Guitars
Here are instruments photos and videos from past restoration projects "gallery only"
, for instruments available for sale please see page "Instruments for Sale"
Antique Parlour Guitar
Marian Niewczyk
Poznań 1936, Poland
Antique Parlour Guitar labelled M. Niewczyk Poznań 1936. Nieczyk family established first luthier workshop in Poland back in 1885 which still operates today at Ulica Woźna 6, Poznań. Main area of specialty was and still is violins however in earlier years they would make all sorts of instruments including Guitars and Mandolins. Marian born in 1924, son of Stanisław received his master title in 1945 but apparently he took up interest in luthiery in his early age. With Guitar being dated 1936 Marian would have only been 12 at that time, which would rather suggests he was helping with repairs side of business and possibly only carried out repairs on this guitar (I wasn't able to verify this so far).
Guitar itself resembles more of an Italian style common for mandolins from early 20th c. but may as well be German made as it carries some elements typical for German Parlour Guitars so despite a presence of a label it's origins remain rather vague. In the past I did restore a few old parlour guitars but not had anything similar to this in style, if you have any suggestions in regards to it's origins I'd be happy to hear from you.
Guitar was in a very bad state and required complete restoration. Whoever carried previous repairs on it left a real mess with lots of glue spillage and nails that didn't make this job easier. After many many hours of hard work it is now back in a playable state. Originally it had nitro-cellulose lacquer on it which was pretty much worn therefore replaced thoroughly with French-polish. Few elements have been replaced with new ones like tuners, end pin, bridge saddle and nut.
For sound sample and photos prior to restoration please see video below.
Guitar is currently fitted with Savarez strings - set 520B low tension
Guitar specifications:
Soundboard – Solid Spruce
Back and sides – rosewood (one piece back)
Binding – interchanging wood pieces and mother of pearl inlay
Neck – maple stained black
Fretboard – ebony with mother of pearl inlay
Nut – Bone
Bridge – original ebony with new bone saddle and M.O.P. inlay
Frets – 21 nickel silver
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Instruments measurements are as follows:
- total length 92.5cm - upper body width 23cm - lower body width 30cm
- body depth at neck 6.7cm - body depth at tail end 8cm
​- from nut to 12th fret 312.5mm (total scale length 625mm)
- Neck width at nut is 42mm, at 12th fret 54.4mm
Old German Lute Guitar
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Not quite a Lute Guitar and not quite a Wappen Guitar so Wappen-Lute-Guitar then? No label is present therefore it is not possible to establish when or by whom it was made, possibly it is a bit younger than typical Lute Guitars made in 1920-1940's. It has deeper dome-shape body rather than round ribs which provides much more bassy tone. Scale length of 640mm and neck dimensions are closer in size to a standard Classical Guitar but with headstock that was often used on German Lute Guitars and Mandolins.
Condition of guitar was very good with no cracks or wear to soundboard, finish was also intact however it has been replaced throughout with french-polish as it did look plasticy and made the instrument look unattractive. The body has been lightly stained to pull out rich figure and with french-polish it now looks way more attractive than before. Other repair involved glueing splits between ribs, re-levelling fretboard and complete re-fret. Original tuners only required a good clean and work finely as they should. Nut and saddle have been replaced with new ones made of bone. Action is set very low with 3.2mm on treble side and 3.5mm on bass side at 12th fret therefore very comfortable to play. Guitar is fitted with D'Addario EJ31 Hard tension strings which sound better over low tension set initially fitted and also helped eliminate any buzzing that low tension was causing (due to much tougher construction of guitar and it being younger, a heavier tension would not over strain the instrument).
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Instruments measurements are as follows:
- total length 104cm
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body width 33.5cm
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body length 52.5cm
- body depth 13cm
​- from nut to 12th fret 320mm (total scale length 640mm)
- Neck width at nut is 49mm, at 12th fret 59.3mm
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More detailed photos can be provided upon request
Antique German Lute-Guitar
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Antique German Lute Style Guitar restored to fully playable condition. Make or date is unknown but likely to be around 1920's-30's.
The back is made of 11 maple ribs, soundboard is book matched spruce with beautifully carved sound hole, one piece neck and carved head. All body finished with oil varnish enhancing natural wood – old finish was in poor state and had to be completely stripped.
Guitar has scalloped rosewood fretboard inlaid with mother of pearl, completely re-fretted with flat brass bar fret wire. It has 8 brass and 5 mahogany frets (13 in total)
As original tuners were missing a new custom made tuners had to be fitted.
New ebony bridge pins and ebony end pin had been fitted as well as new cattle bone nut has been made.
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Measurements are as follows:
- total length 96.2cm
- width 31.3cm
- scale length 61.7cm
- Neck width at nut 46.50mm, at 8th fret 53.37mm
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German Lute-Guitar
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Antique German Lute Style Guitar restored to fully playable condition. Make or date is unknown again but likely to be around 1920's-30's. Original soundhole decoration was missing and replaced with custom made "customer request" design.
As usual the woods used are Maple (Neck, Back, Bridge), Spruce Soundboard with Rosewood binding and Rosewood Fingerboard.
Antique German Terz Guitar
Gut Klang
An old Terz Guitar made in Germany around 1910-20's under the brand Gut Klang. Terz guitars aren't very popular these days and can easily be mistaken by a children's guitar due to it's small size. Total length of this guitar is 87cm with scale length of 542mm, it is tuned to GCFA#DG so a third higher above standard guitar tuning. With smaller body goes more trebly tone which at first sounds a bit odd but once played a little you begin to appreciate different tonal qualities which sound great when playing music written by Classical Guitar composers of 18th & 19th century.
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Guitar has two cracks to soundboard which have been previously repaired, the back had one full split and loose strutting therefore required removal to glue all parts back together properly. Finish was quite worn out and unattractive therefore stripped completely and refinished using antique oil (quick drying). Neck and frets were in good order only requiring a clean up, fret re-levelling and crowning. Some tuner buttons were missing so all replaced with new ones made of rosewood. Action is set to 3.2mm on treble side and 3.5 on bass side above 12th fret therefore easy to play.
Guitar is fitted with a low tension strings set – Aquila Ambra 800 82c
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Instruments measurements are as follows:
- total length 87cm, body width 28.3cm, body length 41.7cm, body depth 7.1cm
​- from 0 fret to 12th fret 271mm (total scale length 542mm)
- Neck width at nut is 42mm, at 12th fret 50.3mm
Parlour Guitar
Musilhaus Fr.Dolge, Annaberg, Germany
Antique German Parlour Guitar from around 1920's, bought in Germany for restoration, luckily body was in very healthy condition and had no cracks. Bridge was coming off and had to be reglued, here I decided to position it as for nylon strings so top of the bridge had to be brought forward a bit to keep perfect intonation. Back and side have been refinished with French polish and table with Tru oil.
And a bit of music, I've recored Romance de Amor, just raw recording no equalization