1870s Unmarked German Parlor Guitar

Above: instrument clip

Above: tuners detail

Isn't this a beaut? It's a well-loved, 1870s-era, probably German-origin (or made by German immigrants) guitar. Originally this would have had a different pin-style bridge and been intended for gut/nylon strings, though someone worked on it in the past and strung it with extra-light steel. It's been that way for some time and has perfectly happy with running 46w-10 steel (it had 11s on it when it arrived and was not complaining), so I decided to let it stay that way after repairs as it sounds nice with them, too.

Unlike a lot of these guitars, the back and sides are solid flamed maple rather than the veneered spruce or pine that I often see on German instruments. It has a solid spruce top, of course, is ladder-braced, and haas a short, 24 3/8" scale length. The neck is comfortable and almost modern, in its way. It has a bright, sweet, woody, tone that works beautifully for fingerpicking but is pretty dang respectable with a flatpick in hand.

Work here was light but, suffice to say, it plays perfectly now that it's done-up. It's clearly been played-in like crazy and has vast amounts of pickwear, usewear, and storage-related nicks and dings and scratches. I love it! You can't fake that amount of loveliness. It also has a neat feature at the headstock -- peculiar patent tuners that allow you to "pull out" the shaft away from the gear so you can turn your pegs quickly when restringing and then "lock them in" back to the gear to tune-up as normal. It's a nice adaptation and I did a quick video to demonstrate it.

Repairs included: fret seating and level/dress, side dots added, saddle adjustments, cleats and sealing for all top cracks, cleaning, setup.

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid flamed maple

Bracing type: ladder

Bridge: ebony (replacement, but nice)

Fretboard: ebony

Neck wood: probably maple (stained black)

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 46w-10 extra light steel (use no heavier)

Neck shape: medium C w/very softest V

Board radius: flat

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: narrow/low

Scale length: 24 3/8"

Nut width: 1 3/4"

Body width: 11 1/4"

Body depth: 3 5/8"

Weight: 2 lbs 3 oz

Condition notes: it has 4 or 5 repaired hairline cracks on the top but otherwise does not appear to have any other cracks. It's completely original except for a replacement ebony pyramid bridge, bone saddle, and ebony endpin and bridge pins. There are tons of small scratches, nicks, dings, etc. throughout and a lot of pickwear on the top. The headstock has a repaired break near the nut area (stable, well-done) and a repaired seam/crack in the heel (stable). It's in good shape, though, and the last repairman must have done a good job with the neck reset because it's right on target.

It comes with: an oversized hard case (not pictured).