1920s Oscar Schmidt FHCM Parlor Guitar (#2)

Overview: This is a "First Hawaiian Conservatory of Music" parlor guitar made by Oscar Schmidt of Stella and Sovereign fame. It's a nice little country-blues machine and this model is popular among Schmidt fans because Blind Willie Johnson was photographed with one. It does the ladder-braced, blues-fingerpicker thing just like you'd expect it to.

Tone: It's woody, chunky, and mellow-sounding for a ladder-braced, small body guitar of the time. It does have some good cut when dug-into but I like the way Schmidts sound a little more like x-bracing than your average ladder-braced guy.

Feel: The neck is bigger, V-shaped, and has a flat board. If you don't like big necks, don't even think about it.

Interesting features: Almost all of these old FHCM models sold as Hawaiian-style guitars with an extender nut fit and pasted-on "learner's stickers" all over the fretboard that remove the ebonization on the board when they're taken-up and so leave a "skunk stripe" down the board. This one was, apparently, sold without learner's stickers and it's the first one I've had in the shop like this. Neat! It also still has its original bridge in place, though we had to flatten its top and move the saddle slot so it could be compensated at the saddle properly. 

Repairs included: It previously had a neck reset and between us in the shop it got a bridge shave/flattening, recut/new saddle slot, new bone saddle, level/dress of the frets, side dots, and setup work. It's playing spot-on and ready to go.

• Weight: 3 lbs 2 oz
• Scale length: 24 7/8"
• Nut width: 1 7/8"
• Neck shape: medium-big V
• Board radius: flat
• Body width: 13 3/8"
• Body depth: 3 1/2"
• Top wood: solid birch
• Back & sides wood: solid birch
• Bracing type: ladder
• Bridge: rosewood
• Fretboard: ebonized maple
• Neck wood: poplar
• Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 52w-11
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium/low

Condition notes: While I'm not finding any cracks (except for a tiny, sealed hairline one at the back below the heel), the finish does have wear and tear via weather-checking, small nicks and dings, scratching, rubbing at the edges, etc. throughout. There's also an unfilled hole at the heel cap area from where a strap button was fit.

It comes with: This guy has a nice, newer hard case.

Consignor tag: GRY