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1918 Gibson L-3
Serial # 41218. With its rich red sunburst finish, ivoroid accents, engraved Waverly tuners, carved bridge and celluloid tailpiece, this small Gibson archtop speaks to old-world craftsmanship and attention to detail. It's a princely guitar, with handsome appointments. Completely original and in excellent working order, a long lost pickguard and missing label are this guitar's only real flaws. No cracks, scrapes, or bruises to discuss on this one, but there is some light playwear on the top near the soundhole. Light to moderate wear to the original frets, light finish wear on the back of the neck. Original bridge and tailpiece are in excellent condition, as are the tuners and nut. The V neck is large but quite playable, the fingerboard is true and shows proper relief, but there are a few buzzy bass notes in the middle part of the neck. Nicely set up with 5 to 7/64th action. Nut width of 1-13/16", short 24.2" scale. With its small body (about 13.75" wide), carved spruce and birch body and short scale 13 fret neck the guitar plays with a springy bounce. It's a fairly bright guitar, but still warmer than one would expect given its small size, especially with the right pick attack. Don't let the round-hole fool you, this one is archtop all the way!
With original hardshell case
US $2319
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NEW Oskar Graf 16" Koa Archtop
World class luthier Oskar Graf has been building string instruments one at a time for the last 40 years. His guitars are continually the finest we encounter, both in craftsmanship and tone, and we are especially honored to present his latest Archtop for sale here at Folkway. Please visit www.grafguitars.com to learn more about Oskar.
This 16” cut-away beauty is carved from highly figured Hawaiian Koa and master-grade Sitka spruce. Hand carved ebony bridge, tailpiece, and pickguard; matching curly Koa neck. Simple but tastefully appointed with mitered multiple purflings, multi-layered headstock overlays, brass-purfled headstock face, gold Schaller tuners, and pearl Graf logo. 25.2” scale, round C neck carve with a 1-3/4” bone nut. Hand polished high-gloss lacquer finish with a hint of amber tone. Kent Armstrong floating pickup, with pickguard mounted volume and tone controls. So much of the beauty of this guitar is in the details of Graf’s masterwork – the bevel to the F-holes edges, the shape of the cut away, the carve of the bridge and the brass string ground inlayed into the tailpiece. Every minute aspect of this guitar’s design has been carefully planned and executed by one of the finest craftsmen of our time.
With the guitar in hands, the first thing you’ll notice is how light the guitar feels. This light weight translates directly to warmth and resonance when the guitar is played, and this archtop has a fullness unique to this builder’s instuments. Single note runs thoroughly fill the space around the player, while chord melodies inspire a slower pace and a little extra time to listen to the music being created. But if blazingly fast arpeggios are your thing, Graf’s perfect fretwork and neck carve won’t slow you down at all. A remarkable guitar in so many ways, prepare to fall quickly in love with this masterpiece.
On consignment by the luthier
$14,995 Canadian Dollars
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1996 Heritage H-550 Lefty
Serial # M32804. Do not buy this guitar if you don’t like curly maple. And lots of it. The H-550 is a full-depth 17” archtop electric built entirely of highly figured maple. An attractive jazz box, with multi-ply bound body and pickguard, bound ebony fingerboard and headstock with nickel hardware and pearl accents. It is in excellent condition throughout and shows only light fretwear. Nicely set-up in shop.
With original hard shell case
US $1859
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1932 Kay Kraft Style B
Stromberg-Voisenet (Kay) introduced their Venetian body shape in the late 1920's, and offered the fancy archtop Kay Kraft versions between circa 1932 and 1937. With its curvy asymmetrical body, pearloid headstock, fancy gold decals and Cremona sunburst finish, the Kay Kraft looks like a million bucks - which was the magic ingredient to surviving the Great Depression; something that Kay did quite well. These guitars have a plunky lo-fi sweetness that lends itself well to old-time blues and figerpicked rags. Apart from the period-correct vintage replacement tuners this guitar is 100% original in excellent condition. Like every one of these we've ever seen, the ebonized maple fingerboard is cracked in a few places and the fretwork is not fabulous; but the guitar plays well after having been set up in our shop. Have a peek at the very cool original Bakelite bridge - it's got a compensated top on one side for Spanish style playing, and a straight top on the underside for lap-style!
