c.1935 Regal Tiple

Another nice tiple! Neck reset, cleaning, setup, brace-reglues, and hairline crack repair were done on this fellow. In addition I installed a countersunk bolt through the center of the bridge with a fair-sized washer on the other end to help reinforce it against the tension of the strings. Ladder bracing and a light build mean sweet tone and good response but sometimes the slight belly will begin to lift a bridge (in fact, most old tiples lack their bridges for this very reason). Every little bit helps.

This thing's got a maple or birch neck, solid mahogany back and sides, rosewood fretboard w/MOP dots, and a spruce top. It's in pretty good shape and appears to be all-original. It plays like a dream with super easy action and sweet chimey tone. The scale length is actually slightly longer than its brethren from the 1920s.

For those not in the know: a (North American) tiple is like an overgrown, mini-12-string guitar, but with pairs and triples of strings -- 2/3/3/2 -- in four courses, tuned like a ukulele. Old tuning was ADF#B but most people nowadays tune to GCEA, which gives this a rich, huge sound.

Curiously, the tuners look like 10-string mandolin style tuners, and are period, and all the screw holes and markings match up to give the impression that these were original to the instrument. They have smaller shafts, however, and don't go all the way through to the middle of the headstock, like most slotted headstock tuners would. Maybe Regal was using up old parts?

Bridge. Under that "dot" is a bolt that reinforces the bridge/top join.

Yummy mahogany gives a warmer and more open sound.

Bound in white celluloid top and back and 3-ply celluloid around the soundhole.

Fresh neck set gives this tiple another 80+ years.

Not sure if this end-pin is original or not. My guess is that it's not.