1890s Joseph Bohmann 0-Size Parlor Guitar

Update November 2020: This guitar is available again (its owner has enjoyed it but needs a narrow, '60s-style neck for her hands) and is exactly as found in this listing except that it now has a K&K pickup installed with a jack at the endpin. Back to the original post info...

Those who read the blog regularly will know I've now worked on a good number of old Bohmann guitars. The double-x-bracing design they almost always feature is my favorite bracing pattern for steel strings and so I'm excited whenever any of these turn-up in the workshop. This one is rather plain on the eye but that's deceptive because it sounds glorious, feels great, and has some quite nice rosewood on the back and sides. It's also mostly original, though the bridge is a replacement and so are the pins.

It's just a hair under "official" 0-size at 13" on the lower bout but it sounds like a larger guitar. That double-x Bohmann bracing is light (but stiff), and so it gives the guitar an outsized bottom-end despite light stringing (46w-10) and responds a bit more like a '40s or '50s 0-18 (excellent for flatpicking, sparkly and sweet for fingerpicking) rather than a more-typical period guitar which would tend to sound midsy, a little ringy, and less-woody. The 12-fret joint gives it a bit more oomph, though, and a roundness to the sound (especially in the mids).

The feel is very different from your average period guitar, too. Bohmanns (like this one) tend to feature a fairly steep radius on the fretboard and slimmer (front-to-back), C-shaped neck profiles and wide nut widths. This feels way more modern than most anything made at the same time that this was and is a welcome touch.

Repairs included: a neck reset, install of a carbon fiber reinforcement rod in the neck, fretboard reglue, repair to chipped-out sections of the fretboard and lifting frets, fret level/dress, side dots install, new compensated saddle install, cleaning, new bridge pins (ebony), and a setup.

Setup notes: action is bang-on at 3/32" bass and 1/16" treble at the 12th fret. The neck is straight and strings are gauges 46w-10. That's the heaviest I suggest on these due to the neck's light cut, but the guitar's top can definitely take 11s if you want to chance it. It sounds great with 10s, however, and quite full. Small update here: it's been wearing 11s for months now and the neck and body are in good order.

Scale length: 25"

Nut width: 1 7/8"

String spacing at nut: 1 5/8"

String spacing at bridge: 2 1/4"

Body length: 19"

Lower bout width: 13"

Waist width: 8"

Upper bout width: 9 3/4"

Side depth at endpin: 3 3/4"

Top wood: solid spruce

Back/sides wood: solid Brazilian rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Bracing type: double-x

Fretboard: ebonized maple, bone nut

Bridge: replacement rosewood, plastic saddle (for warmth)

Neck feel: slim C-shape, ~10" board radius, smaller/lower frets

Condition notes: the bridge is a replacement and so are the pins, though everything else is original to the guitar. The original tuners are in good order. There are a couple of old repairs to hairline cracks on the top and they're all in good order, too. There's plenty of usewear/handling-wear throughout the guitar with small scratches, nicks, dings, and whatnot throughout. Check the pics! The back and sides are crack-free. The fretboard has some old chipout that's been filled in a few areas -- fret 9 is particularly beat -- and a couple of small filled holes as well as usual fnger-wear.

It comes with: a '60s-era chip case in decent shape.