures just under 1 7/8" at the nut. The neck profile has a very modern, Taylor-like feel, and is not the typical fat 'V' shape found on many old guitars. Structurally, the guitar is intact and solid. It had remained in it's original owners family until recently, when it was purchased by a lulthier. At that time the neck was reset. During that process, the neck was very thinly oversprayed to remove any finish marks left by the steam. The body retains it's original varnish finish in excellent condition. The action measures ~ 3/32" from the top of the 12th fret to the bottom of the low E. A previous owner had scratched the numbers 5, 7, 9, and 12 into the fingerboard. They add character, but don't affect playing or compromise structure. Otherwise, the guitar is in near perfect structural and playing condition. The neck is comfortable, intonation is very exact, and the small body produces a clear and ringing tone (check out the audio demo). The Celebrated Benary is a fine fingerpicking guitar for a player wanting an additional sound, and a nice addition to a collector seeking rare examples of historical, finely made early American guitars. Two additional notes: this guitar retains it's original 'coffin' case in good condition. And notice the lighter colored section on the top between the bridge and soundhole. That mark was left because the original owners had always kept the original sale bill for the guitar tucked into that spot for safe keeping. Less light hit there, hence the lighter color in the wood. This sale bill, if located by the current owner, will be included in the purchase.
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Gibson/Nechville Guitar Banjo|
$1750This hybrid guitar banjo is like a hot rod '32 Ford with a modern 350 Chevy V-8 motor. Nechville Musical Products has been around since the late 80's and is best known for the Heli-Mount design, described as such: "NMP owns a patent on several features of the Heli-mount acoustic banjo. The Heli-mount is a 2 piece, cast aluminum frame that replaces over 70 parts of a regular banjo. There is only one moving part instead of 24 or more. The Heli-mount's head tightens with one helical thread around the perimeter, giving completely even tension to the head, while regular banjo heads have dozens of tension points around the perimeter." Tom Nechville built this particular example in 1992, likely as a prototype instrument, where he used a 30's era Gibson GB (guitar banjo), and retro-fitted his heli-mount system to replace the Gibson GB metal parts. So, the neck, rim and resonator are vintage Gibson, with the rest of the fixins' Nechville. You can get much more information on this product at their website: http://www.nechville.com The maple Gibson GB neck is maple, with a rosewood fingerboard and modern T frets, with a bit of playing wear, but not bad. The tuners are black Gotoh and work well. The tailpiece is not Gibson, and possibly something machined by Nechville. The head is in excellent condition, and is an Elite, which is synthetic but made to look like goat skin. The resonator and back of neck look to be either highly buffed out, or oversprayed, with the resonator showing a white-ish haze in bright light. Scale length is about 24 5/8", and 1 3/4" across the nut. This guitar banjo is set up exceptionally well, with a very straight neck and super-slinky action. And, as a bonus, it has exceptional sound as well..high string notes chime out with a pleasing resonance, and just enough decay in the wound strings to give it the old-timey thump. Remove the resonator, and it mellows even more. Additionally, Tom Nechville stated that one can purchase a four or five string Nechville neck, and interchange them at will. New Nechville instruments begin at around $3K..we have the sale bill for this one, dated 1992, and it cost the buyer $1500 at that time, so there's a lot of value in this instrument for a player who seeks an innovative, exceptionally set up, clean sounding instrument .. so good that Bela Felck plays one!
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Martin 00-18 1962 |
$2800Nice, sparkly early 60's mahogany 00-sized Martin..conforms to all specs of the model and period. The guitar plays nicely and produces a very pleasant sound, with balanced tone across the strings .. what you'd expect from this size guitar and combination of materials. Original finish, tuners and bridge. Common pickguard crack that's difficult to see, and another four inch or so top crack in lower bout, bass side..both stable. Appears to have had a neck set in the past..action is 5/64th at high E, 7/64th at low E, top of 12th fret to bottom of string, with very low saddle on treble side. Rosewood fingerboard and frets are excellent, small maple bridge plate is perfect, and guitar, overall, presents itself very well. No noteworthy playing wear or dings. Wonderful fingerpickers guitar, and a cut above 'players grade' in condition.
