Two Marvelous For Words
Two vintage guitars have a distinctive
MARVELTONE headplate, pearl
fingerboard inlays, Regal branding and serial numbers. One has a rosewood body,
the other is mahogany. Recently restored, both epitomize the historic heart and
musical soul of 1930's guitars.
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© 2016 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights
Reserved
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PIX: KL
c. 1931 mahogany MarvelTone (left) — c. 1932 rosewood MarvelTone (right) |
These
two MARVELTONE guitars — fraternal twins
separated at birth during the Depression — have been reunited, restored and rejuvenated
for contemporary concert performance.
Both have pearl headplate inlays, ebony
fingerboard with ornate pearl inlays across seven frets, the maker’s brand and a serial
number.
The two instruments — one in rosewood, one in mahogany
— were premium offerings of Regal Musical Instrument Co. Between 1928 and 1940 the Chicago
firm offered five models of “Custom-Built” guitars, each with 12 frets to the body, mahogany
necks, ebony bridges and slotted headstocks.
Two of the five models were grand concert instruments like these — with a 14¼-inch lower-bout width and 24¾-inch scale length. Each had a 4-inch body depth at end block, C-shaped neck and 1-7/8-inch nut
width.
The other three were concert-sized instruments — with a 13-inch lower-bout width and 24¼-inch scale length.
The tops on all were x-braced spruce in a natural
finish with three-ring rosette. Top and back bindings were black plastic on the mahogany guitars, white plastic on the rosewood models.
The c. 1932 rosewood MARVELTONE (SN 4658) [on right, above photos] was purchased in
2006 and restored in 2009. It was also sold twice and repurchased twice over a nine-year
span before it saw recent repairs in late 2015.
The c. 1931 mahogany MARVELTONE (SN 2504) [on left, above photos] endured no such ordeal. It was purchased in decrepit condition in April 2015 and fully restored to sonic glory and bright alacrity in September 2015.
The restoration of each guitar is complete. Both instruments have
performed well in recent Vintage Music
Concerts. Now it’s time to trace the cobbled road each took to its revival.
Regal Custom-Built guitars
In
the 1930s Regal touted its premium guitars as "Custom-Built," extolling them as
“neat in appearance, beautiful in simplicity and marked by skilled workmanship
in every detail.” Each instrument was tested at the factory, stamped with a
serial number and guaranteed against workmanship and material defects for one
year.
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Grossman's 1928 wholesale catalog shows Regal "Custom-Built" Guitars
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Noting variations in size, wood and
appointments, Regal's “Custom-Built” models were detailed in period sales literature as shown
above. Regal sold the guitars to numerous music retailers in the U.S. and to a handful of wholesalers for distribution to select outlets.
All carried a Regal brand, usually on interior paper labels or on metal
badges on the back of headstock. But some also carried the MARVELTONE brand, such as those offered by Targ and Dinner
Music Co., a Chicago wholesaler.
These special guitars appeared in three configurations:
•
with fingerboard inlays + no headplate inlay;
• with headplate inlay + no fingerboard inlays;
•
with head plate inlay + with fingerboard inlays
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| MARVELTONE headplate inlay |
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| MARVELTONE fingerboard inlays |
Both guitars were built in the early 1930s. They
were likely sold to music stores for $28 (No. 3 model in mahogany) and $50 (No. 5 model in rosewood), respectively. In Grossman's wholesale instrument catalog from 1928, "Custom-Built" Regals were displayed opposite comparably built and outfitted 00-18 and 00-28 guitars by C.F. Martin Co. of
Nazareth PA, which sold for $45 and $80, respectively.
Today, 1930s-era Regals are available in
vintage guitar markets and often get compared to period Martin
guitars for design, size, material, tone and competitive cost. Vintage Regals, in my opinion, compare well in most ways except the flatulent reputations and exaggerated collector values of vintage Martin guitars.
Rosewood rarity
Back in the day the price tag on this rosewood MARVELTONE guitar (SN 4658) was $50. Today, 70-plus years later, the guitar was priced at $3,495 by Florida dealer Timm Kummer. His website listed it as a “12 fret model, Brazilian rosewood back & sides, same as 00-28 in late 1920s in tone & appearance.”
While on tour in Florida in March 2006 I visited Kummer and played the guitar. Its robust, airy tone was full and strong. The bass throbbed as if amplified. For a mid-sized guitar, its mid-range was penetrating, the treble tones were incisive.
After I pointed out a need for neck reset and other set-up work, Kummer's price fell to $3,000. Eager to own this rosewood rarity, I paid for it in full by late April and the rosewood MARVELTONE was sent to me in early May.
