1920s Mendel's (Oscar Schmidt)Hawaiian Tenor Guitar

Update 2025: This was sold in 2024 but then came back in trade. It's still in the same great shape and is ready to go... now back to the original listing info...

Tone: It's got a sweet, woody, sing-song sound. Clearly, this is intended for slide (Hawaiian-style) play only.

Feel: The nut width is fairly narrow and that's the only drawback for me as a casual player. Spacing at the bridge is normal. As you might expect, it's a little guy so if you're not used to reduced scale lengths or the upper reaches of lap steel positions, accurate intonation may be harder for you.

Interesting features: It's got a solid mahogany body with a nice, glossy finish and simple but classy appointments. It's ladder-braced and while the top shows a little distortion tuned to pitch, it's holding-up just fine. I love the staggered bridge pin locations on the bridge! It's neat. The "learner's notes" on the fingerboard are useful and also dictate the "low bass D" open tuning it's strung-up with. That's like open G tuning for guitar but 7 frets up from normal pitch. I'm pretty sure that this instrument was made by Oscar Schmidt for the brand.

Repairs included: I reglued 3 braces on the top and a couple of loose brace ends on the back, filled a couple of very tight hairline cracks on the top and back, added bridge pins, and adjusted it a bit. It plays nicely and is ready to go.

• Maker: I'm pretty sure Oscar Schmidt built this
• Model: Mendel's Hawaiian "tenor" guitar (short scale, higher pitch)
• Body style: tenor ukulele size
• Weight: 1 lb 8 oz
• Scale length: 17 1/2"
• Nut width: 1 1/2" effective
• Neck shape: D
• Board radius: flat
• Body width: 9 1/8"
• Body depth: 2 1/8"
• Top wood: sold mahogany
• Back & sides wood: solid mahogany
• Bracing type: ladder
• Bridge: rosewood
• Fretboard: unknown
• Neck wood: mahogany (or Spanish cedar)
• Action height at 12th fret: N/A
• String gauges: 48w, 36w, 26w, 17, 13, 10 or close to it
• Truss rod: none
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: none

Condition notes: It's quite clean and almost entirely original -- the bridge pins are the exception. There are a couple of repaired hairline cracks (one on top, one on back) but both are very tight and non-obvious (can't even photo them). The top distorts a little under tension (as you would expect for light ladder-bracing) but is holding steady. The finish shows minor scuffs and scratches from normal use but all are low-key. The finish also has light weather-checking throughout but is nice and glossy, still.

It comes with: Sorry, no case.

Consignor tag: JFWE