Regal Concert Size Custom Built Flat Top Acoustic Guitar , c. 1928
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Regal Concert Size Custom Built Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, c. 1928, made in Chicago, serial # 4041, natural lacquer finish, rosewood back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with ebonized fingerboard, black hard shell case.
The variety of instruments built by the Regal company of Chicago seems never ending; just when you think you've seen everything up comes one that's not quite line any other. While mostly remembered for lower budget instruments Regal also crafted some of the finest guitars to come out of Chicago in the 1920s and '30s. Many were built for sale under other names, but sometimes a distinctly higher-end guitar like this one surfaces bearing the company's own brand.
This rosewood concert-sized guitar has a "Regal Custom Built" label in the soundhole, but no other branding. Regal offered a line of very Martin-influenced guitars around 1930 with that internal brand, but this one is fancier than any of those cataloged models. One feature it does share with them is an X-braced Appalachian spruce top, an extravagance most Chicago makers of this period did not bother with. The X bracing is generally close to Martin's pattern, very neatly done if just a shade heavier overall.
The back and sides are made of fine grade of solid rosewood with celluloid outer binding and chain pattern marquetry bordering the top (double) and back (single). The soundhole features several rings of this same pattern, also used for the backstrip. The ebony bridge is a typical Regal rectangular pattern with large pearl circles in the ends and a small straight saddle. The top has an old tortoise celluloid pickguard affixed; this has been there a long time but is probably not original.
The one-piece mahogany neck has a round-backed profile fairly slim for the period, getting chunkier as it moves up towards the body. The ebony fingerboard is single bound with some elaborate shaped pearl inlay including a "tree of life" pattern from the 11th to 19th frets. The headstock is faced in rosewood with some fairly fancy shaped inlaid pearl pieces. The tuners are the same engraved Waverly strips used on 1920s Martins and Nationals.
The top-of-the-line Regal Custom Built Style 5 and retailed around 1930 at $50; this guitar is considerably fancier cosmetically and would have likely cost somewhat more than that. A serial or order number #4041 is rubber-stamped on the label and the heelblock, but there are no records to allow precise dating of this unusual guitar. The best guess based on features is the 1928-32 period. While not as delicately built as a 1920s Martin this is a finely made pre-war Brazilian rosewood guitar with an X braced top. "The Mark of Better Instruments" is emblazoned across the top of the Regal label under the soundhole; in this case actually a pretty accurate assessment!
Overall length is 38 in. (96.5 cm.), 13 5/8 in. (34.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7/8 in. (9.8 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 5/8 in. (625 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This guitar show a some typical wear and a decent amount of repair work overall but is a very nice playing and sounding instrument. The finish remains fully original on the back and sides, the top has areas of overspray mostly around the fingerboard and forward of the soundhole. The tortoise celluloid pickguard is old but does not appear original; it was probably added in the 1930s or '40s as was often the case. The back of the neck is entirely refinished, up to the lower part of the headstock; the upper part remains original.
The finish overall shows checking and some fairly random dings, dents and scrapes, most heavily on the top. The top shows some pick marks behind the strings between the soundhole and bridge; other than that there is less picking wear than many period flat tops. The top has one ling grain split running from the treble end of the bridge to the back edge, with a couple of short ones just at the edge of the lower treble bout. These are all sealed but not sprayed over.
The rosewood back is crack free, the upper side has a couple of small grain splits just behind the waist, with an odd area of finish disturbance (but not overspray) adjacent. There is a tiny sealed grain split to the side just below the heel probably related to a neck set; this has been sprayed over. The back/bottom seam may have been resealed as some of the binding is not perfectly seated, or possible it's just less-than-perfectly reglued binding. The back brace under the soundhole has been visibly reglued.
The ebony fingerboard has been refretted and rebound; we would guess it was off the neck at some point but it appears to be the original piece, well-aged with the inlay matching the headstock style. The board has been planed, refretted and rebound; some old filled cracks in the ebony are visible on close inspection. The neck has been reset to an excellent angle, the work is solid and structurally excellent.
The original bridge has been reglued at least once but does not appear otherwise altered; even the pins are original as is the small maple bridge plate. This guitar seems most suited to silk & steel strings and thus fitted is a fine playing guitar with a sweet sound. This is not a pristine instrument this is a Regal model we have never seen before and may be unique, or close to it. Overall Very Good + Condition.
