1920s Oscar Schmidt First Hawaiian Conservatory of Music Parlor Guitar (#1)

Overview: I worked on this some time back and, suffice to say, all the repairs were holding-up just fine and it was ready to go with just a little cleaning and new strings when it got back here for resale. This is one of those "First Hawaiian Conservatory of Music" parlor guitars that Oscar Schmidt made in the '20s and is comparable in build and style to a same-style Stella model from the time. Blind Willie Johnson, among others, has made the model famous among country-blues enthusiasts. These guitars do have that sound!

Tone: It's woody, chunky, direct, and has decent bass for its size (as compared to lots of other ladder-braced makes from the same era).

Feel: It's got a big-old V-shaped neck and flat fretboard.

Interesting features: The finish on this particular FHCM guitar is in much better shape than many others and it has a nice, glowing, transparent-red look to it with a lot of "leathering" to the finish texture. I like. These guitars often have natural maple-colored strips down the center of their fretboards (as seen here) from where "learner's stickers" were taken off. These were intended as Hawaiian slide guitars when made and had a sheet glued to the board noting every note at every fret position when they were new.

Repairs included: Previously it got a neck reset, fret level/dress, replacement bridge, replacement saddle and nut, and setup work done. It's still playing spot-on and is ready to go.

• Weight: 3 lbs 0 oz
• Scale length: 24 7/8"
• Nut width: 1 7/8"
• Neck shape: big V
• Board radius: flat
• Body width: 13 1/4"
• Body depth: 3 5/8"
• Top wood: solid birch
• Back & sides wood: solid birch
• Bracing type: ladder
• Bridge: replacement rosewood pyramid
• Fretboard: maple
• Neck wood: poplar
• Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 50w-11
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium/narrow/lower

Condition notes: The bridge, nut, and saddle are new. It has weather-check/leathering to the finish throughout. The bridge pins are originals. There's a filled hole on the back of the heel (from an oversize strap button) and a patch of worn-off/mucked-up finish on the center of the back. The guitar shows light to medium wear and tear from handling and use throughout. The fretboard extension dips away and down from the rest of the neck just a hair over the body (opposite of ski jump).

It comes with: It's got a nice hard case!

Consignor tag: GRY