1920s Hawaiian Teachers of Hollywood Electrified Hawaiian Guitar

Tone: Acoustically it's a bit boxy and sing-songy but useful in a mids-forward sort-of way. Through the soundhole pickup it's clean and balanced with a nice sing-song high sound and good body sensitivity. It's exactly what you might think it would be... like a lap steel sound but with more "body" to it. It's a low-output pickup but could be shimmed-up to get closer to the strings to get more oomph out of it. I do like it a little farther away, though, so picking and the bar don't smack into it.

Feel: It feels like playing any Weissenborn-style guitar but on the smaller side -- nice and cozy if you're a lap steel or Hawaiian player as the hollow neck sits on the body so much better than a "normal guitar but setup for Hawaiian." The string spacing is generous, too, so it's easy to hit individual notes with the bar.

Interesting features: The decorative touches on this guy are superb -- it has excellent stenciling/two-tone finishing throughout and nice painted touches at the soundhole and whatnot. The double-reverse sunburst look is pretty hip, too. I strung it and tuned it just like what's described on the fretboard markers for the notes used -- EAEAC#E low to high. This is like open G tuning on guitar but up a full step to A, making it what folks used to call "low bass A tuning" for Hawaiian guitar.

Repairs included: I reglued the bridge, fit period normal-style guitar tuners (I had to recess the posts in the headstock to be able to fit them -- this originally had autoharp-style pins for tuning -- ugh!), fit the pickup and wired it with a ground at the bridge (necessary) and endpin-style jack, adjusted the nut and saddle and string ramps, and set it up. It plays like a champ.

• Maker: unsure -- possibly Richter in Chicago?
• Model: student Hawaiian guitar
• Body style: Weissenborn-like but tenor-scale
• Weight: 2 lbs 12 oz
• Scale length: 21 1/4"
• Nut width: 1 3/4"
• Neck shape: hollow
• Board radius: flat
• Body width: 11 3/4"
• Body depth: 2 7/8"
• Top wood: ply birch
• Back & sides wood: ply birch
• Bracing type: ladder
• Bridge: not sure, stained something
• Fretboard: probably maple or birch w/sticker
• Neck wood: poplar
• Action height at 12th fret: N/A
• String gauges: 54w-12 or similar (flatwound)
• Truss rod: none
• Neck relief: N/A
• Fret style: N/A

Condition notes: It arrived completely original. I was thinking of letting it stay that way but then it would just wind-up as a wall-hanging, eventually, as the original tuners (autoharp-style friction pins) are never a fun thing to use and the normal "acoustic" tone is fun for practicing but not something you would want to realistically jam with other folks on. As a plugged-in, electrified Hawaiian, it turns the lap-steel-like scale length and smaller body into strengths that someone gigging or recording might want to use. Anyhow, modifications include fitting different tuners (period ones), new bridge pins and string ramps at the bridge, a pickup and wiring harness fit, and reprofiling of the nut to give more accurate string spread. It's overall quite clean but does show minor scratches here and there throughout. Also, I had to drill-out the face of the peghead to allow the strings to get to the tuner shafts. The headstock is so thick that this was really the only logical/efficient way to make it happen.

It comes with: Sorry, no case.

Consignor tag: AR