Recording King Jumbo A-1172 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, made by Regal (1941)
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Item # 13472
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Recording King Jumbo A-1172 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, made by Regal (1941), made in Chicago, sunburst lacquer finish, mahogany back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This fairly rare guitar is a pre-WWII X-braced Jumbo flat top built for Montgomery Ward by Regal in Chicago. While Regal is mostly remembered as a low-end manufacturer, they were quite capable of making quality instruments when paid to do so! Gibson also made similar guitars for Wards; the two companies were likely bidding on the same contracts in this period.
In this case, the guitar is quite well made, with solid mahogany back, sides and neck and a solid spruce top, all finished in a dark sunburst. The top is braced with Regal's proprietary double-X pattern, typical of their larger guitars of the time. The top binding is 4-ply and the soundhole features a bound edge and inlaid herringbone wood rosette. The tortoise celluloid pickguard is typically Regal style but the bridge has been replaced along the way with what appears to be a cut-down Gibson J-55 style rosewood piece, which was also used on the Kalamazoo-made Recording King Jumbo flat top model. How it ended up on this guitar from Regal is a bit of a mystery!
The long 25 1/2" scale neck has a chunky soft "V" contour with a single bound rosewood fingerboard and large pearl dot inlay. The guitar plays well and the sound is big and full, if not quite to the pre-war Gibson level of magic still much superior to most catalog instruments of the era. The original hardware includes covered Kluson strip tuners and there were originally strap brackets on the headstock and body end for a neck cord. With a list price of $22.75 when new, this was a bargain price at the time for something advertised as a professional grade guitar, far below Martin or Gibson branded offerings. Today this still represents a comparative bargain in a guitar of this type and age, and a very sharp looking instrument to boot!
Overall length is 41 in. (104.1 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 5 in. (12.7 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
This guitar shows some general wear and repair but remains a good player. The sunburst finish is all original showing dings, dents and scrapes overall but no large areas of loss except an armwear spot on the upper body edge and the back of the neck which is partially worn to the wood in the lower positions and along the spine. The only crack repairs to the instrument are on the top with several spruce grain splits on either side of the bridge. All are sealed with no added finish.
The Gibson 1941-style carved bridge with bolts was installed sometime along the way; the wood itself appears period although the bolts are more recent. There are signs of repair around this bridge both above and below; the maple bridgeplate is original but has been reglued. All else on the guitar remains original, there are small screw holes in the back of the headstock and around the endpin for the missing neck cord fittings, which were the same as Gibson used at the time.
The frets have been recrowned and a new saddle fitted; the guitar plays very well, with a big if not overly sophisticated tone. While not 100% original this is a nice player's example of this mostly forgotten Jumbo, a nice piece from the "Cowboy music" era that offers a lot of sound for the price, just as it did in 1941. A later HSC is included. Overall Very Good + Condition.
This fairly rare guitar is a pre-WWII X-braced Jumbo flat top built for Montgomery Ward by Regal in Chicago. While Regal is mostly remembered as a low-end manufacturer, they were quite capable of making quality instruments when paid to do so! Gibson also made similar guitars for Wards; the two companies were likely bidding on the same contracts in this period.
In this case, the guitar is quite well made, with solid mahogany back, sides and neck and a solid spruce top, all finished in a dark sunburst. The top is braced with Regal's proprietary double-X pattern, typical of their larger guitars of the time. The top binding is 4-ply and the soundhole features a bound edge and inlaid herringbone wood rosette. The tortoise celluloid pickguard is typically Regal style but the bridge has been replaced along the way with what appears to be a cut-down Gibson J-55 style rosewood piece, which was also used on the Kalamazoo-made Recording King Jumbo flat top model. How it ended up on this guitar from Regal is a bit of a mystery!
The long 25 1/2" scale neck has a chunky soft "V" contour with a single bound rosewood fingerboard and large pearl dot inlay. The guitar plays well and the sound is big and full, if not quite to the pre-war Gibson level of magic still much superior to most catalog instruments of the era. The original hardware includes covered Kluson strip tuners and there were originally strap brackets on the headstock and body end for a neck cord. With a list price of $22.75 when new, this was a bargain price at the time for something advertised as a professional grade guitar, far below Martin or Gibson branded offerings. Today this still represents a comparative bargain in a guitar of this type and age, and a very sharp looking instrument to boot!
Overall length is 41 in. (104.1 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 5 in. (12.7 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
This guitar shows some general wear and repair but remains a good player. The sunburst finish is all original showing dings, dents and scrapes overall but no large areas of loss except an armwear spot on the upper body edge and the back of the neck which is partially worn to the wood in the lower positions and along the spine. The only crack repairs to the instrument are on the top with several spruce grain splits on either side of the bridge. All are sealed with no added finish.
The Gibson 1941-style carved bridge with bolts was installed sometime along the way; the wood itself appears period although the bolts are more recent. There are signs of repair around this bridge both above and below; the maple bridgeplate is original but has been reglued. All else on the guitar remains original, there are small screw holes in the back of the headstock and around the endpin for the missing neck cord fittings, which were the same as Gibson used at the time.
The frets have been recrowned and a new saddle fitted; the guitar plays very well, with a big if not overly sophisticated tone. While not 100% original this is a nice player's example of this mostly forgotten Jumbo, a nice piece from the "Cowboy music" era that offers a lot of sound for the price, just as it did in 1941. A later HSC is included. Overall Very Good + Condition.