1931 Greenfield Style 2 Hawaiian (Lap Slide) Guitar

Above: a newer video (with replacement bridge)

Above: the older video (with earlier bridge)

Greenfield Hawaiian guitars (in this case, a Style 2 model) are collected in the same space that Knutsens and Weissenborns are and are usually closely-quartered with the other collecting habits of owners of such instruments -- folks into Larson Brothers guitars of the '20s and '30s and Martins of the same time. Why? Fanclub, of course! This is just a peculiarity I've noticed -- please don't feel judged for your good taste.

The Greenfields were a pair of brothers in Canada who moved from cabinet-making to guitar-making and whipped-up Hawaiian-style guitars in various styles. This version is the "hambone" type that's usually associated with them and is built -- in a fashion -- after the Knutsen and Weissenborn-style instruments. That means that it's got a hollow-neck build with a body that runs all the way up to the headstock. 

The bracing is different, though, under the hood -- this has a mix of tonebar and ladder-bracing compared to the always-changing, vaguely-x patterns used on Weissenborns and the sheer madness used on Knutsens. The result is similar, thoiugh -- this guy has that woody, sustaining, open, mids-forward sound that I've come to expect from this sort of instrument. It's just plain fun to play Hawaiian/slide-style on a guitar like this because they simply "sing" along with you. All that airspace despite the 0-size 13" lower bout... who can complain?

This instrument appears to be made from koa or Cuban mahogany at least for the top, though the back and sides look like typical mahogany to me. The fingerboard looks like it might be koa orsimilar, too, and I'll bet that all of the contrasting lighter binding and purfling is holly. Speaking of purfling, too -- it's gorgeous! The main strips are green and it has orange/black/yellow highlighted sections here and there that give it an elegant, arts-and-crafts-era sort-of look. I mean -- duh, it's a fantastic-looking instrument! Why wouldn't the trim be slick and folksy at the same time?

I've set it up for open D tuning with gauges 54w, 42w, 32w, 24w, 16, 12 in semi-flattened strings.

Now, a mild update for 2023: I originally sold this instrument back in 2022 but it came back for resale in late 2022 -- the new owner just wasn't using it as much as he thought he would. While it was sitting-out in the racks for sale, an old bunch of repairs gave way -- the bridge came up and the seam along one side gave-out. I repaired all that and replaced the old bridge (which had been modified anyway) with a bigger, more-practical shape inspired by the original but in a much better material -- Madagascar rosewood. It's been strung-up again for a few weeks (as of 5/25/23) and is good to go and able to handle heavier gauges now, too.

Repairs included: replacement bridge, seam repairs, adjustments.

Top wood: figured koa or cuban mahogany

Back & sides wood: mahogany

Bracing type: tonebars plus ladder

Bridge: Madagascar rosewood -- saddle is brass and so is the nut

Fretboard: unknown

Action height at 12th fret: n/a
String gauges: 54w-12 D'Addario nickel half-rounds

Neck shape: n/a (square)

Board radius: flat

Scale length: 25 1/8"

Nut width: 1 13/16" spacing at the nut, 2 5/8" at the saddle

Body width: 13"

Body depth: 2 5/8"

Weight: 3 lbs 3 oz (like a feather!)

Condition notes: it's in overall great shape but the tuners are (older, vintage) replacements and the big brass nut might be as well. The top bellies a bit behind the bridge but is stable. There was damage to the top under the bridge but I've repaired it and cleaned it up. An earlier repairman had put an additional patch behind the bridge plate as well.

It comes with: an older '60s hard case that fits it alright.