1880s German-made Unmarked 7-String "Russian" Parlor Guitar

Overview: Talk about a weirdo! 7-string guitars from this period were mostly used in Russia and in a strange open G tuning that adds an extra B, which is what you're hearing in the video -- DGBDGBD tuned low to high. This one was likely made in Germany and meant for export and use in Russia, but it's lost any identifiers it originally had so it's hard to say exactly what's going on. Regardless, it's an unusual, wonderful, and pretty little thing and with the extra string it could be strung and tuned in a variety of ways to suit modern tastes. It was a labor of love for Ancel to bring this one back from the dead and it was well worth it.


Repairs included: Ancel did a lot of surgery on this one. He repaired numerous top cracks, reset the neck angle (made a little easier via that adjustable neck bolt but still requiring shims), leveled/dressed the frets and did a lot of tweaking on their seating and some repairs to the damaged fretboard extension, repaired some seams and loose bracing, reglued the bridge, and did a phenomenal job making the original bridge work as it should by extending it to the front nearly 1/2" with new material to get the saddle in the correct place for intonation and then matching his work to the vibe of the instrument. I did a little cosmetic work on the top edge. It's playing spot-on and ready to go!

  • Weight: 3 lbs 2 oz
  • Scale length: 23 3/4"
  • Nut width: 1 3/4"
  • Neck shape: slim to medium C
  • Board radius: flat
  • Depth at first fret: 51/64"
  • Depth at seventh fret: 55/64"
  • Body width: 13"
  • Body depth: 2 3/4"
  • Top wood: solid spruce
  • Back & sides wood: mahogany sides, ply mahogany-veneered back
  • Bracing type: ladder
  • Bridge: ebony
  • Fretboard: ebony
  • Neck wood: mahogany
  • Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” overall (fast, spot-on)
  • String gauges: normal-tension classical, tuning: DGBDGBD low to high
  • Truss rod: none
  • Neck relief: straight
  • Fret style: low/medium

Condition notes: It has numerous cracks to the top which are repaired. There are scratches, scuffs, nicks, dings, and finish damage all over the instrument. The back is a later replacement (1920s? 1930s?) with mahogany veneer. The bridge is heavily-modified as the original saddle placement was off over 1/4" when it arrived. The saddle, bridge pins, and nut are new. It has a cobbled mix of tuners from around 1920 or so -- I expect from when the back was put on.


It comes with: I may have a chip case upstairs to include with it.


Consignor tag: BRDY





















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Nick R said…
The firm Zimmerman (which still exists) was founded in St Petersburg, Russia, in 1876 "as a music store by a German, Julius Heinrich Zimmermann (1851-1923). Soon musical instrument manufacturing and publishing were added." I have seen it suggested that 7 string guitars were bought by the firm from makers in Saxony in the early 20th century but this guitar predates that time. Obviously, as it is an unknown maker it may well be German in origin but there's a chance it may have come from the Zimmerman firm's Russian workshop. I have seen examples made there and they appear to be very "German" in appearance. The workshops were appropriated by the new Soviet Regime in 1919 and the firm morphed to survive the various historical troubles subsequently but survives to this day in Germany.
October 16, 2025 at 4:24 PM
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