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Harmony Flat top ca. 1935 |
$575A very unusual example from the factory that produced guitars for 'Everyman'. Solid head, 12-fret flat top guitar with f-holes in place of the traditional round sound hole. Date stamped S-35 (second half 1935) all solid birch construction, brown stained finish on back and sides, with faux tiger-striped painted sunburst finish on top. A similar example to this guitar appeared in the Harmony catalog as late as 1940. Scale length is 24 3/8", 1 3/4" wide at nut, 2 7/32" string spacing across saddle. Action is ~ 3/64" from top of 12th fret to bottom of low E string. Slight 'V' profile in lower positions, flowing quickly into a sharp 'C' profile by the fifth, this is a wonderful guitar for fingerpicking the country blues. Fingerboard appears to be ebony with painted fancy white position markers, and painted binding around the top. This guitar is all original, and only a few glued top cracks needed repair. The sound is very balanced and open, and the notes sustain well across all the strings. It produces a pleasant tone, much like a round sound hole, with only the hint of the archtop 'scratch' sound, but plenty of ladder-brace punch. This is the perfect guitar if you want an alternative to the X-brace sound, a dedicated slide guitar, or knocking around the campsite. To paraphrase the beer commercial, "VBG tested; VBG approved!"
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Beltone (Antonio Cerrito) ca. 1925 |
$2350.00One of the more interesting .. and great playing and sounding .. guitars we've had in our short incarnation .. and add rare to that list of descriptors. New York City in the early 20th Century boasted a bevy of small guitar builders of Italian descent, with John D'Angelico the most renowned of the group. In the mix were luthiers Antonio Cerrito and Rafael Ciani (D'Angelico's uncle). This guitar likely comes from the shop of Antonio Cerrito because under the top is penciled "A. Cerrito". Neil Harpe reports in his book on Stella guitars that there was a strong connection between these Italian luthiers and the Oscar Schmidt company, often sharing Schmidt parts and labels. But it's clear that this guitar is a hand built, small shop creation. One indicator is that the neck has a mortise and tenon joint, typical of Cerrito, rather than the traditional dovetail joint one would expect to see in a Schmidt factory instrument. The other clues are in the build and wood selection. The fit and finish, both inside and out, are a cut above Schmidt factory work, the fancy purfling is typical for Cerrito made pieces, and the wood used is a higher quality than seen in most Schmidt instruments. Beltone was a catalog guitar, not a builder, and it's likely they commissioned Cerrito to build this one either on custom order or to attract a higher-price clientele.
The size of this guitar fits what was commonly referred to as Grand Concert. The lower bout measures just over a 15", and 20 1/2" in length. The body is 3 7/8" thick at the end pin. Scale length is 26 3/8"; 1 3/4" at the nut and 2 5/16" across the saddle. The 12-fret neck is a nice grade of mahogany and the fingerboard is a dyed wood. The headstock is overlaid with what looks like a walnut veneer with the name "Beltone" engraved in a pearl diamond. Back and sides look to be birch and are grained with a faux rosewood paint finish. The Adirondak spruce top is bound in white and multi-color purfling, as is the sound hole. Back is bound in white, with triple strips of light colored purfling inlaid down the center seam. Pearl dot inlaid into bridge pins and end pin. Tuners and ebony pyramid bridge appear to be original. Overall, the condition of the guitar is clean and attractive with the following to report: fingerboard has a dryness grain crack and playing divots in the first playing position; the top has several repaired cracks; the points of the pyramid bridge had been sanded down a bit when the bridge was lowered to adjust action; one side crack and five repaired back cracks..the back appears to have been oversprayed and buffed. Recently, several braces were reglued; saddle slot filled and repositioned to correct intonation; neck reset; bridge reglued. The frets are good and the neck extremely comfortable with a modern 'C' shape. The sound this guitar produces is it's most remarkable feature .. it's a fingerpicker's dream guitar. Even though ladder braced, it rings out bright and clear in the trebles, and provides a chest-shaking thump in the bass. Best of all, the range of notes don't get lost or muddled like in some large-body guitars where the bass and mids bounce around like stones in a can..this handmade beauty produces tones that blend nicely, while maintaining their unique voices in the mix. This is a very rare guitar with a top-shelf sound and build, and very good value. Comes with soft case.
