Vintage guitars...

I'm a big fan of prewar Martins- they seem to have a huge headroom retain geat responsiveness. The usual issues such as refinishing and repairs are of course present, so you will have to choose vintage pieces very carefully. Here are some great vintage guitars I've had recently:

1936 OOO28H custom

This OOO28H is 1 of 2 custom orders from 1936. Originally made for hawaiian style, it has been masterfully converted for spanish style playing by TJ Thompson who also did the restoration work which included replacing the bridge and repairing several top and back cracks. It looks great externally and is a great sounding and playing guitar.



Unusually, it has an original solid headstock and has the longer 'orchestra' scale length. Of note, the Brazilian rosewood is high grade, and shows the saw marks from the old circular saws used during that era to resaw back and sides. The adirondack top is tight grained, and shows the usual 2 color tone difference from the heart and sap wood of the spruce tree.

It's a real treat to have this one in, especially at the same time as the 1910 OOO28 which incidentally is also a long scale length, 12 fret solid headstock guitar. This guitar I sold to a customer in the US but you can find more pictures and detailed specifications here, or by clicking on the pictures above.

1910 OOO28

This grand old lady is the 4th OOO28 ever built with the longer 25.4" scale length making it the earliest recorded on a OOO model. Of note, it was the only OOO built in 1910 and is a rare example of a solid headstock on a 12fret OOO... the other being the 1936 OOO28H above!

There are a few differences between this and the later models:

• Herringbone purfling is smaller & finer than later models
• Genuine Ivory used for the purfling is all intact, original
• The body shape itself is different; the upper bout is slimmer than later models

I suspect this is a custom order, being the only OOO built that year. The solid headstock and the heavier bracing on the X bracing adding more weight to that suspicion. Additionally, the Brazilian rosewood on the back and sides is of a higher grade than seen on other -28 models from that era, displaying tight grain and attractive spiderwebbing.

John Greven did some restoration on the guitar which included some cosmetic resealing of the back and top cracks. He replaced the non-original tuners with waverlies, instead of reverting to friction pegs and took off the overspray on the top. He then painstakingly touched up the original French Polish and the result is a guitar which looks great and is as original as we hope.

The advanced X braced top with shallow scalloping coupled with belly bridge, this guitar has handled steel strings for at least the past few decades with no evidence of bridge belly or neck warp- it is very playable and sounds incredible.

Again, I regret to inform you that this guitar is currently on hold for someone but you can find more pictures and detailed specifications here, or by clicking on the pictures above.

1934 Epiphone Navarre

This guitar is Epiphone's version of the Gibson Roy Smeck model and is a rare bird. Only an estimated 20 guitars were built over a period of 15-20 years. The Epiphone guidebooks consider all Navarres from this year to be Hawaiian, but this is the exception to the rule, having a factory original Spanish setup.

Of note, drring a previous back crack repair the repairman cut down the label for access the crack to cleat it. The remaining portion of the label proudly states this is a Navarre and the serial number. Also original are the Tuners, which have retained their original white buttons and even more amazing work very well. Usually, the synthetic white buttons and bindings crumble or 'rot', but not on this instrument.

The sound is fantastic. John Greven who sealed some cracks and performed a neck reset on this guitar, proclaimed to be one of the loudest guitars he'd played. Indeed, despite the fact it is straight braced, the bass notes run thick and sweet and the treble has a great cut and chop.

I am selling this one and it is still available. Please click here or on the pictures where you can find more pictures and detailed specifications.



Well, that's it for this post. I hope you enjoyed the quick run down of some of the recent vintage guitars I've encountered. Any questions, gripes and comments are gratefully received.

Terence.