Illinois

❌SOLD❌ Maurer 551 by Larson Brothers. Steel String Guitar, late 1920s

On February 19, 2020 /

This Larson Brothers Maurer 551 dates to the late 1920s and uses an Auditorium sized body, 15 inches wide. As was often the case in the period, there is no serial number and records are scarce, so it is difficult to date exactly. The top is Spruce, the back and sides are Brazilian Rosewood, with a number of old repairs to both. The neck is mahogany, with Ebony used for the fingerboard and bridge. The scale length is a modern 25.6 inches, and the nut width a fairly wide 1.9 inches. The finish base is original but there are a number of touchups and some overspray.

Vintage

Price: $6,500.00 CAD

This instrument has sold

❌SOLD❌ National Style 97 Squareneck Tricone Surfer Girl Resophonic, 1938

On February 8, 2020 /

Here is a rarity – a National Style 97 Square neck Tricone with the Surfer Girl motif on a sandblasted and enameled nickel plated brass body. These were built in small numbers from 1936 to 1940. By 1941, the materiel demands for the burgeoning war brought production of resophonic guitars to a halt. The ‘B’ prefix in the serial of this guitar is said to first appear in 1938. This National Style 97 likely dates to 1938. This rare model uses a 12-fret square neck on nickel plated brass body, treated with sandblasting to create various scenes, mostly based on Hawaiian imagery. On this guitar, the scene is of woman surfing with a palm tree in the mid field and volcano in the distance.

Vintage

Price: $6,550.00 CAD

This instrument has sold

❌SOLD❌ Kay Old Kraftsman Red Devil K592 Thinline Electric Red, 1962

On January 23, 2020 /

Here is a very cool piece from 1962 – a Kay Old Kraftsman Red Devil model K592, the top of the Speed Demon line, built for the Spiegel catalog and direct mail company. This model was built between 1962 and 1965. Kay began in 1931 as the successor to the Stromberg-Voisinet, which was itself the 1921 successor to the Groeschel company, founded in 1890. Based in Chicago, Illinois, for a time Kay was one of the largest instrument builders in the USA, and supplied many catalog companies and department stores.

Vintage

Price: $850.00 CAD

This instrument has sold

❌SOLD❌ National Val Pro 82 Vermillion Red, 1962

On October 15, 2019 /

The National Val Pro 82 was the single-pickup version of the ‘Map Body’ Val Pro line, built during 1962 and 1963 by Valco in Chicago, Illinois. National itself began in 1927 with the invention of the Resophonic guitar, but in 1928 the original builders – the Dopyera brothers – left to form Dobro, and in 1932 the Dopyera’s bought a controlling interest in National and merged the two companies.

Vintage

Price: $1,750.00 CAD

This instrument has sold

❌SOLD❌ National Dynamic Lap Steel Red and White, 1962

On August 16, 2019 /

The National Dynamic Lap Steel was built from 1961 to 1968 for National String Instrument Corporation by Valco in Chicago, Illinois. National at this point had fallen far from its heyday after inventing the Resophonic guitar (plus mandolin and ukulele) to provide more volume to working guitarists. It was founded by guitarist George Beauchamp and luthier John Dopyera in 1927. Dopyera left National to form, with his brothers, the DoBro company in 1928 and produced single cone resonator models. Dopyera purchased a controlling share of National in 1932 and merged National and DoBro production. Many instruments like the National Dynamic lap steel were produced, along with matching amplifiers.

Vintage

Price: $750.00 CAD

This instrument has sold

❌SOLD❌ Harmony Meteor H70 Thinline Archtop Electric Sunburst, 1958

On July 4, 2019 /

Built from 1958 to 1966, the Harmony Meteor H70 thinline archtop electric was mass produced in Chicago, and popular with many amateur and rising musicians – even appearing on Rolling Stones stages in the hands of Keith Richards. The Meteor H70 was also available as the Meteor H71 – the same guitar, but with a Natural finish instead of sunburst. The largest difference between the Meteor H70 and models like the Rocket H54 is the use of Spruce laminate for the top instead of Maple. This choice gives the guitar a more complex, warmer tone than the Maple top models.

Vintage

Price: $1,399.99 CAD

This instrument has sold

Illinois

❌SOLD❌ Maurer 551 by Larson Brothers. Steel String Guitar, late 1920s

❌SOLD❌ National Style 97 Squareneck Tricone Surfer Girl Resophonic, 1938

❌SOLD❌ Kay Old Kraftsman Red Devil K592 Thinline Electric Red, 1962

❌SOLD❌ National Val Pro 82 Vermillion Red, 1962

❌SOLD❌ National Dynamic Lap Steel Red and White, 1962

❌SOLD❌ Harmony Meteor H70 Thinline Archtop Electric Sunburst, 1958

THE TWELFTH FRET

MORE SERVICES

STAY CONNECTED