Oops - I bought some guitars

[John B]

I accidentally bought a guitar. Actually, I accidentally bought two guitars. I put in some "placeholder" bids on some auctions. Apparently I bid too well, because no one else topped me. I haven't had time to take pics yet, so here are some from the auctions.

The first is a Hawaiian guitar by an unknown maker. It's probably laminated birch, similar to the Oahu squareneck I have. It is from roughly 1927, so 97-ish years old. It has a cracked bridge that someone attempted to glue back down after it began lifting. I'm guessing it's not a stable repair, so I'll have to figure out how to go about repairing. Also, because of one of its unique features - a metal disc in the soundhole - I'll also have to figure out what it will take to access the inside of the guitar. The "fretboard" is a printed hardboard (looks like masonite) with open A tuning printed on it. It also has the helpful tip, "To play flats, play one fret lower than natural."



The second guitar was from a kind-of-local estate auction site. It's a 1939 Gibson EH-100. Not figured maple, like the EH-150, but it is made of maple. It is hollow, with the back glued on (starting in 1938, I think). The pickup is similar in construction to the Charlie Christian pickups - it's essentially the first "improvement" over the original. I'm attaching a picture of a different EH-100 with the back off so you can see the magnets for the pickup (much larger than today's magnets on humbuckers and such). The prior owner helpfully taped some handwritten note names to the fretboard. I am inclined to leave them as is, even though they get in the way of determining where accurate slide positions are as I think I might be the second owner. Thankfully, the electronics seem to work pretty well.

[Marty]

The square neck has a straight front rounded over back bridge typical of an Oahu/Regal. Not too difficult to replicate.

Regal made guitars for a lot of house brands. I'd like to see more photos of that guitar. 

Large permanent magnets were difficult to make until after WWII, which is why guitar amps used electro magnets until then. A screw on back makes a lot of sense. That old oil cap on the tone control is probably leaky or really off spec by now. Replace it with a new one of the same value and you'll probably notice an increase in volume and fidelity. Keep the original one to be installed if you sell it.

The second guitar was from a kind-of-local estate auction site. It's a 1939 Gibson EH-100. Not figured maple, like the EH-150, but it is made of maple. It is hollow, with the back glued on (starting in 1938, I think).

Did you mean screwed on?

[John B]

May 1, 2024 20:49:47 GMT -5 Marty said:

The square neck has a straight front rounded over back bridge typical of an Oahu/Regal. Not too difficult to replicate.

Regal made guitars for a lot of house brands. I'd like to see more photos of that guitar. 

Large permanent magnets were difficult to make until after WWII, which is why guitar amps used electro magnets until then. A screw on back makes a lot of sense. That old oil cap on the tone control is probably leaky or really off spec by now. Replace it with a new one of the same value and you'll probably notice an increase in volume and fidelity. Keep the original one to be installed if you sell it.

The second guitar was from a kind-of-local estate auction site. It's a 1939 Gibson EH-100. Not figured maple, like the EH-150, but it is made of maple. It is hollow, with the back glued on (starting in 1938, I think).

Did you mean screwed on?

Ahh. The pic of the innards/pickup is from someone else's 1937 EH-100 with the screws. Mine is indeed glued on.

[Marshall]

There’s more than one of these?

[Marty]

Ahh. The pic of the innards/pickup is from someone else's 1937 EH-100 with the screws. Mine is indeed glued on.

That would make getting that pickup in quite difficult. I'd like to see photos of that one too.

[John B]

May 2, 2024 7:41:51 GMT -5 Marshall said:

There’s more than one of these?

I know you're not a fan of old Gibsons, especially when they couldn't even bother to print the whole thing one color.

I thought you'd at least be interested in the pickup. It's kind of like a soundhole pickup, only different.

I could go on about Gibsons and their importance in the history of guitars, but you'd probably be uninterested.

[Marshall]

Ha ha.

I used to be interested in all sorts of different guitar variations. In my advanced age , I’ve circled the wagons and stick to a narrow range of 6 string acoustics with an acceptable neck.

Historic pickup history is interesting. It’s a fun subject to learn about. But I’m only spending any money on modern acoustic methods.