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This guitar is a beautiful piece of history. It’s in great shape.
It’s meant to be played on your lap with a soundbar or a slide. It’s referred to as a Hawaiian lap steel guitar. It has a square neck which adds stability for that style of playing. It’s was manufactured in Cleveland, Ohio in the 30’s by the Oahu Publishing Company.
The action on a lap guitar is intentionally meant to be high. So, to achieve that a metal riser is placed over the wooden nut, which has been done. The neck is straight and fully secured. There is no separation at the heel and the action is even across the neck. The fretboard has been cleaned, the frets have been dressed. There is minimal wear to the frets or board. It’s amazingly nice.
The bridge is made of metal and secured to the soundboard with 3 bolts. This, along with the metal nut riser, give this guitar the intense steel sound and sharp resonance. Hence, a steel guitar.
The soundboard is beautifully preserved, see video and pics, other that a small crack close to the fingerboard extension which is typical of these guitars. There is no warping or bulging. Usually, these survivors have issues with that, being 90 year instruments. Not this one! You won’t be disappointed.
The tuners are original other than two of the barrel posts which have been replaced with similar period style ones. They all work smoothly. One of the tuner keys is bent but does not affect its function. I was too chicken to attempt to straighten it, as they tend to snap if you do that. Probably a little heat would help with that, but I would leave it as is.
The sides are all in good shape and the original strap button is still in place.
The back had a crack that ran 1/2 the length of the board. That has been secured with wood glue and wood shavings. Also, a cleat has been put in place on the inside of that crack to prevent it from splitting again.
This awesome surviving player would make a nice addition to any substantive Americana guitar collection.
This guitar does not come with a case but will be bubble wrapped with care and shipped in a guitar shipping box.
I’ve included an iCloud link below so that you can see and hear this guitar up close. Click and hold the link below to access the video:
All this being said, keep in mind that this is a 90 year-old instrument that has lived a life or five. It has its fair share of dings, scratches, scrapes and blemishes, as it should. It even has a set of initials scratched onto the side (see pic) by probably a child who owned it in the 30’s. Who knows. I didn’t want to interfere with those blemishes, as they do nothing but add to the undeniable character of this time capsule.
