c.1935 S.S. Stewart (by Harmony) Archtop Guitar

Though sold under the S.S. Stewart brand name (originally a fine banjo maker in the late 1800s) and marketed by Buegeleisen & Jacobson, this guitar was made by Harmony. It's definitely a great-quality machine, and thunders out chords with a woody, warmer-than-typical-for-an-archtop tone. It doesn't lack the penetration and clarity typical of archtops, however.

Materials include a hand-carved quality spruce top, solid mahogany back, sides, and neck, and binding front, back, and neck. Cool pearloid block fret markers, awesome multicolored marquetry purfling, and of course that super-cool celluloid headstock veneer. This thing breathes vintage charm.

The nut is original, and is bone.


Fretboard is rosewood, with nickel-silver medium frets.

Here's my new bridge arrangement -- a rosewood topper with feet of bone on the treble side and ebony on the bass side. I think this gives really nice sustain and a sweet overtone to the treble and a warmer, punchier bass. The original bridge had been cut down and made useless when I got it.

Cool warm, cherryish tobacco sunburst.

I had to reglue the neck block (it was annoyingly loose) and do a neck reset on this guitar, as well as some brace reglues, which had previously had a poor neck reset attempted. How's it play now? 1/8" at the 12th fret and super easy.

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Bridge detail.

Marquetry detail. This cool grain is also repeated via the bookmatching on the other side of the upper bout, too.

Back.


New Grover tuners.

B&J logo. Note the nice mahogany of the neck.

I love the look of the back and side mahogany. It lightens this guitar up, too, which makes it really easy to handle for long sessions.

Yum! There are a few glued-up hairlines on this guitar, however -- one down the middle and one on either side of the upper bout -- they're dryness openings along the grain, and all secure now.

Side.


Other side.


Tailpiece is original... and nice little end strapping & ebony end pin, too!