1920s Stromberg-Voisinet (Kay) 2-Point Celluloid-Wrapped Parlor Guitar

Tone: It's got a dry, woody, almost percussive sound to it. These "bark out" and forward when played with a heavy-hand and pretty-up and sound sweet and "rustic" when fingerpicked with a lighter touch.

Feel: It has a short scale length (relaxed string feel) and wider nut width. The neck is a bigger V-shape and the board is flat. The compact body, of course, makes it cozy for couch-sitting players.

Interesting features: I've worked on a few of these old Stromberg-Voisinet (later, Kay) 0-size, 2-point guitars, but this is the first one I've handled with the celluloid-wrapped back and sides. For fun, click here to see a similar guitar and click here to see another similar guitar. So far, this one is my favorite. It has an outrageous amount of grey-green celluloid material, a pinstripe down the center seam of the top, and a fancy, 3-ring rosette. I like! The top is solid spruce and the back and sides are solid birch. It has a poplar neck and ebonized-maple bridge with maple fretboard under the celluloid veneer. 

Repairs included: It needed the usual stuff -- a neck reset, bridge reglue, brace reglues to the back, seam and corner repairs, a level/dress of the frets, new bone saddle, minor bridge modification, cleaning, and setup work. I also had to replace a few missing tuner parts. Post-work it's a spot-on player and has a woody, chunky, boxy sound that's decent flatpicked but really shines when fingerpicked.

• Maker: Stromberg-Voisinet (Kay)
• Model: unknown
• Body style: 2-point (KayKraft-looking)
• Weight: 3 lbs 5 oz
• Scale length: 24 3/8"
• Nut width: 1 3/4"
• Neck shape: medium-bigger V
• Board radius: flat
• Body width: 13 1/4"
• Body depth: 3 1/2"
• Top wood: solid spruce
• Back & sides wood: solid birch (w/covering)
• Bracing type: ladder
• Bridge: unsure
• Fretboard: maple (w/covering)
• Neck wood: poplar
• Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 52w, 40w, 30w, 22w, 16, 12
• Truss rod: none
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: narrow/lower

Condition notes: It's all-original save for a few tuner parts and a new saddle. It's also in good order throughout with no cracks as far as I can see. There's general usewear throughout (small scratches, scuffs, etc.) and the finish has "yellowed" as it's aged. The binding is not 100% perfect (it has tiny little missing parts at the corners where it has shrunken). The bridge has a little finish blem around its edges (very minor). The bridge also has a very thin-depth dryness crack along the pinholes (it's stable -- has not moved since I first saw the guitar ages ago -- and I've drop-filled it anyhow). I also shaved the top deck of the bridge just lightly to get better purchase and seating for the new bone saddle. Said saddle uses the same, original, through-cut slot.

It comes with: It's not pictured but it has an old chipboard case.

Consignor tag: PK