Clippings: 1918 B&J Koa & Mahogany Guitars
Buegeleisen & Jacobson (B&J in New York) had it right in 1918 when they introduced these two guitars, one a koa version (above) and one a mahogany version (below). The Hawaiian craze was everywhere and the ability to switch between "Spanish style" and "Hawaiian style" (ie, in your lap with a "steel" (lap slide) was a big selling point right alongside the "tropical" woods and look.
Not only do both these hardwoods sound great with a warm, sweet, and not-too-trebly/not-too-bassy "woody" tone, they also hold up to steel-string tension a heck of a lot better than spruce, so ladder-bracing was more than sufficient to deal with the extra pressure vs. gut strings.
The "koa" model looks like a Lyon & Healy made product, while the mahogany one, below, looks like an Oscar Schmidt product to me (though it could be Regal or Lyon & Healy build). B&J was a retailer and they simply bought from many, many places and stuck their own brand on it.
Not only do both these hardwoods sound great with a warm, sweet, and not-too-trebly/not-too-bassy "woody" tone, they also hold up to steel-string tension a heck of a lot better than spruce, so ladder-bracing was more than sufficient to deal with the extra pressure vs. gut strings.
The "koa" model looks like a Lyon & Healy made product, while the mahogany one, below, looks like an Oscar Schmidt product to me (though it could be Regal or Lyon & Healy build). B&J was a retailer and they simply bought from many, many places and stuck their own brand on it.
Cute little dandies, no? Click the pics to enlarge.
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