Acoustic archtop

[GGJaguar]

I have been playing my non-Guilds for the past week or so. This one is on today's play list. It's a Kay-made Gagliano Model 900 from about 1956. It's roughly the equivalent of the Kay K-11 and it sound really good.

 

[GGJaguar]

Here's a K-11 for comparison.

 

[GGJaguar]

It's weird - the fingerboards and F-holes are bound on both guitars, but it's a little hard to see in the photos. Also, these aren't your typically cheap Kays. For sure, they are laminated 17" bodies, but the tops are solid spruce, albeit pressed not carved. The neck is 5-piece like you'd find on finer guitars. I had a Gretsch G400 Synchromatic made by Terada in Japan. It also had a laminated 17" body with pressed, solid top and looked really sexy, but it didn't sound as good as the Gagliano Model 900.

 

[davismanLV]

I like the fretboard inlays on the Kay guitars!!

 

[GGJaguar]

I like the fretboard inlays on the Kay guitars!!

They're called shark-fin inlays. Cue the theme from "Jaws".

 

[Walter Broes]

Ooh! Those are the nicer Kays indeed!

 

[shihan]

That’s a beauty! What’s the neck profile like? I‘ve been tempted to pull the trigger on a similar Kay, but didn’t due to the wide variance in playability of older Kay’s and the like.

 

[GGJaguar]

What’s the neck profile like?

Louisville Slugger (think XL Gibson R9), but it's surprisingly easy to play.

 

[Brad Little]

Probably from the '30s, Metro B. Most likely made by or for Bacon & Day (or Bacon Banjo Co.), maybe made by Regal. It's playable but could benefit from a neck reset. I had the old tuners replaced (there were only 5 originals0, unfortunately forgot to pick them up when I had the work done, might have had some resale value. Sounds pretty typical for a mid range archtop from that era.

 

[Stuball48]

How many guitars you got GG -- plus or minus a dozen?

 

[bobouz]

Grainy old Polaroids from the ‘70s, all guitars long gone:

My favorite acoustic archtop was a Ward from the ‘30s, with a carved & X-braced solid-spruce top (credited to Gibson in literature I’ve seen, and they did indeed manufacture X-braced archtops in the ‘30s). Second photo, the same guitar with a ‘50s Gibson LG2-3/4 & my first Guild.

 

[D30Man]

Those are sweet! I really dig the bound f-holes. I know it seems small, but those little finishing touches really set it off IMO.

 

[Nuuska]

. . . Second photo, the same guitar with a ‘50s Gibson LG2-3/4 & my first Guild.

I wonder how many of those Gibson LG2-3/4 guitars were made - I have one from 1957 I believe - nice little guitar.

 

[bobouz]

I wonder how many of those Gibson LG2-3/4 guitars were made - I have one from 1957 I believe - nice little guitar.

They surely are cute as a button, and they go for a fairly steep price these days. I don't really have a clue on production numbers. I'm guessing not too many were made, since it would've been seen primarily as a young person's learning guitar, and most parents would probably have been scared off by the cost - but it couldn't have gotten much easier for small hands with that 22.75" scale!

 

[Rockednrolled]

In regards to the OP's post showing his Gagliano 900, here is a pic from the 1953 Meisel catalog that features the line of Gagliano models including the 900 model I have two copies of this rare catalog so let me know if you're interested in one of them? I suppose by 1956 the headstock design had changed slightly as seen on GGJag's model.

 

[GGJaguar]

In regards to the OP's post showing his Gagliano 900, here is a pic from the 1953 Meisel catalog that features the line of Gagliano models including the 900 model I have two copies of this rare catalog so let me know if you're interested in one of them? I suppose by 1956 the headstock design had changed slightly as seen on GGJag's model.

Wow, thank for posting that! I knew C. Meisel was the jobber that owned the Gagliano name and contracted with Kay and Hofner to make Gagliano labeled guitars, but I've never been able to find their catalog. This is awesome!!

 

[bobouz]

The recent Harmony & Stella thread elsewhere inspired me to dig out more grainy Polaroids from the '70s. Found in a flea market but long gone now, this is a solid carved-top Harmony Cremona from the '30s. The Cremona model was around for a long time, but this is the most ornate one I've ever come across. Wish I'd had a better camera back in the day, because it really was a lovely piece of work. The headstock looked like an old theater marque, inlaid with ‘Harmony‘ written vertically, and ‘Cremona‘ intersecting on a centered diagonal. The fretboard had a centered inlaid stripe running its length through the block markers, and the top body binding sported a checkered pattern. It had a wonderfully full tone, but unfortunately the neck was too chunky to be comfortable in my hands, so eventually off it went. Note the somewhat Guildish headstock shape!

 

[den441]

Love these old acoustic archtops, my uncle had one from the 1930s from his mom. No branding on it though