The variety of instruments built by the Regal company of Chicago seems never ending; just when you think you've seen everything up comes one that's not quite line any other. While mostly remembered for lower budget instruments Regal also crafted some of the finest guitars to come out of Chicago in the 1920s and '30s. Many were built for sale under other names, but sometimes a distinctly higher-end guitar like this one surfaces bearing the company's own brand.
This rosewood concert-sized guitar has a "Regal Custom Built" label in the soundhole, but no other branding. Regal offered a line of very Martin-influenced guitars around 1930 with that internal brand, but this one is fancier than any of those cataloged models. One feature it does share with them is an X-braced Appalachian spruce top, an extravagance most Chicago makers of this period did not bother with. The X bracing is generally close to Martin's pattern, very neatly done if just a shade heavier overall.
The back and sides are made of fine grade of solid rosewood with celluloid outer binding and chain pattern marquetry bordering the top (double) and back (single). The soundhole features several rings of this same pattern, also used for the backstrip. The ebony bridge is a typical Regal rectangular pattern with large pearl circles in the ends and a small straight saddle. The top has an old tortoise celluloid pickguard affixed; this has been there a long time but is probably not original.
The one-piece mahogany neck has a round-backed profile fairly slim for the period, getting chunkier as it moves up towards the body. The ebony fingerboard is single bound with some elaborate shaped pearl inlay including a "tree of life" pattern from the 11th to 19th frets. The headstock is faced in rosewood with some fairly fancy shaped inlaid pearl pieces. The tuners are the same engraved Waverly strips used on 1920s Martins and Nationals.
The top-of-the-line Regal Custom Built Style 5 and retailed around 1930 at $50; this guitar is considerably fancier cosmetically and would have likely cost somewhat more than that. A serial or order number #4041 is rubber-stamped on the label and the heelblock, but there are no records to allow precise dating of this unusual guitar. The best guess based on features is the 1928-32 period. While not as delicately built as a 1920s Martin this is a finely made pre-war Brazilian rosewood guitar with an X braced top. "The Mark of Better Instruments" is emblazoned across the top of the Regal label under the soundhole; in this case actually a pretty accurate assessment!
Overall length is 38 in. (96.5 cm.), 13 5/8 in. (34.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7/8 in. (9.8 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 5/8 in. (625 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This guitar show a some typical wear and a decent amount of repair work overall but is a very nice playing and sounding instrument. The finish remains fully original on the back and sides, the top has areas of overspray mostly around the fingerboard and forward of the soundhole. The tortoise celluloid pickguard is old but does not appear original; it was probably added in the 1930s or '40s as was often the case. The back of the neck is entirely refinished, up to the lower part of the headstock; the upper part remains original.
The finish overall shows checking and some fairly random dings, dents and scrapes, most heavily on the top. The top shows some pick marks behind the strings between the soundhole and bridge; other than that there is less picking wear than many period flat tops. The top has one ling grain split running from the treble end of the bridge to the back edge, with a couple of short ones just at the edge of the lower treble bout. These are all sealed but not sprayed over.
The rosewood back is crack free, the upper side has a couple of small grain splits just behind the waist, with an odd area of finish disturbance (but not overspray) adjacent. There is a tiny sealed grain split to the side just below the heel probably related to a neck set; this has been sprayed over. The back/bottom seam may have been resealed as some of the binding is not perfectly seated, or possible it's just less-than-perfectly reglued binding. The back brace under the soundhole has been visibly reglued.
The ebony fingerboard has been refretted and rebound; we would guess it was off the neck at some point but it appears to be the original piece, well-aged with the inlay matching the headstock style. The board has been planed, refretted and rebound; some old filled cracks in the ebony are visible on close inspection. The neck has been reset to an excellent angle, the work is solid and structurally excellent.
The original bridge has been reglued at least once but does not appear otherwise altered; even the pins are original as is the small maple bridge plate. This guitar seems most suited to silk & steel strings and thus fitted is a fine playing guitar with a sweet sound. This is not a pristine instrument this is a Regal model we have never seen before and may be unique, or close to it. Overall Very Good + Condition.