c.1933 Larson-made Euphonon 000 Guitar

This super nice guitar is owned by Mr. Jim, who let me take some shots of it for the blog. It's a Larson Brothers (Chicago) creation under their "Euphonon" brand and shares the typical high-grade craftsmanship Larson instruments are known for.

This particular model is roughly a 000-size, 12-fret instrument, but has a tighter upper bout than its close kin, the Martin 000-28. It's date-stamped inside to 1933 and has the Euphonon brand burned into the backstrip lining.

No doubt about it, this is a wonderful instrument, sporting a spruce top, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, a one-piece mahogany neck with an "old Martin" shape to it, ebony fretboard and (replacement) ebony bridge, bone nut and saddle, and of course nice and understated trim.

The top is ladder-braced, but lightly done, giving this instrument a big, wide-open and rich sound. It's an extraordinary fingerpicker.

Bone nut.

Bound ebony fretboard with pearl dot inlay.

Not a perfect replacement bridge, but more than adequate, and it looks nice. Bone saddle in ebony.

With inside-edge binding around the soundhole but also a 3-ring rosette, this betrays Martin aspirations in styling but Chicago sensibilities in the end-product. Also check out that lovely many-ply purfling around the top edge.

To me, the bare rosewood seen inside is even prettier than the glossy-finished stuff on the outside!

She's a classy beastie.

Pretty nondescript tuners, but perfectly period and original.

Nice rosewood, huh?

While the top has a sort of satin finish, the back and sides are beautifully French polished.

The heel was cracked and reglued at some point.

Nice plain but classy backstrip. Here you can see the rosewood grain a bit better.

Cool, prominent end-strip.