Char Guitars

Since we are on the topic of Montgomry Wards coincidentally I got in this Reso uke made for  Wards by the Regal Company during the period when they were license to make Dobros for the Dobro company. This uke has the “spider” style  cone and is very cute. Not as punchy as the National style reso ukes but it has a very sweet sound.Mor photos click here.

Montgomery Wards, like Sears, was another catalogue company who sold thousands of household products many manufactured with their brand name. Also, like Sears, musical instruments were some of their offerings. This is a splendid example made by Washburn for Montgomery Wards. Spruce top, ladder braced, Brazilian rosewood, with a fair amount of “bling”. We installed a trussrod, reset neck,refret, repro bridge. One of the nice ones. For more photos click here.

So I come out one morning and there is this huge box on my porch that I havent got a clue about. People ship instruments to me all the time but usually I get a” heads up” before things arrive. This was double boxed with a ton of packing all around it. 20 min. later when I finally got it out I still couldn’t figure out what it was, but I was sure it must be something crazy . I wasn’t disappointed! First  Harp Bowlback Mandolin Ive ever seen. Can you imagine how much work it would take just to make that upper arm? This guy must have had alot of time on his hands.I dont know anything about where this originated from or who built it. Sometimes I just fix them and send them on their way.For more photos click here.

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Lil Rev emailed this link of Him playing Pig ankle Rag with Brian Hefferan on His Char uke. Rev tells me that Brian is known for his arrangements of rags for ukulele. I love this stuff! To check it out click here.

My customer, Quico, who has a love for the work of the great 19th century Italian guitar builder Louis Panormo, asked me if I could build him a 5 string tenor uke that had the  look of a Panormo guitar. Always being up for something challenging, and interesting as well, ( I am also a great fan of romantic period guitars) I talked to my friend John Doan (pictured below)  whose circa 1810 Panormo I had in my shop at one time. I asked Him if I could borrow it for a bit of poking and prodding.He let me measure it and take lots of photos.

Quico also wanted to have installed Ruck style sound ports. The back and sides are Brazilian rosewood and the top is red spruce. I used Mastodon for the nut and saddle and the bridge pins are vintage ones I got somewhere along the road. They just seemed to fit (no pun intended).The bindings and rosette are super curly Cuban Mahogany. This uke has a really amazing sound.It doesnt sound like your typical uke. It got volume  but has a very balanced sweet tone with exceptional highs that dont sound clipped but have some sustain. A very fun project. Quico suggested that I might expand the idea to make a Terz guitar. It’s a thought. More photos click here.

Lyre guitar circa 1800  Boy, 200 years old! Thats hard to think about. And you want it to play not just hang on the wall? Im suppose to finish this in a month, we’ll see.

Fortunately this one has a “fix it hole”. I found some writing on the top. I tried to take a photo of it with my camera but there is not much room in there. I can see it with a mirror but its backwards and in a different language so thats no help.Ill show this to John and see if he has a clue.More photos click here

This Martin O 18 #141739 was gifted to my customer Hiaso Shinagawa  by the late Townes Van Zandt in 1980. Hisao who is also known as, the Japanese Bob Dylan, claims an arsenal of 2,000 songs! The guitar got run over by a vending truck at a Farmers Market he was playing at on December 14 2008.I think this one is going to take a little extra time.  Click here for more photos.

Tulip Guitar     Do you know what this is? I dont.The neck block is the whole arc of the top of the body and is only 1″ deep.The bracing is ladder and the back and sides are Mahogany. Weird.   For more photos click here.

J45 1960?  What can I say. For more photos, click here.

N.B. Curtis Parlor.The lower bout on this parlor is almost 15″ so it is on the larger size for a parlor. Scale length is 25″ and it is ladderbraced. Top is spruce and the back and sides are Mahogany. We reset the neck added a trussrod, refretted it, and made a repro bridge for it. This thing plays and sounds fabulous! For more photos click here.