1930s Richter-made Hawaiian-stencil Parlor Guitar
Hoo, boy. This guitar has been in the racks awaiting repair for years, now. Its consignor/owner sends enough stuff my way that it just kept getting shuffled to the back. He wanted to try it out to see if it'd make a good bluesbox for him, though, so I did the work to get it ready for him. He's into small, modern guitar necks so I sort-of rolled my eyes to myself, knowing it wouldn't work for him... and it didn't! So... someone else will get to enjoy this cute little somethin'!
It's got an all-solid-birch body, ladder-bracing, a poplar neck, and ebonized (maple? pearwood?) fretboard -- so it's basically par for the course in the realm of entry-level parlor-sized guitars of the '20s and '30s. It does sound bluesy/rootsy and makes a great fingerpicking box with a plainspoken, woody voice. While I'd initially set it up for slide, I adjusted the saddle back down for "normal" playing and so it plays bang-on as well.
The top is cut a little thinner than its competitors' birch-top instruments and so it has a bit more articulation/volume with the extra-light 46w-10 gauges it needs to keep its neck happy at standard tuning.
Repairs included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, side dots install, replacement rosewood bridge (belly-style to keep the top stable), minor seam repairs, minor brace reglues, new StewMac Golden Age repro tuners, replacement pins throughout, and setup. It does have very minor old hairline crack repairs (tight) on the top-lower-bout and back-lower-bout at the edge.
Setup notes: the neck is straight and it plays with spot-on 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE action height at the 12th fret. String gauges are 46w-10 (what I suggest at max). There's plenty of saddle for later action adjustments up/down.
Nut width: 1 13/16"
String spacing at nut: 1 5/8"
String spacing at bridge: 2 1/8"
Body length: 18"
Lower bout width: 13 1/4"
Side depth at endpin: 3 3/4"
Top wood: solid birch
Back & sides wood: solid birch
Bracing type: ladder
Fretboard: ebonized maple/pearwood?
Bridge: rosewood
Neck feel: medium-big C/V-shape, flat board
Neck wood: poplar
Weight: 3 lb 1 oz
Condition notes: there's some general usewear throughout (scratches, small nicks, finish wear and tear) and it has a replacement bridge, replacement tuners, replacement saddle, and replacement pins. There's some mucky finish (like it's been top-coated) right in front of the bridge on the top as well as a few pinprick-size tiny holes in the same location. I took a photo in glare to show it better.
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