1928 Weymann Style 750 0-Size Guitar

Philadelphia-made Weymann guitars barely ever show up. Jimmie Rodgers is the most famous player who used them -- he had his own style a pay-grade or two above this one, though this Style 750 does a really good job playing that style of music. It's got bark, snap, lots of volume, and a clear, driving tone that carries the harder you hit it. Not a lot of ladder-braced guitars can do that -- they compress when you lean-into them rather than push out.

It's basically like a Weymann take on a period Martin 0-18, as it's an 0-size, 12-fret instrument with a spruce top and mahogany back and sides. It's got a big old neck with a 1 7/8" nut width and a wide string stance as it approaches the fretboard extension -- a fingerpicker's dream.

As you might expect for a Weymann product, it's beautifully-made and accurate in all of its details. Weymanns are peculiar and sturdy in their construction, though they're lightly-built and put out a lot of sound. They just have that resolute, Martin-like build quality to them. It's hard to describe.

Previously, a good repairman gave this a neck reset and a refret job plus a set of repro-style, aged StewMac tuners. I'm sure the originals were no longer up to battle. I gave it a bit more love and now it's playing spot-on.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, reposition of the saddle for better compensation, minor cleaning, and a setup.

Setup notes: the neck is straight, the action is low and quick at 3/32" bass and 1/16" treble, and it's good to go. There's a small amount of saddle height left but the guitar has remained stable in service and saddles were low from the factory in the days these were made across all makers. The last guy must have reset it to the original saddle height.

Scale length: 24 7/8"

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 3/4"

Side depth at endpin: 4"

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: ladder

Fretboard: ebony

Bridge: rosewood

Neck feel: medium-bigger C/soft V shape, ~12" board radious

Neck wood: mahogany

Weight: 2 lb 15 oz

Condition notes: it's clean overall and all-original save the tuners and perhaps the bone saddle. That may be original, however. There is a chip-out to the (fiberloid?) binding on the upper-bout-back-edge but it's not hurting the guitar any. It's pictured. The finish, of course, has the usual weather-checking throughout and minor scratches here and there. There's some more-obvious weather-checking to the finish at one of the waist-side areas, but they're just finish cracks. There is a tiny little hairline next to the endpin holes on the sides, but I think it's just a dryness thing and the endblock covers it and the block itself is undamaged. I see that pretty often on old guitars.

It comes with: a funky old chip case that'll help in shipping or storage.