1920s Stromberg-Voisinet/Kay-made Hawaiian-Decal Parlor Guitar

I have worked on this same basic model (with different decals and finish details) at least a dozen times -- maybe more! It's my opinion that of the Chicago-made parlor guitars of the time, these '20s-era Kay-made jobs hit the sweet spot between durability, reliability, and sonic goodness. The lighter-built Harmony and Regal instruments often sound sweeter and more lush for fingerpicking but the trade-off is that their action changes more season-to-season as the tops swell and contract with humidity and the responsiveness of their tops often means they compress with heavy-handed flatpicking.

The necks on these Stromberg-Voisinet-era Kays are also stout and V-shaped for strength, so they're almost never warped unless they've been abused or (as seen on this one, but not all) the celluloid fretboard veneer has decided to shrink and cause funk to set-in. So -- what I'm trying to say is -- they've got good bones in the same way the New Jersey-made Oscar Schmidt products are also durable and reliable and easy to live with.

This guitar had been loved and played for a long time by a local customer/compatriot of mine. He'd brought it in to me in the past to get it mildly-adjusted but I never got to actually go through it and button-up issues needing to be addressed. This time he brought it in for consignment so I needed to address those issues. In the past someone had done a "neck reset" but the angle was fairly shallow and the repairman had installed a too-tall bridge with the saddle a full 1/8" off from where it should be and the bridge pinholes aligned off-center from the neck's path. The frets were also not level and there were seam repairs and hairline crack repairs to finish -- they'd been cleated but not filled/sealed.

Now that my work is done, it plays beautifully and has a robust, hearty, woody, and loud voice. This little 0-sized box can definitely dish it out and I can see why its owner was playing it in that old vaudeville/"vintage jazzy cheese" vein.

Work included: a fret level/dress, bridge shave, fill and redrill of the pinholes, fill and recut of the saddle slot, replacement binding in small spots, side dots install, replacement bridge pins and new compensated bone saddle, cleaning, and a setup. It plays bang-on with 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE action at the 12th fret. The neck is straight and I have it strung with 11s in gauges 52w, 38w, 28w, 22w, 15, 11. It could probably handle 12s but I like to play it safe -- and it doesn't need them for punch or volume.

Scale length: 24 3/8"

Nut width: 1 11/16"

String spacing at nut: 1 1/2"

String spacing at bridge: 2 1/4"

Body length: 18"

Lower bout width: 13 1/8"

Upper bout width: 9 3/8"

Side depth at endpin: 3 3/4"

Top wood: solid mahogany

Back/sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: ladder

Fretboard: maple with celluloid veneer

Bridge: replacement rosewood

Neck feel: medium-big V, flat board

Condition notes: there are several hairline cracks on the top and back but they're all cleated and/or filled/sealed as need-be. The guitar is all-original save bridge, saddle, pins, and small sections of binding on the neck and one tiny bit on the body. There's a filled-in area where purfling is missing next to the binding on the top-edge, treble-side lower bout.

It comes with: a newer, TKL, flat-top hard case.

As you can see, there's still about 1/8" or so of adjustment room on the new drop-in saddle. I have string ramps added behind it, too, so if it ever has to come down the back-angle pressure on the saddle will still be good.

The bridge is a rosewood replacement and is quirky -- whoever glued it used some wood dowels to help locate it on the top -- you can see the different-colored circles at the bridge wings. It's kind-of neat, really.

I love the slotted headstock with the solid rear. It's strong and looks very cool. The "Gumby" headstock shape is also a hoot.

The poplar neck has a substantial V-shape with a harder ridge but mellowed/rounded edges.