1930s Regal Mahogany Tiple
Regal tiples from the '20s and '30s are not particularly rare, but this version of a Regal tiple is rare. Almost every one I've seen has either been solid birch throughout the body, spruce over birch, or spruce over mahogany. I haven't had one through the shop yet that's mahogany on the top as well. I'm excited by that because mahogany is a perfect top choice for tiples as it's stiffer than spruce (and thus resists deformation with the extra tension) and tends to sound balanced and "woody" -- both qualities that are desirable in an instrument with 10-strings and octave stringing on 3 of its 4 courses.
A consignor sent this in a while back and I finally got around to getting it done. It looks like it had some work done in the past -- an added drop-in saddle slot (rather than fret-saddle), perhaps a neck reset, a new nut, and maybe a bridge reglue. Unfortunately, unless you're used to working on these instruments (I've worked on a couple dozen old tiples, now, of all stripes), they have quirks that are not obvious to folks who mostly work on guitars.
For those not in the know -- a tiple is a ukulele-family instrument that's the same size as a tenor ukulele but strung with 10 steel strings. It's traditionally tuned ADF#B low to high with octaves on the lower 3 courses, but these days we all mostly tune it to "normal" uke GCEA. They sound like pocket 12-string guitars... sort-of. I find them best-used either as simple strummers or (better yet) crosspicked with a flatpick (chordally) or fingerpicked with metal picks. You can hear in the video clip that this has a clean, fairly loud, sweet tonality to it -- with plenty of ring.
Work included: a fret level/dress, side dots install, recut of the new nut, fill of the incorrectly located saddle slot, new saddle slot cut, compensation and adjustment of the bone saddle, neck bolt install (for extra luck -- the neck angle was perfect, but I hadn't reset it personally), mild cleaning, fill/seal to a couple of not-even-through hairline cracks (one on top upper bout, one on back lower), and a setup. The neck is straight and it plays with 1/16" overall action at the 12th fret -- bang-on. String gauges are light so one can tune it GCEA or ADF#B with no worries: 10/22w, 16/30w/16, 13/26w/13, 9/9 low to high.
Condition notes: two minor hairline cracks repaired, non-original nut and saddle (but otherwise original throughout), and minor scuffs and scratches here and there (but otherwise quite clean).
A consignor sent this in a while back and I finally got around to getting it done. It looks like it had some work done in the past -- an added drop-in saddle slot (rather than fret-saddle), perhaps a neck reset, a new nut, and maybe a bridge reglue. Unfortunately, unless you're used to working on these instruments (I've worked on a couple dozen old tiples, now, of all stripes), they have quirks that are not obvious to folks who mostly work on guitars.
For those not in the know -- a tiple is a ukulele-family instrument that's the same size as a tenor ukulele but strung with 10 steel strings. It's traditionally tuned ADF#B low to high with octaves on the lower 3 courses, but these days we all mostly tune it to "normal" uke GCEA. They sound like pocket 12-string guitars... sort-of. I find them best-used either as simple strummers or (better yet) crosspicked with a flatpick (chordally) or fingerpicked with metal picks. You can hear in the video clip that this has a clean, fairly loud, sweet tonality to it -- with plenty of ring.
Work included: a fret level/dress, side dots install, recut of the new nut, fill of the incorrectly located saddle slot, new saddle slot cut, compensation and adjustment of the bone saddle, neck bolt install (for extra luck -- the neck angle was perfect, but I hadn't reset it personally), mild cleaning, fill/seal to a couple of not-even-through hairline cracks (one on top upper bout, one on back lower), and a setup. The neck is straight and it plays with 1/16" overall action at the 12th fret -- bang-on. String gauges are light so one can tune it GCEA or ADF#B with no worries: 10/22w, 16/30w/16, 13/26w/13, 9/9 low to high.
Scale length: 16 3/4"
Nut width: 1 1/2"
String spacing at nut: 1 3/8"
String spacing at bridge: 1 15/16"
Body length: 12"
Lower bout width: 9"
Upper bout width: 6 5/8"
Side depth at endpin: 3 1/8"
Top wood: solid mahogany
Back/sides wood: solid mahogany
Bracing type: ladder
Fretboard: ebonized maple
Bridge: ebonized maple
Neck feel: medium-big V, flat board
Condition notes: two minor hairline cracks repaired, non-original nut and saddle (but otherwise original throughout), and minor scuffs and scratches here and there (but otherwise quite clean).
If you look carefully at the saddle, you can see that I've compensated it for each individual string. That helps with intonation up the neck, but what helps even more is finger control -- if you're not careful, it can be pretty easy to bend strings out of tune from one another if you're a neck-strangler.
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