c.1950 Vega FT-85 Concert Guitar

Update August: Just FYI, I've been hoarding this one but have to admit that I need to let it go to fulfill some non-musical "secret projects." Yes, it's a sublime guitar. Ask anyone who's been to "visit it" in the shop...! Vegas (Boston-made) sit right up there with Martins in craftsmanship as well.

With a 14 1/2" lower bout and deep 4 1/2" sides combined on a 14-fret, slopey-looking body, this guitar totally speaks to the Gibson L-00 tree of guitar life. The difference is that it's ladder braced, however, and made in Boston instead of Kalamazoo. This makes it most similar to the Gibson-made Kalamazoo KG-14 models of the 1930s which used the L-00 body shape but featured ladder bracing. 

For comparison, here's a tenor model based off of the KG-14 body. This Vega's voice is actually remarkably similar to that tenor's, being full and sweet and loud but with much more bass response, complexity and old-timey crisp cut than I normally expect from a ladder-braced guitar.

Now, rumor has it that most postwar Vega flattop guitars used Harmony-made bodies. This is certainly true of the bigger FT-J (jumbo) model from the late 50s and 60s (the only flattop one I know of that used a Harmony body) but this FT-85 is a 100% Vega product. It shares the same 1930s prewar Vega flattop body shape and depth and sports a finely-built inside with nicely-carved bracing. There's no evidence of the reddish-brown glue trail and rough carving so commonly seen on postwar Harmony interiors of all stripes (low end to high end) and, frankly, the build quality is a lot higher than I'd expect with a bracing pattern and bridge plate design that I've never seen on Harmony products.

And, if all that doesn't convince you, dredge the net for shots of late-30s and late-40s known Vega-built guitars (the Profundo dreadnought comes to mind) and compare some of that bracing and build style.

I actually received this guitar in the mail this afternoon and after putting in a day's worth of work on various customer gear (to be seen tomorrow!), I did the only work this guitar needed after closing -- a light fret leveling/dressing, saddle shave and setup, and new ebony bridge pins.

As stated, this is a roughly 00-size (L-00 size and shape, to be exact) guitar and it sports a solid spruce top over solid mahogany back and sides. The neck is also mahogany and the bridge and board are Brazilian rosewood.

Bone nut, truss-rodded neck, and some of those funky original tuners (as seen on numerous 50s/60s guitars) which feel slightly slippery but hold pitch just fine.

The oversized pearl dots look great in that radiused, streaky-grain rosewood board.

The soundhole rosette is tasteful and minimalistic and the original pickguard looks pretty good, too, though of course with a guitar like this wouldn't you also be tempted to pop a firestripe one on?

This had some replacement (cheap) plastic pins in so I replaced them with some ebony ones. The saddle is a (previous) replacement and seems to be Tusq or similar.

Rather than stain the mahogany darker on the back and sides (as would be typical from the teens through the mid-40s), the wood was finished in its natural honey color.

The binding is one-ply but gives a simple Depression look to it.

This is (presumably) an original endpin.

...and here's the label on the inside.