1910s Regal-made Lyon & Healy Parlor Guitar

In summer, walk-in repairs are always interesting. I played tonight at a joint gig with my buddy Aaron's band going first and his guitar player came in early with this nice old L&H parlor for a quick setup -- which it got, plus new ebony pins, and a set of new strings. I'm certain that this was made by Regal for Lyon & Healy as it specs out (and is built) just like a contemporaneous Regal (transverse ladder bracing, even) but has fancier "Washburn"-style appointments in terms of bound headstock and fretboard. I'm guessing it might've been sold under their Lakeside or American Conservatory brands.

This guitar had previous work including, presumably, a neck reset -- but also an installation of a replacement bridge (in the "flattened pyramid" Chicago style), newer tuners (kinda ick but functional), and a coat of French polish to clean up the (original) finish. It did, however, need a good setup desperately as it played only marginally acceptable. I was amazed that the original frets were in good order -- all level and with nearly no wear!

It's a crack-free guitar with a solid spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides. It's roughly 0-shaped.

Original ebony nut and 1 3/4" width...

...and pretty pearl position dots in a dyed-pearwood/maple fretboard with celluloid binding. This would've been fairly fancy for the time.

Binding and multiple purflings really dress it up.

In addition to modding the saddle (height and intonated B string slot), I also added light string-ramps behind the saddle and swapped the plastic pins for ebony. It's a much closer-to-original feel this way. The bridge itself is a (good) repro with a proper compensated saddle slot. Because this would've originally been a gut-stringer the original saddle slot would've been straight.

Interestingly, unlike a higher-end Washburn, this guitar has Regal's own shorter 24" standard scale which lets this get away with 50w on the bottom for strings.

Snazzy, huh?

The super-straight mahogany used on the back is just plain pretty with that Martin-like reddish finish.

This is such a typical Regal-style neck carve that it could be used as an example for them. The neck itself is a big old V shape, too. It's also made from medium-flamed maple... which I forgot to photograph (sigh). Pretty stuff!

The bound front and back give a nice contrast to the mahogany.

Original ebony endpin...