c.1925 Regal-made SS Stewart Mahogany Mandolin
This is a customer's flatback mandolin from the mid-1920s, probably made by Regal for the B&J "SS Stewart" brand (at that point in time, anyway). It is nearly identical in build and styling to Lyon & Healy's "Washburn" branded models of the time, which is no surprise since Regal built for the L&H Washburn line of mandolins during the mid-1920s.
The main difference, of course, from a similar Washburn-branded model of the same type is that the whole instrument is made from solid mahogany, even the top (which is more typically spruce). This gives the instrument a nice, balanced tone with a sweetened high end and tight bass -- and like other Regal-made nicer-quality mandolins from the time, it's quite loud and has great authority.
The main difference, of course, from a similar Washburn-branded model of the same type is that the whole instrument is made from solid mahogany, even the top (which is more typically spruce). This gives the instrument a nice, balanced tone with a sweetened high end and tight bass -- and like other Regal-made nicer-quality mandolins from the time, it's quite loud and has great authority.
While it may not look like it now, this instrument was a little bit of a headache to fix. It needed a neck reset, fret level/dress, and setup right off the bat, but once I popped the neck off I realized other things had been done wrong. This included a botched old neck reset which had split part of the dovetail and a botched old fretboard-extension reglue that seems to have been done with superglue (a really bad idea if you value fretboard wood integrity!).
There were other various things, too -- the tuners had never been screwed down for stability so I had to drill through the plates and install some mounting screws for them, and here may have been a couple loose braces (I can't recall, really),
Suffice to say, I fixed everything up and now it's roaring once again. Unfortunately for the owner, at some point the mandolin had also been "oversrpayed" with a coat of top finish, so the original crackly old finish is underneath and I wonder how much of it really contributes to the sort of crimson red this mandolin is now.
There were other various things, too -- the tuners had never been screwed down for stability so I had to drill through the plates and install some mounting screws for them, and here may have been a couple loose braces (I can't recall, really),
Suffice to say, I fixed everything up and now it's roaring once again. Unfortunately for the owner, at some point the mandolin had also been "oversrpayed" with a coat of top finish, so the original crackly old finish is underneath and I wonder how much of it really contributes to the sort of crimson red this mandolin is now.
Two-ply fretboard binding, pearl dots.
Typical B&J Stewart label. People are constantly calling me up about their old SS Stewart thissen or thatten instrument, asking me if it was built in Philadelphia or New York, and it's always hard to convince folks that labels really don't mean much of anything as far as most old instruments are concerned (or, heck, for new ones for that matter, too!).
Nice multi-ply edge binding on top and back. This mandolin is quite classy.
I like the engraved "SS Stewart" on the tuner coverplate.
The original tailpiece still has its nice cover!
Comments
Not as loud or dark as the stewart but the notes seem to rise and project. Played it on at church on Sunday with guitar, piano, drums,bass, pipe organ and vocalists. Floats thru everything! Cheers - John