c.1925 Regal Wendell Hall "Red Head" Ukulele

UPDATE 1/18/2012: Note that I now know that these Regal-made ukes of this style (and their fancier house models of the same time) actually used curly/flamed Cuban mahogany, not koa, as I suspected here.

Wendell Hall (click for Wiki link) was an entertainer who came to the fore in the 1920s and was also a pretty good songwriter as well (I have some sheet music of his). A famed uke player, he endorsed a line of Regal ukes which were very similar to their more typical koa-bodied ukes of the time, save that they were slightly simpler in appointments and sported a stained-red headstock with his image plastered all over it.

What's that mean? Well, cool looks for starters, great sound, feel, tone, and volume next (it is, after all, a golden-age Regal koa-bodied uke). I've reset the neck on this fellow, glued up a few side hairline cracks, and set it all up... including some new Grover pegs.

Totally cool headstock.

...and outrageously flamed koa on the front with nice, simpler but golden-orange koa on the back and sides.

Cool inlaid marquetry in red black and yellow. The more regular Regal models of these appointments had the same style marquetry, but with the addition of green in the mix of red, yellow, black.

Can't complain about the golden color of the back, either!


Overall: nice player in great shape!