1960s United-made Tenor Guitar Conversion

While unbranded, this instrument was built by United in New Jersey. These can be found under all sorts of brand names and, technically, they're baritone ukuleles. The models from the '50s are a little lighter-built and sound good with nylon strings but these '60s ones tend to be pretty stiffly-built and so I like to convert them into steel-string tenor guitars as they're more interesting in this capacity and handle the slight extra tension just fine.

The body is solid mahogany throughout and the fretboard and bridge are rosewood. The finish is satin in a Favilla-like way and these have wider, chunkier necks. This one has a nice, chimey, woody, autoharp-ish tone that works really well for chordal strumming or open-tuned zoning-out. It's folksy and fun, but not all that loud. I think it could stand to be strung a little heavier, though, as I only have 32w-9 strings on it for standard CGDA tuning at the moment.

Repairs included: neck reset, fret level/dress, side dots install, saddle reprofile/compensation, new (vintage) tuners, setup

Made by: United

Model: baritone ukulele (converted)

Made in: New Jersey, USA

Top wood: solid mahogany

Back & sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: ladder

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Tone: woody, chimey, folksy

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16” overall (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 32w, 20w, 13, 9 for CGDA tuning (could be tuned to DAEB as-is)

Neck shape: medium-bigger D

Board radius: flat

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: small-medium

Scale length: 18 7/8"

Nut width: 1 1/2"

Body length: 12 3/4"

Body width: 10"

Body depth: 3 1/8"

Weight: 1 lb 15 oz

Condition notes: it's crack-free but does have some scratching and wear and tear throughout. I removed the original friction pegs and fit some '60s vintage guitar tuners on it instead -- they work well and look appropriate. It's all-original otherwise, though I suspect that the strap button at the endblock was added later.