Richter ca 1935 SOLD
Richter Concert Size ca 1935 | $525 SOLD | One of the joys of the vintage guitar business is coming across an instrument that's not crossed our path previously, and turns out to be a pleasant surprise. This Richter-made instrument is an example of that.
The Richter company was founded in Chicago about 1920. And like its competitors Regal and Harmony, produced budget 'catalog' guitars. This guitar is easily identified as a 'Richter' because it's ink-stamped on the heel block, along with what could be a serial number. Other hallmarks are the 'gumby' profile head stock, and the small, square kerfing which joins the top and back.
The guitar body is all slab-sawn birch, bound on top, and finished off in a glowing, orange-red sunburst. The neck is basswood or poplar capped with an ebonized fingerboard. The bridge is likely maple dyed black. The guitar appears all original, except we changed out the original fret-wire saddle for one of bone and crafted a replacement nut from ebony.
The is an old crack repair on each side of the fingerboard extension, with the bass side gauged a bit in order to level the jointure...not to our standard, but it's part of the guitar's history, and not a detriment to playability or structural integrity. There is also a 9" back crack. We recently reset the neck and re-glued the bridge and a few braces.
The body measures 13" across at the lower bout, and scale length is 24 1/4". The fingerboard measures 1 13/16" across at the nut with a thickish 'C' carve to the neck. Action is set at ~ 5/64".
The Richter plays quite easily with its short scale and low action. The tone and the look of it reminds us of an OS First Hawaiian Conservatory. The sound is clear with really good sustain, and the classic ladder brace bark and boxy tone .. very strong in the mid range. This is a really cool guitar for blues or old-time playing, and perfect as a dedicated slide guitar. No case presently.
