I bought this beauty from a family whose great grandfather had been a vaudevillian back in old blighty. She came complete with original leather case.
In true British style/engineering prowess the 5th string runs through a tube rather than the American version. Hours of restoration work has revealed a true gem with a unique voice and timbre. If you like open back banjo tone then you’ll love this.
America was not yet to enter the war when this baby was made. However the USA was building some fine instruments. This is one example of that time. We’ve brought her back to life with a neck reset and refret, everything is ready to go and the vintage tone shines. At $2900 here is a chance to have a pre war dream.
This little baby was so beautiful when we got her that the idea of “modding” her from a pin bridge to a string through body was not going to fly. So we did only what was needed; Neck reset, refret, replace broken bracings etc. Check out that decal, check out that label, would you do to a beautiful vintage parlor guitar than that?
And she sounds amazing! History history history! It’s all here for very little
Built in the Hawaii in the heyday of the hawaiian lap steel craze, this little girl was restored in our workshop some 5 years ago and is a treat to play.
Sadly her previous owner is down sizing and moving overseas.
So we are very lucky that this vintage example is staying in Australia.
This guitar is suffering from a condition known as “man-sat-on-guitaritis” and as a result the soundboard caved in. Distraught, distressed and ready to try any new fangled, yet to be proven medically, luthiery magic in order to restore his Maton EBG808L to its former glory. Luckily for Dave, Maton repairs are somewhat of a specialty for us.
The First Hawaiian Conservatory of Music was a marketing tool of the Oscar Schmidt Company of New York, started around 1919 and continued until the late 1930’s. They would sell a guitar and 12 months of correspondence guitar lessons for a nominal down payment and monthly repayments. They would advertise these courses in Popular Mechanics and other magazines of the period.
The guitars they supplied with this course are now widely regarded, along with the Oscar Schmidt Stellas, as the cream of old blues guitars. These rarely come up for sale in the US, and never in Australia. Artists keep these guitars when they get a hold of them. This guitar was used extensively in studio work in Alabama until we managed to get our hands on it!
To see our current instruments, consider a visit to the shop. We also post all new arrivals on our Facebook page, and select items for sale on our Reverb Store.