c.1935 Unmarked Round-hole Archtop Guitar
Update #2, 2017: Per the comments section, this now appears to be a Harmony product.
While at first glance this appears to be a rather plain tailpiece-loaded flattop "parlor" guitar, it's not! This one is actually a round-soundhole archtop patterned after the early-mid 1930s Gibson round-hole archtops. It's a 13 1/2" body (0-size) instrument with a "12 fret" length (meaning taller upper bout) but coupled with a 14-fret neck and long 25 1/2" scale. For its age and build level (this is roughly "student" grade) it's in phenomenal condition. I just had to give it a fret level/dress, cleaning and setup at the nut.
All hardware is 100% original which is nice, and the only "cracks" are a not-through, tight pickguard-screw hairline on the upper bout and a very tiny not-through crack on the back near the heel.
Woods: dyed mystery-hardwood for the fretboard, poplar neck, solid birch body, rosewood bridge. The saddle is bone but the nut appears to be celluloid or similar. Binding is painted on with the exception of the soundhole "rosette" which is celluloid binding.
Nice slotted headstock and round-hole archtop vibe gives this very much a "Django" look. It sounds great for that sort of music, too -- loud, driving, percussive when dug-into, and balanced throughout with a longer scale that suits "custom light" (52w-11) or lighter strings quite well. This actually had old LaBella gypsy-jazz strings on it when I got it... so someone else had the same idea, too!
The grain on the top is pretty cool. While it's obviously birch, the sunburst and interesting graining makes it look almost like walnut or similar here and there.
Good, well-fitted rosewood/bone bridge. The bracing under the top is 3x ladder braces on the lower bout and one above the soundhole.
Celluloid pickguard.
Plain-Jane pearl dots, original brass frets.
Despite the clumsy painted-on "binding" this has a really cool look to it.
Great heel join.
Original strap button, too.
Comments
http://gretsch.forumactif.com/t927-gretsch-ou-pas
Without doubt.
Simon, Cornwall, UK
The body shape is different in the shoulders and waist (rounder on this one), the arching is different, and the bracing is quite different. Also note the heel shape, the lower location of the soundhole, the neck profile shape, the fact that these don't have a standard Harmony scale length, etc. and you can add up the wrong details. I know there's a second "Valencia" shape that's more rounded but that, too, has a higher-up soundhole and less of a "L-00" and more of a peanut sort of shape to its body.
Makers back then were all building very close-spec instruments in imitation of others and this is very often the case with low-end stuff that's close but not quite the same. I can't guarantee it but there were too many "wrongs" for Harmony attribution on this particular guitar.
I also have one of these guitars...
It is 100% not an Oscar Shmidt.
Although basically the same guitar.
The headstock on a Shmidt is strait cut and flat ended...
Also the clumsy paint on yours was probably added after purchase as mine and the others I have seen are identical and do not have it.
I also have one of these guitars...
It is 100% not an Oscar Shmidt.
Although basically the same guitar.
The headstock on a Shmidt is strait cut and flat ended...
Also the clumsy paint on yours was probably added after purchase as mine and the others I have seen are identical and do not have it.
I've handled two more of these guitars (of different specs) since I posted this one and it definitely has construction identical inside to other Schmidt round-hole archtops that were much more clearly Schmidt products. This same headstock style was ALSO used on Schmidt parlors for other brands at the time -- including some pretty weird stenciled mid-30s stuff (in the Stella vein but less cool) and Hawaiian guitars made for/sold under the Oahu brand.
Sloppy painted "bindings" are seen on many mid-late 30s Schmidt products -- right before the company went bust.
Hello, I've just picked up one of these, almost identical in every respect guitars in the UK.
It is marked "The Michigan" on a black and gold sticker both on the front of the slotted headstock and another inside the sound hole.
Inside, next to "The Michigan" sticker is an ink red oval with F33 inside it.
The fretboard has been replaced, recently by the look of it, with a new one in rosewood with medium modern frets and four pearloid dot markers.
The bridge is a very old unusual two piece metal and wood adjustable job which I do not think is original.
Set up with Martin PB 12s it sounds boxy and almost banjo like on the top two strings.
It plays well in conventional finger style, but I've upped the action with the aforesaid bridge and it's good for country slide.
"The Michigan" was a name used by Beare and Son, London and Toronto - musical instrument sellers and distributors.
I guess it came to the UK via them....
The fact that it has that F33 stamp indicates to me it was "Harmony Made" or am I wrong and it is in fact an Oscar Schmidt?"
So, apologies to the folks above for my skepticism -- but it looks like we have our answer as to the maker, here. I'm quite surprised by this!
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-michigan-acoustic-guitar-hard-465075186
This is the headline: Worthpoint RARE VINTAGE "THE MICHIGAN" ACOUSTIC GUITAR W/ HARD CASE. NEEDS TLC. MAKE OFFER!
http://harmony.demont.net/model.php?id=348