With original case, strap.
US $1495 ON HOLD
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1922 Gibson Style O
Serial # 69926, FON 11633. Gibson’s Style O was originally designed as a Mandolin orchestra rhythm instrument, and the guitar’s looks definitely suit the role – with its scroll and body point, the Style O is quite reminiscent of a 20’s F-4. The highest-end guitar in Gibson’s catalog until the introduction of the Master Model L-5, this Style O was built right around the time the first L-5 guitars. And like the then-new L-5, this Style O features an adjustable truss rod, adjustable bridge, and metal tailpiece. This must be among the last of the Style O’s as the model was dropped from the Gibson catalog around the same time this one was built; however, examples from as late as 1925 exist.
But for a missing pickguard this Style O is completely original and intact. The left and right side tuners are not an exact match, but both sides are definitely original to the guitar. Just about every Style O we’ve ever encountered has a crack through the heel of the neck and adjacent sides, and this guitar is no exception. The crack is well repaired and stable. No other cracks, no repairs. Original pearl nut, frets, bridge, and tailpiece; good top arch, neck angle, and action. It’s a much more richly toned Style O than others we’ve met. Like many round-hole arch-tops, the voice is warm and focused in the mids. But there is a woodiness to this guitar that is not often found in archtops; the treble notes have a very round texture, and the basses are surprisingly expressive. It’s quite a lovely guitar to play, but expect a substantial neck with a thick carve (1.1” deep at the 1st fret) and a 1-7/8” nut.
With original hardshell case
US $5695 REDUCED
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1949 Gibson Super 400
Serial # A-3506, FON 3729. At 18” wide, the Super 400 is the largest guitar ever produced by Gibson. It was introduced in 1934 and redesigned in 1939, but few significant changes have since been made to the venerable Super Four. Introduced at a time when coaxing the most volume from an unamplified guitar was the foundation of new design, the Super 400 sold well despite is lofty price tag. Some of the most iconic Jazz recordings were cut on this model, and today – many decades later – the guitar remains one of the most sought-after archtop models in the vintage market.
This 1949 example is a wonderful sounding guitar in 100% original and unmodified condition. Apart from a small area of playwear on the top and a modest collection of scratches the guitar is in excellent condition. No finish wear on the instrument’s back, very slight wear on the back of the neck; no cracks or repairs. Original tuners work well, nut has never been removed, original frets are evenly worn but useable, pickguard is in excellent condition, as is binding, bridge, and tailpiece. Top arch is good, neck angle is fine. Apart from an added strap-button and a replaced endpin, the guitar is a straight-up as they come. Set-up in-shop with .013” nickel-wound strings the guitar is warm but throaty, with piles of headroom if you choose to dig in. The neck is a fairly fast C profile with a 1-11/16” nut and long scale; rosewood fingerboard typical of this era.
With original hard shell case
On Consignment
US $9299
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1960 National 1185 Club Combo
Serial # T35216. With its fat and bright single-coil pickups and full hollow 16” cut-away body this guitar is a great pick for blues and swing. It’s been around the block a few times, we’re not making excuses for that; but it does what it does well. Original pickups sound great, and the balance of the wire harness has been replaced with new dependable components (original goodies provided). That pickguard is an add-on and the tuners have been changed; nut, frets, bridge, and tailpiece are original. Some blemished and touched-up finish on the top’s upper bass bout. Light wear to the original frets, set up in-shop. Neck finish has some touch-up spots on it; there are also a pair of repaired cracks along the base of the neck typical of this style of neck-joint. 24.75” scale, round profile neck with a nut width of 1-19/32”. Despite the list of repairs, this is a neat guitar with cool vibe and great tone.