However, three months later, in August
2006, while visiting Fred Oster’s vintage guitar shop in Philadelphia, I fell
under the spell of a 1943 Bannerhead Gibson J-45 priced at $4,600. To fund this purchase,
I sold the unrepaired MARVELTONE at $2,500 and a rare 1935 Martin 00-55 (SN 61743) in
original condition at $5,000, netting me the J-45 and a $2,900 check from
Oster.
Though dealers and luthiers debate if Brazilian or East Indian rosewood was used on Regal guitars in the 1930s, Oster called the rosewood Brazilian on this guitar. His listing also cited the “ebony
fingerboard with attractive inlays, engraved tuner plates, 1-7/8” width at the nut,
no cracks, completely original, recent neck reset, very minor finger wear and
excellent plus condition, superb sound & playability (even with the
somewhat fat rounded neck).”
Oster priced the guitar at $3,850 and it
went unsold for 15 months. In November 2007 I re-purchased this guitar. In this transaction I gave Oster a 1947 Gibson LG-2 he valued at $2,600 and a $1,000
check. Thus, the rosewood MARVELTONE guitar came home again with me.
In April 2009, I finally brought this rosewood beauty to luthiers Greg
Hanson and David Crawford, at the time based in Raleigh NC. The much-needed repairs
and set-up, completed in two months, included these items and costs:
• replace bridge plate — $ 250
• repair loose braces — 225
• plane fingerboard — 125
• refret — 295
• replace broken inlay — 65
• shim & adjust nut — 35
• re-slot bridge + intonate saddle — 125
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Total $ 1,120
But the Great Recession bloomed in 2009, prompting
a painful guitar sell-off to pay credit card, auto, guitar and other debts I'd acquired in the last decade. The MARVELTONE fell victim to these financial adjustments in
December 2009, so I sold it and a 1937 Kalamazoo archtop for $2,900 to New Jersey dealer Buzz Levine. He listed the rosewood MARVELTONE at his Lark Street Music store and website for $4,950.
MARVELTONE called my name
The
rosewood MARVELTONE didn’t stay long in Levine’s
store. Someone bought it in early 2010. Then, in June 2012, that same person
sold it back to Levine.
During this person’s ownership the
guitar’s original engraved tuners were replaced with a set of $40 tuners from Stew-Mac, while the original bridge was replaced with a stylistically inappropriate pyramid bridge. This time Levine listed the guitar at $5,500.
Two years later I visited Lark Street Music and once again saw the
rosewood MARVELTONE and brooded how to get it back. It still had a bright, airy presence and balanced sweet tone. Levine
hinted he’d let it go for $4,500. “Perhaps you have guitars you’d like to trade
for it,” he said.
Then, in late March 2015, on another visit to Lark
Street, the rosewood MARVELTONE called my name from the shop wall. Its pyramid bridge was horsey and its repro tuners cheesy, but the guitar played well and sounded great. I had to have it.
What
would it take to once again own this guitar? A strategic agreement, Levine suggested. So I proposed trading two vintage guitars I had with me in exchange for the rosewood MARVELTONE on his wall. Here are the guitars I offered Levine:
• 1949 Gibson LG-3 (FON 4426) — an original mahogany-and-spruce
blonde guitar in excellent condition that Levine valued
at $3,900.
• 1930 B & J Serenader — unusual
14-fret, slotted-head, mahogany-
bodied, ladder-braced grand
concert guitar that Levine valued at
$1,000.
Thus, the rosewood MARVELTONE guitar came home again with me.
In November 2015 Hanson and Crawford, who are now based in Durham NC, performed set-up work on the rosewood MARVELTONE. They worked glue into a thin gap opening under the bridge, filled and recut the saddle slot, installed an intonated bone saddle and raised the set-up height to 7/64" and 5/64" at the 12th fret. Total cost for this work was $145. Then, the rosewood MARVELTONE guitar came home again with me
to stay.
Mahogany MARVELTONE restoration
The price on my mahogany MARVELTONE guitar (SN 2504) in 1931 was $28. Eighty-four years later the guitar was priced at $1,350 by vintage instrument dealer Fred Oster. The instrument had not been listed on his Vintage Instruments website when I examined it in April 2015.
Packed in an old cardboard case, the mahogany MARVELTONE was covered in dirt and grime. Its flaccid
strings were ancient. The bridge had lifted off the top and was now half
on, half off. Two decorative bolts into the bridge and top were loose. The saddle leaned sadly in its slot.
The instrument’s X brace was visibly split
lengthwise. I did not know the condition of other braces. The tuning machines
were loose and one tuner button was missing.
The back, sides and top were crack-free,
but the entire finish was dull with dirt, grime and what have you. What's more, the soundhole had a fist-sized tone ball — an offensive dust bunny that Oster, in a unsolicited fit of chutzpah, called a sign of
good luck.