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Galiano (Antonio Cerrito) ca. 1925 |
$2795.00.00Another interesting Grand Concert-size guitar from the NYC workshop of Antonio Cerrito. New York City in the early 20th Century boasted a bevy of small guitar builders of Italian descent, with John D'Angelico the most renowned of the group. In the mix were luthiers Antonio Cerrito and Rafael Ciani (D'Angelico's uncle). This guitar likely comes from the shop of Antonio Cerrito because it matches the construction details of the guitar in our inventory whose top is penciled "A. Cerrito". Neil Harpe reports in his book on Stella guitars that there was a strong connection between these Italian luthiers and the Oscar Schmidt company, often sharing Schmidt parts and labels. But it's clear that this guitar is a hand built, small shop creation. One indicator is that the neck has a mortise and tenon joint, typical of Cerrito, rather than the traditional dovetail joint one would expect to see in a Schmidt factory instrument. The other clues are in the build and wood selection. The fit and finish, both inside and out, are a cut above Schmidt factory work, the fancy purfling is typical for Cerrito made pieces, and the wood used is a higher quality than seen in most Schmidt instruments. The label reads "A. Galiano Fabbriconte Di Chitarre e Mandolini" and was the same label used inside the Galiano line of Oscar Schmidt guitars and some guitars from Ciani's workshop.
The size of this guitar fits what was commonly referred to as Grand Concert. The lower bout measures just over a 15", and 20 1/2" in length. The body is 3 7/8" thick at the end pin. Scale length is 26 1/8"; 1 3/4" at the nut and 2 5/16" across the saddle. The 12-fret neck is a nice grade of mahogany and the fingerboard is a dark, tropical wood, perhaps ebony. The headstock is overlaid with what looks like a walnut or rosewood veneer. Back and sides are a nice reddish mahogany. The very tight grained Adirondak red spruce top is bound in white and multi-color purfling, as is the sound hole. Back is bound in white, with a strip of multi-colored colored purfling inlaid down the center seam. Pearl dot inlaid into bridge pins and end pin. Tuners and ebony pyramid bridge appear to be original. Overall, the condition of the guitar is clean and attractive with the following to report: Dryness crack in upper 9 frets of fingerboard; some fret and fingerboard wear in first position area; four (repaired) top cracks; one small (repaired) back crack.
Recently, the guitar has had a neck reset, frets leveled and dressed and the saddle slot filled and routed for correct intonation.
The neck is extremely comfortable with a modern 'C' shape. The sound this guitar produces, like it's A. Cerrito signed counterpart, is it's most remarkable feature .. it's a fingerpicker's dream guitar. Even though ladder braced, it rings out bright and clear in the trebles, and provides a deep thump in the bass. The range of notes don't get lost or muddled but ring out loud and clear..this handmade beauty produces tones that blend nicely, while maintaining their unique voices in the mix. This is another example of a rare guitar from a little know but highly skilled maker, with a top-shelf sound and build, and very good value. Comes with a newer hard case.
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Regal Dobro Model 27 ca. 1932|
$1250.00The second example in our inventory of an early Regal-made Dobro. In the late 1920's, the five Dopyera brothers founded National Guitars in California, and invented the coveted National resonator guitars. In 1928, Dopyera brothers John and Rudy left National and created the Dobro company where they manufactured resonator guitars that competed with National, but the Dobro resonator cone had a different cone arrangement, which included the 'spider', a cast aluminum piece that fit over the cone and transmitted the sound from the saddle/bridge to the cone. While the National company floundered, Dobro became so busy that they contracted the Regal guitar factory in Chicago to produce resonator guitars for sale east of the Mississippi. Some of these instruments tout the Dobro label, while others, like this example, are affixed with a Regal label. The wooden parts were made in Chicago, with the metal parts supplied by Dobro. This Regal-Dobro sports the hallmarks of a Model 27, the lower but immensely popular model in the lineup. Model 27 attributes include absence of three sound holes between the screens, no top binding and no fingerboard binding. Additionally, the cover plate on this guitar stamped 'pat. pend.' and it's 'clock position' screw holes suggest a ca. 1932 date of manufacture. Even though the Model 27 is the low end of the Dobro line, guitars produced in this time period have some desirable features including an ebony fingerboard and round-hole sound chamber. Both the original stamped aluminum cone and cast aluminum spider are in excellent condition. The headstock decal sports the green oval with the Regal name and crown in gold. The body and sound chamber are wooden ply. The round, slight 'V'-profile neck is likely basswood with twelve frets to the body. Original open tuners. Cover plate is nickel plated. The trapeze tailpiece is another 'Regal-made' trait. Scale length is ~ 25". Neck width is 1 3/4" at the nut and about 2 1/2" across at the saddle. The almost-black original finish oozes vintage blues vibe, with only the back and the back of the neck splashed with a bit of 'burst. Four of the dot inlays (drilled out to access the fingerboard screws) are essentially the only non-original parts on the guitar. There are no cracks, breaks or structural problems on the guitar. The guitar has a fresh neck set, a nice straight neck and plenty of saddle. Action is 5/64" (~2mm) from top of 12th fret to bottom of low E. The frets were leveled and dressed, and exhibit minimal playing wear .. the guitar plays like a dream and produces that unique, weird and wacky (but much admired) Dobro sound .. very cool and fun guitar to play and own! See more photos
Martin D-18 1967 |
InquireA working man's guitar, the D-18 has been a favorite of players for many decades. This example from 1967 retains it's small, maple bridge plate, original finish, and is structurally sound and playable. A prior owner 'upgraded' the tuners with enclosed Kluson Deluxe, a retro pickguard and a strap button on the heel. With the original maple plate and aged spruce top this guitar booms. May have never had a neck set. The action at the 12th fret, bass side, top of fret to bottom of string is ~ 1/8". Frets are nice and high, with only slight playing wear on the Brazillian board. Back of neck is very clean. Mahogany back is crack free, with a bit of belt buckle wear. Both sides of the guitar show a few (repaired) cracks, there is a glued top crack from pickguard to bridge, and there is a small piece of mahogany re-glued on the treble side in the upper bout area. Nice hard case. Big sound and big value..
