1940s Regal-made A. Rogers No 1 Electrified Archtop Guitar
Update 2024: I sold this back in 2021 and the fella who owns it hasn't been using it much (he's more of a solidbody guy) and so it's back here for sale. The tailpiece had one of its "arms" snap at the end and so I modified it by bending the ends of the "arms" around the tailpiece mount to make it useful again. I took new photos to show that, but otherwise the guitar arrived just the same as when it left. Now back to the description...
This old Regal-built archtop is a heck of a looker and plays great as well, though it's got a bigger C-shaped neck profile. It's clean, all-original save '50s/'60s tuners, has its original case, and is fairly lightweight for its size, too. It even has the nice-looking "fiddle edges" ribbed edging below the binding that Regal usually reserved for fancy, carved-top models.
Despite its bling, however, the body is actually all-ply and so the guitar itself actually sounds acoustically more like a cheap, thin-sounding, late-'40s Kay archtop rather than what I usually expect from a Regal. It's a more-compressed, midsy sound with low volume as compared to their carved models (which sound just as good as Gibsons) or their pressed-solid models (which are choppy but have a good chunk like your average Harmony archtops). It's got a big body with a lower-bout just under 17" and deeper sides than normal for an archtop.
Anyhow, I decided to electrify the guitar with a Charlie Christian-style pickup. It turned it from a gorgeous-looking but lackluster acoustic into a perfect old-style electric jazzbox. The pickup itself is a Korean-made (probably by Artec), high-quality unit. These are sold under the "Premium" brand on Reverb. It's got a pair of Alnico II magnets (in P90 fashion) alongside the typical CC-style bar pole that's wrapped roughly similar to the originals. The best bit is that it sounds really close to the real thing. It's clean, clear, open, has decent output, and when hit with a bit more drive from the amp it has that lovely slur that you hear on countless old CC recordings.
Strings are 50w-11 D'Addario Chromes (flatwounds) with a wound G. It can take heavier but I why work hard? What's nice is that because it's also acoustic, if you jam with folks in a quieter environment you could chug along with chords acoustically and then just snap the pickup on with an A/B or on/off pedal for lead or fill work.
Repairs included: neck reset, fret level/dress, bridge saddle reinforcement, pickup and wiring harness install, setup.
- Made by: Regal
- Model: A. Rogers branding, Model No 1
- Made in: Chicago, IL, USA
- Top wood: ply spruce
- Back & sides wood: ply maple
- Bracing type: tonebar
- Bridge: rosewood
- Fretboard: rosewood
- Neck wood: mahogany
- Tone: midsy, punchy, clean
- Suitable for: big-band chord chomp, old-time fiddle backup, vintage popular, blues
- Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (and adjustable)
- String gauges: 50w-11 or close to it D'Addario Chromes flatwound
- Neck shape: medium-bigger C
- Board radius: ~10-12"
- Truss rod: N/A
- Neck relief: straight
- Fret style: medium-big
- Scale length: 25 3/8"
- Nut width: 1 3/4"
- String spacing at nut: 1 1/2"
- String spacing at bridge: 2 1/4"
- Body length: 20 1/2"
- Body width: 16 7/8"
- Body depth: 4"
- Weight: 5 lb 9 oz
Condition notes: it's all-original save for slightly-later '50s/'60s-era tuners and, of course, the wiring harness and pickup. The pickup's mount hole is not as perfect as I'd like but it looks authentic, anyhow. I did have to cut through the tonebars to fit it, but the guitar itself is overbuilt in the top and that poses no structural issues setup this way (update: three years later it hasn't budged a bit). There are no cracks. The finish shows plenty of weather-check throughout but that's normal for an old guitar. The rear of the headstock shows finish "graining-up" around the center-seam, but it's just visual. The tuners have a number of bent shafts for the knobs but they all work alright.
It comes with: a '50s/'60s Guild hard case, worn but in good order.
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