With newer hard shell case
US $949
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1937 (circa) Vega Electric Archtop
Serial #56197. With the introduction of Rickenbacker's first pick-up equipped guitars in 1932 the guitarist's world was forever changed - the electric guitar had arrived. 1935 saw the premiering of Gibson's ES-150, Epiphone's Electar models, National's Electric Spanish, and the first versions of this instrument - the Vega Electrovox. We're guessing this instrument dates from about 1937, but as we've not found any reliable serial number lists for Vega's guitars we can't offer a specific date of manufacture. Figured maple laminate body, very curvy and 16" wide, single-ply white binding, mahogany neck, bound rosewood fingerboard, ebonized bridge. Single coil pickup with "Dual-Tone" multi-capacitor tone circuit with bass, normal, and treble settings; volume control, white plastic radio knobs and plates. Original Black Bakelite pickguard, original tuning machines. Professionally replaced jumbo frets and a very nice in-shop set up. This is a great Jazz, Blues, or Rockabilly machine - and it's stage ready, too. Very comfortable C neck profile is similar to a 50's Gibson, but with a slightly narrower nut width of 1-5/8" and a 24.75" scale length. Vintage-chic and super cool.
With original hard shell case
US $1599
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1940's Regal Le Domino "Big Boy"
Originally a Stewart trademark, Tonk Bros acquired the “Le Domino” brand in the early 1930’s and soon sold it to regal who continued to build instruments with the popular Domino motif. This “Big Boy” archtop likely dates from the late 1930’s, and was built in Chicago by Regal. Most surviving Dominos are Ukes, but a fair number of guitars, banjos, and mandolins were built and survive to this day. This round-hole arch-top is has a pressed ladder-braced birch top and flat braced birch back. The fingerboard and body are adorned with Domino decals; and the soundhole, body, and fingerboard are bound in white. Original tuners, pickguard, tailpiece. Newer nut and bridge. Some sloppily reglued braces inside, and one side of the back’s binding has been less than skillfully replaced with non-matching ivoroid stock. The guitar plays well though, and has a cool lo-fi throaty sound. Offered for sale AS-IS.
US $699
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1955 Old Kraftsman K-1
The Speigel owned "Old Kraftsman" trademark was branded on many Kay-built instruments from the 1930's through to the late 1960's. The instrument pictured here is an Old Kraftsman version of a Kay K-1. It's a 17" cut-away archtop built of laminate maple and spruce with white bindings and appointments. The guitar is in nearly-new condition and has just about no signs of wear anywhere it. Even its original case is super-clean. Obviously completely original, the only repairwork this guitar has ever seen was the set-up we gave it two days before these photos were taken. It plays very well, and has fine fretwork and neck angle. Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and bridge, Kluson tuners with original buttons, great looking original tailpiece and pickguard too. Chunky round neck with a nut width of a little more than 1-5/8" and a long 25.7" scale neck.
With original case
SOLD
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1934 Gibson L-7
Serial # 90471, FON 363. Introduced in 1932, the L-7 was designed as less expensive option to the flagship L-5. Single ply body binding and dark brown back and side finish kept the price down, but there was really nothing “cheap” about this model. Its body was carved from solid spruce and figured maple, and neck was appointed similarly to the Nick Lucas models, with pearl logo and Fleur de Lys on the headstock, varied pattern pearl inlays on the fingerboard, binding to match the body, and nickel plated Grover tuners. Apart from the shorter scale neck, the L-7 didn’t look all too different than its more expensive older brother. As a result, it sold well and remained in the price list for a long time.
This 1934 example is a local guitar, it was bought new in Toronto at Beare & Son and spent the entirety of its life with its original owner, and subsequently his son. An original sale correspondence accompanies the guitar. This was a gigging musician’s guitar; it was well used but well maintained, and remains in very fine condition. A pickup was at one time surface mounted to the top with control unit mounted adjacent to the treble F hole. There are a total of six filled screw holes that remain today, along with the finish touch ups to hide them. The work is very nicely done – we couldn’t effectively photograph it, so have included black-light photos of the guitar. A fist-sized section of the back has been touched up as well, there is no longer any belt-rash, and the repair is invisible but for under black light. We suspect that the pickguard is a replacement, but can’t say for certain as it appears to match the guitar in age. It is a warm archtop, with good volume and projection , and has a comfortable V shaped neck. Frets show some wear in the first position, but set-up and playability are excellent.
With original “Red Line” hard shell case
SOLD
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