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Stella Decalomania(Oscar Schmidt) ca. 1930|
$950'Decalomania' was the term used in Oscar Schmidt catalogs to describe guitars that were fancied-up with inexpensive decals. Additionally, several models sported 'pearlette', or in today's parlance, 'mother of toilette seat'. This example from the 1930's exhibits both degrees of gaudyness. This guitar is, from the catalog description, a "standard size, birchwood body, black satin finish, white pearlette fingerboard with three positions." Originally offered at $66 .. per dozen! The binding and soundhole ring are painted white. The body measures 13 1/2" across the lower bout, and the fingerboard measures 1 13/16" at the nut. Scale length is 24 7/8" (note how the bridge needed to be moved about an inch south for correct intonation, which is typical). Ladder braced. The guitar is pretty much original except for the loss of the pickguard. The neck was reset and multiple braces reglued. There appear to be a few cracks in the back, but they wouldn't open for glue, so may be surface or paint only. Don't be alarmed by the line in the heel, it's not a crack. It's the glue joint where two pieces of poplar were joined to make the neck blank, and is original and very solid. This is documented in a photo when the neck was off for a reset. A few scuffs and dings, but overall a solid and original guitar set up and ready to play..nice Stella birch-bodied bark, and uniquely ornamented. See more photos
Victoria (Regal) 12-Fret Concert size (Parlor) guitar |
$1100The blue foil label reads 'Victoria Best American Make B&J New York Guaranteed Perfect Scale' and is likely made by Regal, possibly Washburn, in the late 1920's. This little parlor is as sweet as they come, with more tone and herringbone/$$ than any guitar you'll ever see! The mahogany body is bound, top and back, with herringbone trim, rows of dark/light checks, and white plastic, as is the sound hole. The back strip is also herringbone and dark/light check inlay. Body and neck are finished in an attractive reddish/mahogany wash which complements the marquetry trim. The original 'flat pyramid' bridge (similar to Washburns of the era) sports bridge pins with pearl dots. The 12-fret mahogany neck is a comfortable V-shape, with a dyed fingerboard (deep finger divots in the first position). The guitar is ladder braced, with the brace just south of the sound hold set on a bias. Overall, the guitar is in very good orignial condition with a nice patina to the finish. A few nicks and dings, overall finish crazing, and one very old side crack repair. The guitar plays well and produces a resonant, woody sound with surprisingly boomy bass. Very pleasant to play and hear. In fact, the tone is as nice as you'll hear in a guitar of this size. The lower bout measures 12 7/8", scale length is 24 1/8". Body depth is ~ 4" measured at the end pin.
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Oscar Schmidt "Stella" Hawaiian Scene stencil front guitar |
In ShopConcert size Oscar Schmidt made guitar with rare and attractive stenciled Hawaiian scene on front. Unlabeled, but has all the hallmarks of the Jersey City factory outlined in "The Guitars of the Oscar Schmidt Company": sides of body thicker in middle than the two bout ends; square kerfing at top, tapered kerfing at bottom; angle to heel; headstock shape; flat-head screws to secure tuners; position markers at 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th frets. All birch construction, dyed fingerboard, overall excellent condition but for a few nicks and scratches. Back of V neck exceptionally clean, some dye worn off fingerboard but frets show little wear. 13 3/8" across lower bout. In shop for neck re-set.
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