c.1955 US Strad "Parlor" Guitar

This plywood-bodied wonder was made in the '50s, branded US Strad, and probably made by Kay in Chicago I would imagine. Update #2 in 2015, here: scratch that, this was probably made by or for Sorkin in New York. I'm always surprised by these funky student guitars because they tend to sound and play pretty decent once any necessary repairwork is done.

...and... this one plays nice and has a full, balanced, and pretty loud sound to it.

My work on it included a fret level/dress, cleaning, a replacement bridge (I typically use rosewood flattop mandolin blank bridges for these, as I've done here), and setup. It plays just about as good as you could ask and has a pretty comfortable neck, too. It's no '60s Gibson, but it's also not like gripping a 2x4.

The "US Strad" label's United States map section has worn off. Plastic nut. Tuners are original but a few of the shafts have been replaced by me (since they were missing).

Fun painted-on 50s-o-rama fret markers.

Rosewood bridge sounds dandy.

The color is sort of a muted orangey-red-brown.

Note that the tuners and tailpiece are held on by pronged nails! It works...

Good tight heel.

...and it even has its end-pin!