The dealer said the guitar needed its bridge reglued and a replacement tuner
button. He offered the instrument in as is condition
for $1,350 — or in playable condition with his repairs for $1,850.
A call to luthier Greg Hanson in Durham NC helped clinch my decision. Knowing my budget, playing style and penchant for full-figured restoration, Hanson said he’d “rather assess and repair a
guitar in as-is condition than undo someone else’s repairs.” So I paid $1,350 — admittedly an inflated price on a decrepit, unplayable box — for the mahogany MARVELTONE guitar in as is condition.
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PIX: KL
Luthier Greg Hanson of Durham NC and the rosewood MARVELTONE
in his hands and the mahogany MARVELTONE across his workbench. |
A month later I brought the mahogany MARVELTONE to Hanson and Crawford, who found major work was needed. Here are the work details and fees:
• fingerboard planing to 14-ft. radius — $ 100
• fingerboard inlay repairs — 35
• refret with medium wire — 310
• repair + reglue loose and split bracing — 100
• reset neck — 350
• handmade ebony bridge, intonated bone
saddle and two-piece bridge plate cap — 400
• bone nut — 70
• bench fee to examine + assess guitar — 15
• Light gauge (.012 - .053) strings — 6
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Total $ 1,386
Hanson and Crawford also cleaned the guitar. They wiped and vacuumed dust and dirt from the interior and patiently swabbed the exterior, restoring the finish to a patina-rich glow. Upon receipt from the luthiers in September 2015, I’d spent a total of $2,826 on this mahogany MARVELTONE.
The guitar's sound is in-your-face loud and as woody as your favorite No. 1 pencil. Regular playing will nurture the articulate, mellow tones I think are lurking within its mid-range. This instrument makes music on its hind legs, so dreadnought guitar players will risk life and limb if they call it a parlor guitar. It's nobody's sweetie pie.
Paucity of MARVELTONE comps
If you're looking for comps on 1920s and 1930s Regal guitars, whether concert or grand concert, they are widely available. But comps on an obscure brand like MARVELTONE are rare.
Other than the three dealers who listed my two guitars, not one of the Regal comps I found in nine years had both the headplate inlay and fingerboard inlays. All of the comps show one or the other — headplate inlay or fingerboard inlays, but not both.
Among 18 Regal comps I've unearthed, one recent East Coast listing had a MARVELTONE grand concert (SN 2094) with mahogany body at $1,950. In original condition including finish, it had the mahogany headplate inlay shown at right and no fingerboard inlays.
Another East Coast listing offered a MARVELTONE mahogany grand concert (SN unknown) at $1,800. It had a headplate inlay and no fingerboard inlays. I played this guitar last year and passed on buying it because it needed much work to raise it to my performance standard. It has since sold.
In early 2013 a West Coast dealer listed a MARVELTONE grand concert guitar (SN 4649) with rosewood body at $3,765. Shown at left, it had pearl fingerboard inlays and no headplate inlay. The dealer called it a Regal and cited its "unusual fretboard inlays, X-braced spruce top and very large neck shape." In November 2013 the price fell to $2,950. It remained unsold well into 2014 when the listing fell away.
Finally, back in November 2007 a MARVELTONE listing showed a grand concert guitar (SN 2150) with mahogany body. It had a headplate inlay and no fingerboard inlays. Except for a replaced bridge plate and recent neck reset, it was deemed in original condition and priced at $1,550.
With a dearth of comps on MARVELTONE guitars containing both the headplate inlay and fingerboard inlays, making an offer to buy one of these instruments is almost as hard today as it was in 2006 when I first started down this rocky road.
Still, I figure the money spent buying and restoring both of these MARVELTONE guitars was worth every cent. When New Jersey dealer Buzz Levine recently examined both instruments, he said I should insure the mahogany MARVELTONE at $3,500 and the
rosewood MARVELTONE at $5,500.
Patsy's MARVELTONE
Recently, the know-it-alls at Google steered me to an adorable photograph of Patsy Montana (Ruby Rose Blevins, 1908 - 1996) holding a MARVELTONE guitar. Called the “cowboy’s
sweetheart” for her 1935 hit song, she recorded for Vocalion and other labels between 1934 and 1940 and played the National Barn Dance radio show on Saturday nights for many years.
The period image shows her
posing with a grand concert guitar. It has a floating, contoured pick guard. It appears to have no headplate inlay. Though it's difficult to say which wood it is, the treble rim is dark like rosewood, not mahogany. And the body binding appears black-white-black like my rosewood model.
Nonetheless, the fingerboard of Patsy’s
guitar is bedecked with the same pearl inlays as my MARVELTONE guitars — revealing
her choice of a fine Regal-made instrument from the mid-1930s.
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REFERENCES
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© 2016 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved
