1930s Regal Spruce/Birch Tenor Guitar

I worked on this "size 5" tenor guitar for its owner last year and when he brought it in just recently for resale, it was still playing as perfectly on-the-dot as it was when it left the shop before. I just needed to restring it.

These 12-fret, tailpiece-style tenor guitars were made by Regal from the early '20s through around '40 but this one dates from close to '30 judging by its inlaid celluloid headstock medallion. I've worked on a lot of these instruments and this one fits the mold just as I'd expect -- it has a lot of punch, excellent volume, and great "snap" to its sound.

I think these are best used for CGDA or DGBE tuning (I have it tuned to standard CGDA at the moment), but the owner was using it in GDAE tuning and it was holding-up volume-wise in that just as well, too. The lightweight build lets it have enough low-end and warmth to satisfy despite the mids-forward sound of a tailpiece and floating-bridge setup.

The new "aged" Gotoh 4:1 geared banjo pegs used at the headstock are a vast improvement over the original friction pegs this had to begin with.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, side dots install, Gotoh tuners install, cleaning, and setup.

Weight: 1 lb 14 oz

Scale length: 21"

Nut width: 1 1/4"

Neck shape: medium V

Board radius: flat

Body width: 10 3/8"

Body depth: 3 1/8"

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid birch

Bracing type: ladder

Bridge: ebony/maple banjo-style

Fretboard: ebonized maple

Neck wood: poplar

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16” overall (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 34w, 22w, 13, 9 for CGDA tuning

Truss rod: none

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium/narrower

Condition notes: there's one small repaired hairline crack on the back but it's otherwise crack-free. The nut, tuners, bridge, and strap buttons are all replacements but it is otherwise original throughout. The top finish has a ton of pickwear but the rest of the finish has only scattered mixed nicks and scratches here and there. The side dots are unoriginal.

It comes with: a simple gigbag.